Saving Merriweather Post Pavillion (1)

Wed, 11 May 2011 12:47:00 GMT

Posted by: weber_dubois22

Despite my residency here in Howard Country, there are a lot of things the

community has to offer that I’ve yet to experience and chief among them is the

Merriweather Post Pavilion, The outdoor amphitheater opened to the public in the 1967

and has served as the county’s “defining characteristic” that’s brought so many people

from all walks of life to their doors. I’m not terribly big on keeping up with current

events, but when I heard that the Rouse Company filled for a petition to add more than

21,000 residential units to a crescent of 50 or 60 some arches behind the Symphony

Woods, I was shocked. For starters, I wasn’t even aware the Merriweather was doing so

badly that the Rouse Company had decided to forgo all attempts to resurrect it and simply

sell it off for greener pastures. A website called “Save Merriweather”, run by Ian

Kennedy (an employee at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources) and Justin

Carlson, revealed more about the grassroots campaign of the same name. Working as a

non-profit organization, Save Merriweather’s campaign focus is solely the preservation

of the Pavilion and the halt development of Rouse Co.’s residential plans for the land.

on their website, you can send donations to their organization and chat with likeminded

people down with the cause on the website forum.

Kennedy and Carlson have gone has far as creating flyers and t-shirts to help spread the

word about the Pavilion’s “uncertain fate”, they’ve worked diligently in the effort to

convince the Howard County Council and the Zoning Board to keeping Merriweather as

is; an open house for all artists to utilize.

Despite what the Rouse Company would have people believe, the Merriweather’s

offerings do align with the population of Howard County, so their claim that the

community has “matured” beyond the musical fare of the amphitheater is puzzling. There

isn‘t a single soul I know who could claim to have outgrown the desire to see their

favorite bands perform in an open venue such as the Pavilion. Save Merriweather’s

network of support has become broad enough to give Zoning Board sessions pause in the

decision to approve petitions from the Rouse Company and request that the company

looks at the land’s situation in three different scenarios; leaving the land as it is, construct

5% of the units into affordable housing (something, Rouse Co. wishes to do), or increase

the affordability of the units to 10%. “Merriweather is one of the symbols of Columbia, a

defining characteristic that makes our planned community unique”, there are people who

would “sell their souls” to have an amphitheater like this one and Howard County is

trying to tear it down under the pretense that doesn’t make the desired revenue they want.

There’s word that they want to keep it open for the public for at least one more year, but

the Rouse Company is unwilling to sell it to anyone unless they agree to make it an

enclosed hall suitable for year round events.

If this happens, parking space will decrease more than it already has and bigger acts will

ultimately migrate to Pavilions like Wolf Trap and the Nissan Pavilion in Northern

Virginia. Maryland will be left without a major amphitheater if anyone agrees to Rouse

Co.’s terms and that’s something no one wants to see happen, not before one gets to

experience the Pavilion in the same way everyone else has. There are a lot of

fantastic tales about experiences had at the Merriweather, the once-in-a-lifetime

performances folk got to see from popular artists like The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Jonny

Cash and The Grateful Dead. While the attendance and number of performance rates may

not be as strong as they used to be, there isn’t anything about the Merriweather that states

it’ll always be that way. One suggestion is to simply increase the prices of the tickets,

perhaps even charge for parking in certain areas or even decrease the prices of the

merchandise sold for bands if the commission allows it.

Merriweather manager, Jean Parker declares that “they will run the Pavilion as they

always have until their told otherwise”, as Rouse, in the end, has the final say in the

regards to the Pavilion’s fate.

The chance that it’ll return to form, especially with all the support the community has

been showing through “Save Merriweather”, is simply too great to even think about

closing it off to bigger acts let alone for residential development or box stores. When

Rouse says that the Merriweather is an “outdated, money losing operation in decline”, it’s

hard not to believe that they simply want rid of the place as opposed to truly seeing

it as a revenue-killing machine. Regardless of how much money the amphitheater truly

makes or loses, Rouse sees more profit in developing the land for other purposes.

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Saving Merriweather Post Pavilion (2)

Wed, 11 May 2011 12:45:00 GMT

Posted by: weber_dubois22

Those who agree with the idea of enclosing Merriweather believe that they can

surround the pavilion with arts and crafts village, but those against it know that the

Merriweather cannot function as a profitable venue if this were to happen.

With all the talk of the Merriweather’s fate declared as “uncertain”, I feel motivated to

help in any way I possibly can, be it through donation of money or speaking with others

about this matter directly on the Save Merriweather.com forums. As stated before,

something as old and as grand as this Pavilion shouldn’t be tossed aside for something

like housing development, especially if the chance to revitalize it is big enough to take a

risk on.

It’s easy enough to say that a person or a place has no future and condemn it, but in my

opinion, it would be harder to try and restore it to its former glory. There’s a community

of people who don’t want to see this place vanish; Save Merriweather is doing everything

within their power to get those higher up in power to hear their pleas, reconsider the plans

to rid Maryland of important landmark and it would be foolish not to listen to them.

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Saving Merriweather Post Pavilion (3) - WORKS CITED

Wed, 11 May 2011 12:40:00 GMT

Posted by: weber_dubois22

Cadiz, Laura. "Board delays Rouse hearings; Impact of additional housing to be studied; Plan for pavilion also discussed; Columbia: [HOWARD Edition]." 25 Jul 2003, The Sun, Baltimore

Wan, William. "Pleas heard to keep venue; about 80 residents have their say on pavilion; It `symbolizes all that's right'; County ponders buying Merriweather Post; Columbia: [HOWARD Edition]." 21 Oct 2004, The Sun, Baltimore

Save Merriweather, 2 May. 2011. Web. 2 May 2011.

Spivack, Miranda S. "Concern Over a Change in Venue; Merriweather's Place in County Remains Unclear" 30 September 2004, Washington Post.com, Washington.

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