Hyattsville is adding to its park map this fall, and two of the changes started with residents. A pop-up park that a local co-op set up behind Yes! Organic Market is being rebuilt as a permanent trailhead park with a covered stage. A parcel on Carnaby Street that the city took over from a developer got its official name from a resident vote, and the city held its ribbon cutting this morning, October 10.
The October calendar has moved to Driskell Park while the Baltimore Avenue site is under construction. Driskell's own name, and the name of the woods next to it, came out of the same kind of community process. Taken together, these updates show how Hyattsville builds and names its public spaces: the community starts something, and the city turns it into a permanent park.
The Spot Was Never Supposed to Be Permanent
The Spot began in 2021 as an informal pop-up park for community events and concerts. It sits at 5215 Baltimore Ave., near the Arts District and along the Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail. The idea came from the SoHy Co-op, a nonprofit that supports local businesses, and a grant from the Anacostia Trails Heritage Area paid for it. Public art and live music soon followed.
The city took over the site in stages. Each stage gives the space more of a park's permanent features while keeping its original job as a place for people to gather.
| Phase one, begun late 2024 | Phase two, underway since September 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Main feature | Picnic pavilion on the south side | Covered stage facing a lawn with room for 60 people |
| Seating | Game tables and movable lawn seating | Seating area with movable furniture |
| Kids | Children's play equipment | Playground |
| Bikes | Bike parking and repair stations near the trail | Bike parking, a bike repair station, and a tree-lined path to the Trolley Trail |
| Extras | Misters; north side leveled for lawn use | Funded by $1.4 million in grants |
| Timing | Reported November 2024 | Projected to finish in early 2027 |
The stage is the biggest change. The Spot became a popular place for live music, and phase two gives performers a covered stage of their own. The planned path also turns the site from a park that happens to sit near the Trolley Trail into a trailhead connected to it. You can see that in how the project is now described: Hyattsville Wire's September 25 report calls it the new Trolley Trailhead Park, and the work follows a conceptual site design the city published in March 2024.
The city also built a viewing platform at the site for "construction vehicle enthusiasts of all ages," according to the Wire. Families with toddlers who love excavators have a reason to stop by before the stage goes up.
The latest reporting confirms that phase two is underway but doesn't say whether the grounds are fenced off right now. Check before you plan a picnic there this month.
A Park on Carnaby Street, Named by Ballot
In Ward 3, a newer public space went through a different process to reach the same result. The city's naming project on Hello Hyattsville explains that the park on Carnaby Street was acquired from the developers of Gateway West in 2025 and had never been formally named.
The city didn't pick a name itself. It opened a community vote that ran from June 4 to July 6, 2026. "Carnaby Park" came first with 31 votes, 49% of the poll, and the project page said the choice would go to the City Council.
The proposal behind the winning name does not honor a person. It points to London's original Carnaby Street, which the city describes as a pedestrian center, and presents the name as a nod to a multi-use space where the community gathers. The idea is the same one that shaped The Spot: a park that works mainly as a place for people to meet.
The ribbon cutting and renaming celebration ran from 10 to 11 a.m. today at 3449 Carnaby Street, with donuts, coffee and, in the city's words, "neighborhood company." If you missed it, the park is still a new public space on your side of town. And in Ward 3, a park name now depends on a few dozen votes.
Driskell Park Holds the October Calendar
While the Baltimore Avenue stage is being built, Driskell Park is hosting several of the city's outdoor events this month. Here's what the city has scheduled there and nearby:
- Saturday, October 10, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: The Prince George's County Green Festival at Driskell Park, with food trucks, kid-friendly activities and Pawchella, a pet pavilion with adoptable animals from the County Animal Shelter. Hyattsville is adding an iNaturalist Bioblitz from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and tree tours of Nacotchtank Woods from 1 to 2 p.m. and 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Space is limited for both, and the city takes RSVPs at [email protected].
- Saturday, October 17, 7 to 11 a.m.: The Zombie Run at Driskell Park.
- Saturday, October 17, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Invasive plant removal at Melrose Park, for anyone who wants to put in some hands-on work.
- Saturday, October 24, 4 to 6 p.m.: The family Treat-O-Rama at Driskell Park, followed by Trunk-or-Treat at Northwestern High School from 6 to 8 p.m. The city has more details at hyattsville.org/halloween.
Today's tree tours are the easiest way into the most recent renaming story, because the woods they walk through had a different name until last year.
The Same Process Renamed Driskell and Its Woods
Driskell Park used to be Magruder Park, named for the landowner who donated it. When residents discussed renaming it because of a racist restriction in the deed, the city renamed it for the artist David Driskell. Some residents suggested a second name during that discussion: Nacotchtank.
That suggestion was eventually adopted for the woods. In November 2025, Hyattsville Wire reported that the forest next to the park, formerly Magruder Woods, had become Nacotchtank Woods. The city worked with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, which owns the land, and with the Piscataway Indian Nation.
The name also ties into the river nearby. The Nacotchtank band of the Piscataway Indian Nation lived where the Anacostia and Potomac rivers meet for thousands of years before European contact. Their name comes from "anaquashatanik," meaning "a town of traders," which was also anglicized as "Anacostine," the source of the river's modern name.
So by the end of October, three city spaces will have names chosen through public discussion or a vote: Driskell Park, Nacotchtank Woods and Carnaby Park. A fourth, on Baltimore Avenue, will have a stage built where a co-op once put on concerts.
What Changes on Your Calendar Next Year
The early-2027 finish date for the Trolley Trailhead Park matters for planning. This fall, Driskell Park is carrying the city's outdoor calendar. The covered stage, connected to the Trolley Trail near the Arts District, adds a performance space with a roof over it, something an open lawn doesn't have.
For anyone who rides the Trolley Trail, the bike parking, the repair station and the tree-lined connecting path make the park an obvious place to stop. For anyone in Ward 3, Carnaby Park now has an official name for map searches, meetups and park permits. For families, the Baltimore Avenue site will add a playground to the city's park options.
The fall schedule runs through Driskell Park until then. The Green Festival is today, the Zombie Run and the Melrose Park cleanup are next Saturday, and Treat-O-Rama starts at 4 p.m. on October 24.
When a new park, a trail connection or a performance space goes in near a block you're thinking about, it affects how that street works day to day, and it's worth looking at closely before you buy, sell or rent there. If you'd like a practical read on how projects like the Trolley Trailhead Park fit into a decision you're weighing in Hyattsville, Payam Bakhaje is glad to walk through it with you. Let's Connect.
