Camp Woodlands is a 34-acre site located on Broad Creek which after joining South River, flows into the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, Maryland. Camp Woodlands is home to the nationally acclaimed TeePee (Lamb’s Lodge), a 12-sided polygon with a central fireplace received an Award of Merit from the American Institute of Architects in 1954.
Lamb's Lodge
In the early 1950s, the teepee at Girl Scouts’ Camp Woodlands was conceived and built by a team of volunteers that included the Anne Arundel County Girl Scouts Council, the Naval Academy Math Department, and numerous Girl Scouts and their families.
For young architect Charles Lamb, just out of college and working at a new architectural firm later to be known as RTKL, it was a family affair. By 1950, both of his parents, Reginald C. and Ruby M. Lamb, were serving on the Camp Council, and his mother, who was the current Commissioner, broached with him the idea of donating his abilities. Sadly, neither parent survived long enough to see the teepee through to its completion, nor did they see their son receive the 1954 AIA Certificate of Merit for its design. In recognition of his parent’s contributions to the Girl Scouts they went on to name the building after them at its dedication ceremony in May 1954. Click the lamblodge.org link to read the full story.
Inspiration for the conical, circular design was taken from the Girl Scout custom of grace before meals, and taps in the evening. At those times they’d gather in a circle, holding hands and singing. The central fireplace offered 360 degrees of visibility.
The challenge of building a lodge to accommodate 100 Girl Scouts at the dawn of the Baby Boom with volunteer manpower and limited funds netted a result that exceeded expectations. And now, almost sixty years later, it is poised to be included in the National Registry of Historic Places.
