[RP TownTalk] Roadway Surface

[Robert Oppenheim]

Don Lynch wrote:

 > I didn't know NOAA has some connection to the ERCO building.
 >
 > I have heard that there was some mosquito research performed there.
 >
 > Does anyone have any info regarding NOAA?
 >
 > Don

Don and Todd touch on a lot of history here...

1) The now abandoned ERCO building at the north end of Lafayette
was for a time used by NOAA to store and sell maps. Hence it was
referred to as the [old] NOAA building. Do not confuse this with
the new NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction - which
is under construction just a couple of blocks east as part of
the M-Square Research and Technology Park. (You can see pictures
of both the inside and outside of the new NOAA building here
http://www.ncep.noaa.gov/news/ncwcp/s053.shtml ).

2) The Mosquito Control Section of the Maryland Department of
Agriculture rentrf space in a building next to the main
ERCO building until about 2006.

3) In early 1990, River Road was added to this property. At that
time, the developer wanted to build a road (Rivertech) from
River Road to Lafayette, but some residents of Riverdale Park
loudly objected to it for fear of traffic. As a result, Rivertech
stopped short, and no roadway or right of way was established
from there to Lafayette, but the private parking lot still made
a conneciton. For a time, the parking lot was chained off so cars
could not use it as a short cut. When this was opened, it proved
popular with Riverdale residents, and does not generate all that
much cut thru traffic. Today, the property is owned by University
of Md. They have indicated a willingness to keep the passage way
open, but as I understand it, they are under no obligation to do so.

4) In 1937, Henry Berliner purchased 50 acres of land in Riverdale,
Maryland, strategically located near the College Park Airport,
and built the large Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO)
factory and airstrip.

"Berliner outfitted his plant with features luxurious for the
day, such as an early form of air conditioning. Elegant touches
are still visible, like the richly grained wood in the lobby and
conference room, and the walls of glass brick, now painted."

"One of ERCO's most significant achievements was the development
of the Ercoupe aircraft. The first Ercoupe, serial No. 1, was
owned by George Brinckerhoff, the operator of the College Park
Airport, and flown there. It now is at the National Air and
Space Museum."

"Only 112 Ercoupes were completed before World War II.
During the war the Ercoupe played a minor but interesting
role in aircraft development as it became the first American
aircraft to take off and fly by rocket power."

"...in World War II, Erco produced gun turrets for bombers, and
the tour guides recalled the sound of machine gun fire in the
surrounding woods as the units were tested."

Thousands of Ercoupes were produced after the war.

"A sad day for the disappearing Maryland aircraft industry came
in 1952, when the last Ercoupe rolled off the production line in
Riverdale." ERCO continued to use the building for other purposes,
and merged with ACF Industries in 1954.

"In 1957, the ERCO Division merged with another ACF division,
Nuclear Energy Products Division, and became known as Nuclear
Products, ERCO Division. The Riverdale plant served as the
Nuclear Products Division Headquarters." [Hmmm, I wonder if
there could be radio active junk buried there.]

The ERCO plant was abandoned in the mid to late 1960s, although
the buildings continued to be used for other purposes by the
Federal government, including NOAA for maps.

The ERCO runways remained abandoned for years as an overgrown
field, and was occasionally used by local residents to operated
remote-controlled model aircraft. [and was a great place to walk
dogs off leash].

Mike Mewshaw recalled, “I grew up in the 1970s going to Erco
when we were kids. I remember walking the airfield & seeing just
mounts of trash & junk. I remember walking through the woods &
seeing tail sections & cockpit sections just sitting there. My
grandparents (Harvey & Margie Holcombe) lived on Taylor Road
and even though it was a junk yard we always found something
out there unusual.”

"In 2002, the Maryland Historical Trust recommended that the
main building was eligible to be listed in the National Register
of Historic Places."

The above quotes are from the following sites which have more
interesting ERCO stories, history and old photos:

http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/Body_by_Erco.html?c=y&page=1
http://www.maam.org/aircraft/erco.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering_and_Research_Corporation
http://www.airfields-freeman.com/MD/Airfields_MD_PG_C.html#erco


-Rob