On January 13th, 2021, the Secretary of the Interior designated Frieda’s Cottage as a National Historic Landmark. It is the first Landmark in Rockville! It earned this remarkable national recognition for its association with Dr. Frieda Fromm-Reichmann and her significant contributions to the field of medicine as a psychoanalyst.
This designation goes a long way towards recognizing and elevating Frieda’s achievements, compassionate and pioneering treatment of schizophrenic patients, dedication to her chosen profession, and teachings with those of her male peers.
It is an extraordinary honor for Peerless Rockville, who restored and continues to care for this special historic property, to have it considered as a National Historic Landmark. It is our and the City of Rockville’s privilege to be associated with Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, a trail-blazing woman in the field of medicine when there were very few women, who transformed Chestnut Lodge into a renowned mental health institution, and ultimately changed how psychiatrists treat severe mental illness.
Dr. Fromm-Reichmann’s dedicated, compassionate, and daring work, as a pioneering woman in a male-oriented field, helped chart a new course for respectful and individual treatment in the field of interpersonal psychotherapy and her teachings impacting generations of medical professionals.
We emphatically agree that the Frieda Fromm-Reichmann cottage has exceptional national significance under National Historic Landmark (NHL) Criterion 2 for its association with Dr. Frieda Fromm-Reichmann as her residency in the cottage for two decades during the “golden age” in interpersonal psychoanalysis. In her home and home office, Fromm-Reichmann developed her technique for treating schizophrenia, setting the standard for treating severe mental illness through the methods of interpersonal psychiatry.
Peerless Rockville is tremendously proud of our restoration of Frieda’s Cottage, undertaken in 2009. The careful restoration of original materials, fixtures, and the plank flooring was accompanied by appropriate repairs to the slate roof, wood siding, and chimney. Extreme care was taken to respect the period of significance aligned with Dr. Fromm-Reichmann’s residency and to retain all possible architectural elements and character defining features in the interior as well as the exterior of the structure. The cottage thus retains a high degree of integrity in location, workmanship, feeling and association.
While Chestnut Lodge was tragically lost, the Lodge’s open surroundings are undisturbed as a passive City of Rockville park that thus preserves the route Frieda and her patients traveled between the cottage and the Lodge building.
It is truly a gem of a historic property with strong significance and integrity. Our organization is particularly proud to have played a role in the restoration, preservation and recognition of this site, and for its association with a strong female, Jewish, immigrant in the medical field.
Peerless Rockville is proud to have her cottage represent these amazing achievements for the benefit of the Rockville community and the entire country.
