DC has many parks and woods to explore, but few of them include an art installation. Hidden in a clearing of the woods near the Palisades Rec Center in Northwest Washington DC is what visitors have named the Glass Forest (aka The Shrine).
When walking through the wood trails, wanderers will find an art installation that is constantly changing, featuring plays on the light peeking through the trees and the wind blowing through the branches. It’s a quiet place in DC to reflect.
While a visitor will find wind chimes and broken pieces of glass throughout the trail, the materials in the main pieces are meant to create art themselves, not be the art. The sounds the wind chimes make and the light the glass reflects is the art.
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History & Artist’s Vision
In 1992, neighbor James McMahon started to transform this spot in the woods into a quiet, meditative place for people to reflect on the art around them. It also gave him an artistic outlet while he was working at the Congressional Research Service, and has continued into his retirement while working with his wife at her art gallery and custom framing shop.
Pieces of mirrors, pipes, tools, and other found materials create a variety of pieces. Shards of glass are embedded in an old tree trunk, and suspended from branches via string. Light reflects off and through the glass, creating moving spotlights on the ground. On a windy day, the pipes and wood clanging together fills your ears.
The art is not the pieces themselves, but the affects that they have. For the shards of mirrors and crystal, the art is the light refracting from it. The pipes and wood suspended in the air have been built as wind chimes, with the sound of them hitting each other being the art.
Over the past 30 years, it has evolved with time. With every storm, season, and teenager, the art pieces have changed. Many of the wooden pieces are created from fallen trees and cutting down the invasive bamboo near the clearing and mirror the natural changes happening in the woods.
Into The Woods with James McMahon from Doug Dupin on Vimeo.
Interview with the artist beings at 1:59
What to Expect
The experience is weather dependent. A bright day with some wind will have the art pieces moving and let you experience it best. It is completely outdoors, so pay attention to the weather.
For the light refractions, the area is pretty wooded with tree cover, so you really want a bright day. Fall through spring, when the trees re bare and let more light will give you a different experience than summer, when you’re surrounded by greenery.
The art is meant to change with the environment, and there are constantly tweaks or additions being made, so every visit will be different. Some pieces may be more in a state of decay.
It’s a quiet spot to reflect and relax, and you can feel in your own world. However, it’s not absent all noise. It’s along the flight path of planes landing at National Airport (DCA), and you can hear traffic from Canal Road. However, it is still one of the most peaceful spots in DC.
The art isn’t meant to be clean or minimalistic. It’s created out of found pieces and natural materials. This is a different experience from going to a carefully curated art gallery. I believe this is best suited for locals who are looking for something new to explore, not tourists who have limited time in the city. For tourists, I would recommend looking at the art lover’s DC itinerary that we put together.
I also would not recommend it for children. A central part of the installation is the shards of glass and mirrors, which is not exactly great for kids.
How to Get There
The Glass Forest is in the woods near the Palisades Rec Center, located at 5200 Sherier Place NW. There is a small parking lot at the rec center that is frequently full, especially when the weather is nice. If it is, you can find street parking fairly easily.
From the parking lot, walk towards the rec center. There is a path that runs in front of the rec center to the left and right, right along that parking lot. Take a left.
This trail is the old Palisades trolley line path. The first house on the path with the General Lafayette sign has some information about the trolley if you want to stop for a read.
After the General Lafayette house, the first path into the woods on your right will lead you into the Glass Forest. If you miss it, the next path will as well, but I like approaching it from the first path.
Once you enter that path, are almost immediately brought to the Glass Forest. You’ll first see more found materials art. When you reach the clearing, you’ll see the glass-based art.
There is a path deeper into the woods and downhill if you want to explore more nature, or you can continue along the old Capital Crescent trail for a quiet walk.
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