Historic London Town & Gardens
Visit a "lost" colonial town and garden sanctuary on the South River
Historic London Town & Gardens
LONDON TOWN
2027
Update on Our 2027 Plan
As of March 2020, London Town is now three years into our board-approved Capital and Operations Improvement Plan. This plan provides a guideline for our growth as an organization. Here are just a few highlights:
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William Brown House: The first phase of preservation on the William Brown House (c.1760), a National Historic Landmark, has been completed successfully! This included mitigating water damage to the exterior and reinforcing supports in the attic. The second phase will start this year, including upgrades to the electrical and HVAC systems.
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Build the Bar: Speaking of the William Brown House, carpenter Chris Holmgren is working on the design for the bar that you all funded in the Build-a-Bar campaign! Stay tuned for updates.
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Gardens: Restoration work continues in the gardens. Dead trees and limbs have been removed, new access pathways have opened up, and the Spring Walk has been enhanced - just to name a few projects! Plus the new Davidsonville Ruritan Garden Pavilion is now open.
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Garden Field Trips: The first nature-based field trips in the gardens begin this spring! More information is here.
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Parking Lot: The parking lot expansion project finishes up this spring, opening up 120 spots!
Check out our most recent Annual Report for more about these and other projects.
What's next? These are just some of the projects in the works:
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Education Pavilion: We're currently working on funding for the construction of a new open-air education pavilion to hold up to 120 people.
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Horticulture Complex: We're in the design phase of a new horticulture complex to better manage and maintain the gardens.
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Waterfront Expansion: We've begun research on improving and expanding the waterfront on the South River.
Have questions? Please feel free to contact executive director Rod Cofield at rodcofield@historiclondontown.org with your thoughts!
The Future of Historic London Town and Gardens
In 2017 the Board of the London Town Foundation approved a new Operations and Capital Improvement Plan for Historic London Town and Gardens. This document provides a strategic vision for the site during the next ten years.
London Town's new mission is "to inspire a deeper understanding of our region’s history, environment, culture, and arts through living history, historical artifacts, experiential public gardens, and collaborative cultural & arts
programs."
The Foundation, in partnership with Anne Arundel County, will make Historic London Town and Gardens one of the premier history and horticultural sites in the region to support the County's goal of being a great place to live, work, and play. To accomplish our goals, the Foundation is deepening our partnership with Anne Arundel County and the wider community.
We welcome any and all support from individuals, businesses, and other community partners. Please join us if you are interested in helping London Town become a great place for Anne Arundel County and Maryland!
To learn more, contact Rod Cofield, Executive Director, at 410-222-1919 x206 or executivedirector@historiclondontown.org
Operational Changes
The new operations and capital improvement plan consists of two main components: operational changes and capital improvements. On the operations side, we will enhance our programming in many ways. This will be in addition to our exisiting focus on colonial history. Some highlights include the following:
Become the 4th tall-ship dock on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, enabling a variety of programming connected to the South River
Additionally, we will work to increase staffing as needed, strive to meet best practices in the museum and public garden fields, and always aim to improve the visitor experience.
Capital Improvement Highlights
What will London Town look like ten years from now in 2027? In addition to the operational changes listed on the previous page, we will also be physically transforming. Some capital improvements will improve the visitor experience, such as new pavilions for programming and an expanded T-dock for tall ships. Others will be more back of the house work to make everything run more smoothly and in a more attractive manner. Here are some of the highlights we’ll undertake:
