Historic Districts

CHAPTER 5:
HISTORIC DISTRICTS
The information presented in this chapter is adapted from
the book Places from the Past: The Tradition in Gardez Bien in IN THIS CHAPTER:
Montgomery County, Maryland by Clare Lise Cavicchi.
• Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
• Beallsville (17/1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
INTRODUCTION • Boyds (18/8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Historic districts possess a significant concentration, • Brookeville (23/65) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
linkage, or continuity of sites, buildings, structures, or • Capitol View Park (31/7)* . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
objects united historically or aesthetically by plan or • Cedar Grove (14/27) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
physical development. Montgomery County has a diverse • Chevy Chase Village (35/13)* . . . . . . . . . . 97
• Clarksburg (13/10)*. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
collection of historic districts. They encompass small rural
• Forest Glen (31/8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
towns (Beallsville and Hyattstown), railroad communities • Garrett Park (30/13) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102
(Boyds), and streetcar suburbs (Chevy Chase Village), • Germantown (19/13) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
each of which has varying settings and distinct resources. • Glen Echo Park (35/26) . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
This chapter provides historical information about each • Hawkins Lane (35/54)* . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
district and gives an overview of the unique nature of • Hyattstown (10/59)* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
the historic resources. • Kensington (31/6)* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
• Linden (36/2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
• National Park Seminary (36/1) . . . . . . . . . .109
• Polychrome (32/5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
• Sandy Spring (28/11) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
• Somerset (36/35) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
• Takoma Park (37/3)* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

*Historic districts marked with an asterisk (*) have

district-specific design guidelines. The guidance in this
document may supplement those guidelines adopted
specifically for a historic district. In any cases where the
district-specific guidelines and the Design Guidelines for
Historic Sites and Districts in Montgomery County, Maryland are
in conflict, the district-specific guidelines prevail. Please
contact the Planning Department Historic Preservation
office for additional information.

Historic District Maps

The maps in this chapter are for illustrative purposes
only. Contact Historic Preservation staff for additional
information.

Design Guidelines for Historic Sites and Districts 91

Historic Districts

BEALLSVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT - 17/1

The Nature of Beallsville and its Resources
A small rural historic district, Beallsville was a crossroads community that served travelers and area residents
for over two hundred years. The resources, which span a century, include commercial and residential structures
which are vernacular in style.

Located on the 1838 mail route between Poolesville

and Barnesville (now Rt. 109), Beallsville was a favorite
place for local farmers to meet, pick up mail and a few
supplies, and learn the local news. In the mid-19th century,
Beallsville had a post office, gristmill, blacksmith shop,
wheelwright, and general store, as well as the Monocacy
Chapel and several houses.

During the Civil War, Union soldiers stationed in the

Poolesville area camped at Beallsville. The Monocacy
Chapel suffered great damage as soldiers used it as a horse
stable and its pews for firewood. In 1912, the Daughters
of the American Confederacy built the present stone
Monocacy Chapel commemorating the earlier brick
chapel on the same site. Many of the Upper Montgomery
County residents who served in the Confederate Army
are buried in the Monocacy Cemetery. A memorial tablet
lists 32 names. The 13-acre cemetery contains some 3,000
graves.
Located in the heart of the county’s agricultural district,
Beallsville marks the intersection of two historic travel Beallsville has had a post office and general store since
routes. Anglicans in the Beallsville area petitioned the the early 19th century, located over the years at each of
General Assembly for a Chapel of Ease in 1734, and so the intersection’s four corners. H.C. Darby operated a
the Monocacy Chapel was constructed on the road from store on the southeast corner (now gone) before building
Georgetown to the Mouth of the Monocacy River (now the present Darby Store and Post Office in l910 on the
Rt. 28). Nearby, Medley Hill became the first polling place northwest corner. The two-story, front-gabled structure
in the area after the American Revolution. In September is typical of Montgomery County general stores built
l790, the Potomack-Federalist faction in Maryland’s early from the late 1800s through the early 1900s. The Staub
politics met in Beallsville to “consider the importance of Building on the southwest corner, 19800 Darnestown
the election for state and continental representatives.” Road, was one of the first auto dealerships in the area.
Although defeated by the opposing Baltimore faction, Built circa 1921, the structure was later used as a feed
they obtained single district elections of congressmen, store and post office before becoming a restaurant and
as opposed to elections at large. This was the start of post office. The spacious Darby House (1921) at 19811
the Medley Voting District, and the two-party system in Darnestown Road illustrates the economic importance
Maryland. of the merchant in small communities.

Completion of the B&O’s Metropolitan Branch in

1873 spurred development of nearby Sellman Station,
brought increased travelers and commerce in Beallsville,
and triggered the construction of several modest Gothic
Revival-style cottages popular during the period.

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BOYDS HISTORIC DISTRICT - 18/8

The Nature of Boyds and its Resources
Boyds, a well-preserved and cohesive railroad community in western Montgomery County, is representative
of post-Civil War development and growth generated by the coming of the railroad to the area in the last
quarter of the 19th century. There are three general areas within the historic district of Boyds: the commercial
area north of the railroad along Barnesville Road, the Victorian village streetscape along Clopper Road and
upper White Ground Road, and the folk architecture of the freed black community farther south along White
Ground Road. Architecturally, most of the dwellings in the village itself date from the 1870s and 80s and reflect
vernacular Gothic Revival detailing, including a cross-gabled roof and bracketed porches.

The community illustrates the impact of social and

technical change on the area’s agricultural community over
the past century. It also reflects the early role of black
citizens in rural parts of the County. Boyds was originally
settled in 1753 on a tract of land named Resurvey of
Gum Spring. The land was primarily farmed as a tobacco
plantation, and the first residents were brought as slaves
to the area. Following the abolition of slavery in 1864,
some of the freedmen purchased property adjacent to
the plantation. They built several of the houses and
community buildings that stand along the southern
section of White Ground Road.

Colonel James A. Boyd, a well-traveled Scottish contractor

and stonemason who participated in the building of the
Metropolitan Branch of the B&O Railroad, established
the village of Boyds. In 1873, Boyd purchased 1100 acres
of land on both sides of the newly-laid railroad track
and built some of the first dwellings in Boyds to house
railroad workmen. He then built his own residence as a
progressive farming operation called Bonnie Brae, with
several tenant houses and a dairy.

Boyds thrived because of its agricultural activities and Several buildings in the historic district represent local
its proximity to the railroad. By 1879, the village had African-American history. St. Mark’s Methodist Church,
a population of 100. James E. Williams of Clarksburg 19620 White Ground Road, was built in 1893 for black
constructed many of the buildings in the district, congregates. The Diggens House, at 19701 White Ground
including the Boyds Presbyterian Church (1876), the Road, with two rooms on each level, is a typical example
Presbyterian School (c1870s), and numerous houses for of post-Emancipation black housing. Boyds Negro
himself and his family. In addition, the railroad brought School, constructed in 1895, is important as a surviving
summer residents to the Boyds area to enjoy the rural example of early education for rural black children in
setting away from the heat and congestion of the city, the county.
and many of the residences where originally constructed
by these part-time residents.

Design Guidelines for Historic Sites and Districts 93

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BROOKEVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT - 23/65

LISTED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
The Nature of Brookeville and its Resources
Brookeville is a rural crossroads community with over 40 historic resources. The district is largely residential,
with the majority of houses dating from the 19th century. Public buildings include a church, school, and post
office. The district contains stone, brick, log, and frame structures designed in architectural styles including
Federal, Greek, and Italianate.

Richard Thomas founded the community of Brookeville

in 1794 on land his wife Deborah Brooke Thomas
inherited from her grandfather James Brooke. Brooke
was an influential Quaker settler and a major landholder.
Thomas laid out 56 quarter-acre lots sited along two major
streets and two side streets.

Quickly growing as a bustling market town, Brookeville

had two mills, a tanning yard, stores, a post office, and
two schools. During the early 19th century, Brookeville
was a center for commerce and education serving the
surrounding, largely agricultural area. The Brookeville
Academy, established in 1808, which attracted students
from Baltimore, Washington, and Frederick, was one of
the first private academies in the country. Male students
came from throughout the state, boarding with local
families and studying a classical curriculum with the aid of
a 600-volume library. The first story of the stone building
was built in 1810 and the second story added in 1840. In
later years, the building served as the Odd Fellows Hall
and as an annex for St. John’s Church. In 1989, the Town
of Brookeville purchased and restored the Academy as a
community center.

The town played an important role in the developing

science of agriculture. Town residents, including Thomas
Moore and Caleb Bentley, were part of a network of
progressive agronomists who initiated and promoted
significant improvements in farming methods. By 1880,
Brookeville was the third largest community in the county,
with 206 residents. The town incorporated in 1890
with a local government of three elected officials. The
town’s commercial business began to decline in the early
1900s, as the advent of the automobile changed mobility
patterns. Covering approximately 60 acres, Brookeville
today consists of 55 individual properties with about
125 residents.

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CAPITOL VIEW PARK HISTORIC DISTRICT - 31/7

The Nature of Capitol View Park and its Resources
Established as a railroad suburb, Capitol View Park is a picturesque blend of architectural styles dating from
the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The largely residential district of over 250 buildings includes Queen
Anne, Colonial Revival, and Craftsman style houses.

In 1887, Mary and Oliver Harr purchased and subdivided

land along the B&O’s Metropolitan Branch between
Forest Glen and Kensington. The community’s name
came from the view of the Capitol dome afforded by the
upper stories of some of the early houses. Because of
the growth of trees in intervening years, this view is no
longer possible. Capitol View Park, however, continues
to retain the scenic, rural setting which attracted its first
inhabitants from Washington. Narrow, country lanes
wind between large lots, the average of which is 12,000
square feet.

Capitol View Park represents the architectural history of

Montgomery County over the last century. The first houses
built in Capitol View Park were designed in the Queen
Anne style, characterized by their picturesque rooflines,
large scale, numerous porches, and variety of building
materials, including clapboard and fishscale shingles.
Notable Queen Anne-style houses, built in the 1880s
and 1890s, are found on Capitol View Avenue, Meredith By the turn of the twentieth century, smaller-scale
Avenue, Lee Street, and Menlo Avenue. Residents built houses were becoming popular. Designed to harmonize
Colonial Revival style dwellings beginning in the 1890s. with natural settings, these structures have a horizontal
These dwellings feature classical details including cornices emphasis and were painted in natural tones. This group
with entablatures, heavy window molding, and large round includes Bungalow- and Craftsman-style houses built
porch columns. from 1900 into the 1920s. Early examples are found on
Stoneybrook Drive, Meredith Avenue, and Capitol View
Capitol View Park includes a small commercial district Avenue.
near the site of the railroad station. The building known
as The Castle, 10 Post Office Road, began as a general The pace of growth in Capitol View Park continued
store and post office in 1883. National Park Seminary’s at a constant rate until the 1940s when a construction
headmaster John Cassedy enlarged the structure and his boom added nearly 50 houses to the community. Since
successor James Ament transformed the business into then, houses have been added at a more leisurely rate,
an early sort of shopping center. Several small stores, continuing the pattern of diversity that characterizes
post office, and apartments were united in a castle theme Capitol View Park.
created by granite crenellations and turrets. Nearby,
William Fowler operated a grocery store by 1925. The
one-story Fowler’s Store still stands, known today as
Forest Glen Country Store.

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CEDAR GROVE HISTORIC DISTRICT - 14/27

The Nature of Cedar Grove and its Resources
Cedar Grove is a small crossroads community that grew in the late 19th century with the arrival of the nearby
railroad. The district consists of six historic resources, which are a church, a general store, and four houses.
Two-story Vernacular Victorian frame buildings characterize the district. The period of significance is from
the late 19th century to the early 20th century.

In 1851, Oliver T. Watkins acquired 200 acres, and by

1865, constructed a frame house on a knoll on what would
become Ridge Road. When the Metropolitan Branch of
the B&O Railroad opened in 1873, Ridge Road became a
well-traveled route to the Germantown station. In this era,
Watkins opened a general store. The Cedar Grove General
Store, 23412 Ridge Road, built in 1909, is the successor
to the original store and is built on the same site. The
store is a two-story, front-gable structure, a commercial
building form popular in rural communities from the
early 1800s through the early 1900s. By 1878, Watkins had
built another house near the store. The Oliver T. Watkins’
House, 23406 Ridge Road, is a side-gable folk house of
frame construction. Over the years, the conveniently
located house became a storekeepers’ residence.

The Upper Seneca Baptist Church dates from 1888. The

addition of the church to this crossroads community
increased Cedar Grove’s importance as a rural center.
The congregation, founded in 1805, is one of the oldest
Baptist congregations in Maryland. Members of the
Watkins family are buried in the cemetery.

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CHEVY CHASE VILLAGE HISTORIC DISTRICT - 35/13

The Nature of Chevy Chase Village and its Resources
Chevy Chase Village is a cohesive, planned streetcar suburb with an exceptional concentration of high style
residences of the late 19th and early 20th century, including the Colonial Revival, Neoclassical, Shingle, Tudor
Revival, Italian Renaissance, and Craftsman. Locally and nationally known architects designed many of the
houses.

Chevy Chase was Montgomery County’s first and most

influential streetcar suburb planned and developed
between 1892 and 1930. It was the most visionary
investment in Montgomery County real estate in the
late 19th and early 20th centuries – representing the
Chevy Chase Land Company’s prototype for a planned
suburb and setting the tone for early 20th century
neighborhoods throughout northwest Washington and
southern Montgomery County. Architecturally, Chevy
Chase Village contains the county’s highest concentration
of outstanding architect-designed and builder vernacular
suburban houses rendered in post-Victorian styles of
the period 1890-1930. Together, the surviving plan and
architecture of Chevy Chase Village represents one of
the most intact and important examples of suburban
planning and architectural expression built in the region
before World War II.

Chevy Chase is nationally recognized as a prototypical,

turn-of-the-century streetcar suburb providing upscale
residences in a comprehensively planned environment.
The driving force behind the development of Chevy
Chase was Senator Francis G. Newlands of Nevada.
Newlands is recognized as one of the first entrepreneurs
to appreciate the speculative implications of the streetcar.
Chevy Chase gets its name from a 560-acre tract of land
patented here in 1751 by Colonel Joseph Belt, known as
“Cheivy Chace.” The name has historic associations with
a 1388 battle between England and Scotland that involved
a border raid, or “chevauchee,” of hunting grounds,
known as a “chace.”

The Chevy Chase Land Company was incorporated

in 1890 by Newlands and Senator William M. Stewart,
also of Nevada. Newlands arranged for the purchase
of land along the proposed extension of Connecticut
Avenue from the built area of Washington on into the
Maryland countryside. Under his plan, his associates,
realtors Colonel George Augustus Armes and Edward J.
Stellwagen, purchased the land that was then transferred
to the Land Company. Landowners who appeared to be

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Historic Districts

holding out for excessive profit were bypassed by a shift The first section of Chevy Chase to be developed was
in the course of the road and trolley. This accounts for Section 2, now known as Chevy Chase Village, recorded
Connecticut Avenue’s change in direction north of Chevy in 1892 and opened for sale in 1893. Unfortunately,
Chase Circle. 1893 also marked the end of a real estate boom because
of a national economic depression – the Panic of 1893
From the beginning, Newlands sought to develop a – and early sales in Chevy Chase were slow. By 1897,
singular neighborhood of the finest quality. Newlands’ only 27 houses had been built and occupied. Most of the
comprehensive plan included zoning, architectural design first houses were concentrated in the area immediately
guidelines, landscaping, and infrastructure. The Chevy surrounding Chevy Chase Circle. After the turn of the
Chase Land Company spent millions on infrastructure century, sales picked up. Approximately, 145 houses were
improvements, including the construction of the trolley constructed by 1916, and within the year, lots in Section
line, known as the Rock Creek Railway. The company 2 were largely sold out.
built trestle bridges over Rock Creek, graded Connecticut
Avenue from Calvert Street to Chevy Chase Lake, installed Civic and recreational amenities were integral to the
water and sewer systems, and constructed a power planned development of Chevy Chase. In keeping
house to provide electricity. The $1,250,000 corporate with Newland’s concern that the new subdivision have
investment in the infrastructure of the region was a buildings of “community interest”, a series of early efforts
remarkable statement of faith in the growth and progress were made to plant educational, civic, and recreational
of the national Capitol area and created the foundation institutions in this area. The Land Company built the
for regional community building on an unprecedented Village Hall at 5906 Connecticut Avenue in 1896. It
comprehensive scale. accommodated the post office, library, and fire apparatus.
In addition, Newlands and the Land Company supported
The Land Company hired talented designers, including the development of the Chevy Chase Club by subsidizing
architects and a landscape architect, to design the early fox hunting activities and, in 1894, acting as an
community. Nathan Barrett, a New York landscape intermediary in securing the lease of the original Bradley
architect, created wide streets, large lots, and parkland. farmhouse as a headquarters for the club. Other efforts by
Trees and shrubs were carefully selected to represent the the Land Company to provide full community amenities
best in contemporary style and taste. Leon E. Dessez, included construction of a two-room schoolhouse on
appointed the company’s architect, prepared strict Bradley Lane in 1898 and creation of a popular summer
building regulations. Houses fronting on Connecticut amusement park – Chevy Chase Lake.
Avenue were to cost at least $5000 and had required
setbacks of 35 feet. Houses on side streets had to be Domestic architecture built between 1892 and 1930 is
worth at least $3000 and have 25 foot setbacks. Individual characterized by the combining of different academic
lots in both areas had to be at least sixty feet wide. architectural styles and forms. It is typical for buildings of
Rowhouses, commercial buildings, apartments, and alleys this era to display elements of several different styles and
were prohibited. In addition, Dessez reviewed plans for types of ornamentation all on one structure. Academic
proposed houses within the village. Eclecticism is a term often used to describe this type of
architecture – not meaning that buildings were designed
with little forethought, but rather that the exuberance
of the period led designers to break with rigid stylistic
rules and freely combine the best of different forms and
decorative motifs.

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The Chevy Chase Land Company built the first few Outstanding landscape features which bear testimony
residences, setting the architectural tone for later houses. to Nathan Barrett’s original landscape plan, include the
These houses were designed by Lindley Johnson, a arched canopy of trees framing West Irving Street, and
successful, sophisticated Philadelphia architect known for triangular park-like lots at Magnolia Parkway and Chevy
his large country estates and resort structures. Several of Chase Circle, and at Laurel Parkway and Kirke Street. A
these early buildings closely resemble the house sketches major landscape feature – Chevy Chase Circle, located on
on an 1892 promotional map of Chevy Chase. The the DC-Maryland border – unites the two jurisdictions
first house occupied in the community was the Prairie- and provide a gateway to Chevy Chase. The sandstone
influenced Stellwagen House at 5804 Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Chase Circle Fountain, built in 1932 and dedicated
built for Land Company officer Edward Stellwagen to Newlands, was recently restored by the Chevy Chase
around 1892. Another original Land Company house Land Company.
is the Tudor Revival Herbert Claude House, at 5900
Connecticut Avenue, which held the community’s first Taken as a whole, the buildings in Chevy Chase Village
post office from 1893-96. Finally, the Newlands-Corby – sited along the planned, curving street system and
Mansion (1894), 9 Chevy Chase Circle, was constructed surrounded by mature landscaping – represent an
as a gateway to the new planned community of Chevy important cultural expression of American wealth and
Chase. Senator Francis Newlands built this mansion for power in the early 20th century and reflect in their designs
his own residence. Its present Tudor Revival appearance the optimism and comfort considered central to domestic
is the work of Arthur Heaton, c1909-1914. architecture of the post-Victorian American suburb.

The residential architecture of Chevy Chase prior to

World War I was characterized by large scale Shingle,
Colonial Revival, and Tudor style houses usually built
on sizeable lots. Many of the houses, owned by wealthy
businessmen or professionals, were conservative and
largely symmetrical shingled or stuccoed Four Squares
or side-gabled Colonial Revival buildings with ample
columned porches. With its maturing tree-bordered
streets, the neighborhood conveyed an ideal spot for
privacy and refuge from the city.

After the war, Chevy Chase benefitted from the

prosperity of the 1920s and the explosive growth of
the federal government. As reflected in real estate
advertisements of the period, Chevy Chase Village had
emerged as an established, planned suburb by the early
1920s. Advertisements noticing sales of both new and
existing houses identified the area as “Old Chevy Chase,
Maryland” or the “Most Exclusive Section of Chevy
Chase, Maryland.” Lot sales were so good in Chevy
Chase by 1922 that the Land Company struggled to
keep up with demand by opening several new sections
– including Section 5, Section 1, and Section 1-A. Chevy
Chase Village gradually evolved from a scattering of
exclusive seasonal houses for the well-to-do who built
large country residences on spacious lots to a solid,
middle-class residential district of upscale houses mixed
with smaller, less costly Period houses.

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CLARKSBURG HISTORIC DISTRICT - 13/10

The Nature of Clarksburg and its Resources
Clarksburg is a rural historic district built on the linear Pennsylvania plan along the Georgetown-Frederick Road.
The more than 20 historic buildings within the district include residential and commercial structures, which are
largely frame and designed in styles that include Victorian Vernacular, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival.

John Clark built a general store and became the

community’s first postmaster. The post office, established
in 1800, was one of the first in the county. By 1850, the
town was the third most populous in the county, and the
residents numbered 250 by 1879.

As a major stagecoach stop between Frederick and

Georgetown, Clarksburg supported several inns
and taverns. By the mid-19th century, the town also
included general stores, a tannery and black-smiths, and
wheelwrights. The William Hurley Shoe Shop, 23421
Frederick Road, probably built around 1842, is typical
of early rural commercial structures in its simplicity and
small scale.

Clarksburg has historically been a bi-racial town. While

many African Americans settled, after the Civil War, in
communities separate from white settlements, freed slaves
in Clarksburg built houses in and around the town. One of
Early in the county’s history, Clarksburg was a substantial the county’s last and most elaborate remaining examples
center of commerce and transportation. John Clark of a two-room schoolhouse is the Clarksburg School,
surveyed the land and subdivided lots along Frederick 13530 Redgrave Place, which was constructed in 1909 and
Road in the early 1790s, yet the town’s origins extended remained in continuous use until 1972. The cruciform-
back to the mid-1700s. Michael Dowden built a hotel shaped building has a Colonial Revival-influenced design
and tavern about 1754. A popular stop along the well- with pedimented and pilastered doorframe, oversize
traveled Great Road between Frederick and Georgetown, cornice returns, and gable overhang.
Dowden’s Ordinary is said to have provided lodging and
entertainment for such well-known travelers as General E. Growth in Clarksburg declined in the late 19th century,
Braddock, George Washington, and Andrew Jackson. when the B & O Railroad bypassed the town for nearby
Boyds. The advent of the automobile and improved roads
brought something of an economic revival beginning
in the 1920s. New boarding houses opened in town to
accommodate the new auto tourism.

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FOREST GLEN HISTORIC DISTRICT - 31/8

The Nature of Forest Glen and its Resources
Forest Glen was a small suburb that grew around the railroad and streetcar lines. The residential community
includes high style Queen Anne and Stick Style frame houses as well as a Gothic Revival stone church.

Historically tied with National Park Seminary and Capitol

View Park Historic Districts, Forest Glen was established
in 1887. The same year, the Forest Glen Investment
Company built a resort hotel known as the Forest Glen
Inn. The hotel later became the centerpiece of a finishing
school known as National Park Seminary.

A promotional brochure for the 166-acre Forest Glen

subdivision haled the “healthy, well located, and easily
accessible suburban village, and in addition, a commodious
summer hotel, which should be especially adapted to the
wants of the very large class of officials and business
men who find it necessary or pleasant to remain near
Washington during the summer months.” The brochure
advertised construction of beautiful houses, noting the
expectation that more would soon be built. While the
Forest Glen Inn proved a financial disaster and was
sold in 1894, the area, however, continued to grow as a
residential community. Developers organized a streetcar
line, forming the Washington, Woodside, and Forest Glen
Railway, to extend service from Silver Spring, through
Forest Glen, with terminus in National Park Seminary.
The trolley line operated from 1897 until 1927.

The center of Forest Glen is a block containing St. John’s

Church and Cemetery. The site is significant to the history
of the Catholic Church in the United States for it was
here that John Carroll opened the first secular church in
the colonies. The cemetery, with gravestones dating to the
1790s, contains the remains of members of the Carroll
family and many other early residents.

Surrounding the village green, resident developers and

private individuals built picturesque Queen Anne and
Stick Style dwellings in the 1890s. The Everett House
(1891), at 2411 Holman Avenue, is one of the most
exuberant examples of Stick Style architecture in the
county. The president of the Forest Glen Investment
Company built the Joseph Hertford House (1891), a
high-style Queen Anne house with a three-story tower
designed to offer commanding views of the countryside.
The Forest Glen Post Office and Store were located near
the train station, technically part of the Capitol View
Park subdivision.

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GARRETT PARK HISTORIC DISTRICT - 30/13

LISTED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
The Nature of Garrett Park and its Resources
Garrett Park is a picturesque railroad suburb whose historic houses date largely from 1890 to 1930. The early
houses are high style, spacious Queen Anne and Colonial Revival examples, while later houses include smaller
scale Colonial Revival residences.

In 1886, Washington, D.C. attorney Henry Copp formed

the Metropolitan Investment and Building Company to
develop a new commuter suburb. To cement its relationship
with the railroad, the town was named Garrett Park, in
honor of Robert Garrett, president of the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad. From its 500-acre parcel, Metropolitan
Investment surveyed and platted lots from 3 acres to 5
acres on approximately 154 acres. Meandering streets
north of Strathmore Avenue follow the topography, while
streets to the south are on a grid. The landscape plan,
with its dense shade trees and flowering shrubs, unifies
the variety in street plan, and distinguishes Garrett Park
from neighboring subdivisions.

Garrett Park reflects nearly a century of diverse

architectural styles. The earliest houses were built primarily
in the Queen Anne style, typically 2 1⁄2-story, asymmetrical
residences with towers or turrets, and generous porches.
One of the finest Queen Anne examples is the Stoddard-
Freiberg House (1889), 4711 Waverly Avenue, adorned
with a bell-capped turrent and lavishly bracketed cornices.
After World War I, a group of four retired military officers
formed Maddux, Marshall and Company, a Washington-
based real estate development firm, to promote Garrett
Park “to home-seekers of moderate means”. The Maddux,
Marshall Company built Chevy houses, one-story, two-
bedroom cottages with optional garages complete with
Chevrolet cars. The Chevy House at 10912 Montrose
Avenue dates from 1927. Residences also include Sears
mail-order houses from the 1930s, post-World War II
Techbilt structures, and contemporary Frank Lloyd
Wright-influenced houses designed by Howard University
professor Alexander Richter.

102 Montgomery County, Maryland

 Historic Districts

GERMANTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT - 19/13

The Nature of Germantown and its Resources
Vicinity of Liberty Mill Road, B&O Railroad, and Mateny Hill Road

The Germantown Historic District grew around a railroad stop and flour mill that served the local farming
community. The small historic district contains a train station, bank, mill site, and cluster of frame Victorian
Vernacular houses dating from the 1870s to the 1890s.

German farmers settled the Germantown area in the

early 19th century. The initial Germantown settlement
clustered around the intersection of Clopper and Liberty
Mill Roads. After the introduction of the Metropolitan
Branch of the B&O Railroad, the community known
as Germantown Station grew about one mile north of
the original crossroads community. The Germantown
community became the center of commercial activity
when the Bowman Brothers built a new steam-driven
flour and corn mill next to the new railroad depot, making
obsolete the earlier water-driven mills in the area.

Germantown’s commercial district grew along Mateny

Hill Road between the train station and Liberty Mill
Road. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Germantown had
two general stores, a post office, three churches, a bank,
doctor’s office, barber shop, and school.

The houses built within this period have strong uniformity

and similar architectural details in the simple rural
tradition of 19th century Maryland. The homes were built
for mill and railroad employees as well as shopkeepers and
ministers and were accompanied by domestic outbuildings
decorated with architectural detailing. The generous front
and side yards allowed for family gatherings, gardens, and
perhaps a few animals, while shade trees and porches
helped residents escape the heat of summer.

In the 1950s, dairy products replaced grain as the state’s

primary agricultural output, leading to a decline in the
milling business. Popularity of the automobile enabled
residents to shop in more distant shopping centers, people
became less dependent on the railroad, and growth of
the county’s population turned cornfields into cul-de-sacs.
Commercial businesses are now concentrated closer to
I 270. The Germantown Historic District, designated
in l989, preserves the heritage of Germantown as a
flourishing farming and mill community, while continuing
to focus on the B&O Station as a center for today’s MARC
train commuters.

Design Guidelines for Historic Sites and Districts 103

Historic Districts

GLEN ECHO PARK HISTORIC DISTRICT - 35/26

LISTED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
The Nature of Glen Echo Park and its Resources
7300 MacArthur Boulevard

Glen Echo Park was a streetcar-era amusement park. The historic district is significant as the site of a National
Chautauqua Assembly and as a surviving regional example of an early 20th century amusement park. A remnant
of the Chautauqua era is found in the 1890 rustic stone entrance tower. Historic amusement park structures
with Art Deco and Streamline Moderne detailing were originally built in the 1920s and 1930s.

The Chautauqua movement, named after the first

assembly at Lake Chautauqua, N.Y. (1874), was an effort
to democratize learning within an ecumenical Protestant
religious framework by bringing art, science, and literary
culture to the masses. Coinciding with the flowering of
the Chautauqua movement at the end of the 19th century
were the plans of Edwin Baltzley, real estate promoter,
and his brother Edward, for a residential and resort
development to be known as Glen Echo on the Potomac.
Envisioning the Chautauqua movement as a potential
enhancement of their development, the Baltzleys deeded
80 acres to the National Chautauqua of Glen Echo, in
1891. To provide access from Washington, the brothers
encouraged construction of the steam and electric Glen
Echo Railroad, chartered in 1889. For construction of
stone structures, and to fulfill their dream of creating the
“Washington Rhine”, the Baltzleys opened five granite
quarries in Glen Echo.

Marking the park’s entrance, the stone Chatauqua Tower

(1890), designed by architect Victor Mendeleff, is the
only remaining intact building from the Chautauqua
era. The site first became an amusement park sometime
after 1900. In 1911, the Washington Railway and Electric
Company bought the site, expanded the amusement park,
and extended the trolley line to its front gate. The Glen
Echo Amusement Park became one of the principal
entertainment centers in the Washington, D.C. area. The
Dentzel Carousel (1921), a highly decorated carousel
outfitted with 52 carved wooden animals, contains its
original Wurlitzer Band Organ and is nationally one
of the few historic carousels on its original site. The
amusement park enjoyed its greatest popularity from
1923-39. The National Park Service purchased the site
after the amusement park closed in 1969.

104 Montgomery County, Maryland

 Historic Districts

HAWKINS LANE HISTORIC DISTRICT - 35/54

The Nature of Hawkins Lane and its Resources
The Hawkins Lane Historic District is a small kinship community of vernacular frame houses dating from
the first half of the 20th century. Houses include 1 1⁄2 story bungalows built by Samuel Hawkins, as well as
two story, front gable structures. With its rural character, narrow unpaved road, modest houses and mature
landscaping, the district stands in contrast to neighboring residential suburbs.

Hawkins Lane was an enclave of free blacks established

in the late 1800s. In an era of economic and social
segregation, residents formed a close knit, self-reliant
community. In 1893 James H. Hawkins, an ex-slave,
paid $300 for three acres of land. Hawkins had twelve
children, several of whom bought adjacent land, between
1894 and 1904, on Jones Bridge Road. Hawkins died in
1928 conveying most of his land to family members. Son
Samuel, inheriting 1.5 acres, built the road now known as
Hawkins Lane and arranged for electricity service, and
with the exception of two houses built by friends in the
1950s, Samuel himself built all the houses on the west side
of the lane, over a 40-year period. Representative of these
is the Ella Hawkins House (1928), 8818 Hawkins Lane,
named for Samuel’s long-time resident daughter. Road
widening and a fire destroyed two of the earliest houses,
built by Samuel and his father. In all, the district contains
fifteen historic residences. The modest residences along
the narrow rustic lane reflect the heritage and lifestyle of
determined black citizens in the early 20th century.

Design Guidelines for Historic Sites and Districts 105

Historic Districts

HYATTSTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT - 10/59

The Nature of Hyattstown and its Resources
Hyattstown is an early rural community designed according to a Pennsylvania plan. The linear nature of this
town plan is characteristic of villages in Maryland’s piedmont region and reflects German traditions. Houses
are generally built close to the road and feature side gable roofs and front porches. Most are frame and many
have log rear sections. Victorian detailing accents the largely vernacular building forms.

Hyattstown is an early settlement that developed

along well-traveled roads linking coastal ports with the
westward-moving frontier. The Great Road, known as
Frederick Road or Route 355, opened about 1750 to
connect the tobacco port of Georgetown with points
west, via the county seat of Frederick. The Great Road
attained significance in the 1810s as an extension of the
Federally-funded National Road. In 1798, Jesse Hyatt, a
Frederick County farmer, laid out a town, offering for
sale 105 quarter-acre lots along the Great Road. Henry
Poole built the first house in 1800 and became the town’s
first storekeeper. The town, named Hyattstown for its
founder, was incorporated in 1809. By the mid-1820s, the
community included an innkeeper, a tailor, a carpenter,
a blacksmith, a storekeeper, and a constable. By the
1870s, Hyattstown’s population had grown to some 150
residents, and by about 1900 to 275.

Many of the houses in Hyattstown include log sections

that are covered with siding. The earlier houses, from
the early and mid-19th century, are three bay dwellings
with little ornamentation. The Davis House (c1810-15),
26020 Frederick Road, is an uncommon example of a
brick Federal-style dwelling in the northwestern part
of the county. The cornice line of the five-bay house is
enhanced by sawtooth brickwork and end chimneys are
flush with north and south gable ends.

Many of the post-Civil War residences have cross gable

roofs, bracketed cornices, or bargeboard (gingerbread
trim). One-story additions that served as doctor’s offices
or post offices are reminders of the commercial uses that
supplemented the residential nature of the buildings. In
recent years, many of the old homes were abandoned
due to polluted water. After a new sewage treatment
plant opened in 1998, residents are restoring houses and
Hyattstown is once again becoming a vital community.

106 Montgomery County, Maryland

 Historic Districts

KENSINGTON HISTORIC DISTRICT - 31/6

LISTED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
The Nature of Kensington and its Resources
The Kensington Historic District is a well-preserved, turn-of-the-century garden suburb with Victorian era
residences, curvilinear streets, and a vital commercial district. Kensington residences are designed in a variety of
architectural styles popular during the Victorian period, including Queen Anne, Shingle, and Colonial Revival.
These houses, built in the late 1800s and early 1900s, are clustered around the railroad station.

The community has its origins in a railroad stop known

as Knowles Station, named after the major land holding
family in the area. Beginning in 1890, Washington
developer Brainard Warner purchased and subdivided
property along the Metropolitan Branch, transforming
the community from a small passenger stop to a park-
like suburban community. He named his subdivision
Kensington Park, after a London suburb, and established
a library, town hall, and Presbyterian church. Under
Warner’s persuasion, the Knowles Station depot and post
office eventually changed to the Kensington moniker.

Inviting friends to join him in the country, away from the

heat and congestion of Washington, Warner established
his own summer residence on a large, circular parcel
of land at the heart of the community. The Warner
Residence, also historically known as Hadley Hall, is
sited at the southern end of the historic district, at 10231
Carroll Place.

Residents of the growing community incorporated the

Town of Kensington in 1894, with its own governing
body. The suburb’s appeal strengthened when Warner and
others organized a trolley line along Kensington Parkway
to Chevy Chase, to connect with the Capitol Traction
Line to Washington. The streetcar, which operated from
1895-1933, made Kensington even more accessible in the
pre-automobile era.

The National Guard built the Kensington Armory in

1927. The Armory is one of the few remaining unaltered
National Guard Armories that were built throughout
the state. With its castellated parapets and drill-hall
section buttresses, the fortress-like structure remains a
Kensington landmark, today in use as the Kensington
Town Hall and Community Center.

Design Guidelines for Historic Sites and Districts 107

Historic Districts

LINDEN HISTORIC DISTRICT - 36/2

The Nature of Linden and its Resources
Linden is a small railroad and streetcar suburb characterized by frame, 2 1⁄2 story residences designed in styles
including Gothic Revival and Queen Anne. Streetcar era houses have Craftsman style influences. The entirely
residential district is comprised of 17 houses built on a rectilinear street plan.

As the first railroad suburb in Montgomery County,

Linden represents an early step in the county’s transition
from a rural, agrarian region to a commuter suburb. In
1873, the same year that the Metropolitan Branch of the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was completed, Charles M.
Keys subdivided thirty-two acres of his 185-acre farm
and platted Linden.

Linden had its own railroad station, located at the end of

Montgomery Street. Early houses were built on Salisbury
Road, which was originally a walkway known as Maple
Drive. The houses faced the walkway with vehicular
access from Linden Lane and Montgomery Street. This
arrangement is found in Washington Grove, a religious
retreat also platted in 1873. Early dwellings in both
communities were designed in the Gothic Revival style.
Among Linden’s earliest houses are a pair of Gothic
Revival houses built on Salisbury Road, probably in the
1870s: the Baxter House, 2201 Salisbury Road, and the
Doolittle House, 2209 Salisbury Road.

By 1889, the Washington Star reported that a number of

“beautiful homes” – including examples of the Second
Empire and Queen Anne styles – had already been
constructed in Linden by “well known Washingtonians.”
By the turn of the century, there were about a dozen
houses in Linden. In the early 1900s, citizens built
Craftsman influenced residences on Warren Street. The
historic district of 17 houses was designated in 1993.

108 Montgomery County, Maryland

 Historic Districts

NATIONAL PARK SEMINARY HISTORIC DISTRICT - 36/1

LISTED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
The Nature of National Park Seminary and its Resources
Vicinity of Linden Lane and Woodstock Avenue

The wooded architectural fantasyland known as National Park Seminary was begun as a resort hotel and
blossomed into a finishing school for young women established in 1894. The buildings are a catalog of
architectural styles designed to educate students in architecture from around the world. Included in the campus
are Tudor Revival, Mission, Craftsman, Italian, Dutch, English Castle, and Swiss style buildings. Buildings date
from 1887 to 1927.

The site began as a speculative real estate development

intended to capitalize on proximity to the railroad. An
ornate Stick Style hotel, the Forest Inn (1887), was the
centerpiece of the resort, built with wraparound porches,
towers, and applied stickwork detailing. When the hotel
proved unsuccessful, John and Vesta Cassedy purchased
the site, converting the inn into a boarding school.
National Park Seminary became one of the most popular
and exclusive finishing schools in the Washington area.

Between 1894 and 1907, the Cassedys constructed a score

of fanciful buildings as physical manifestations of a basic
principle in the National Park Seminary’s educational
philosophy stressing the importance of understanding
foreign and domestic culture, and inspired by the grand,
international architecture of the World’s Columbian
Exposition of 1893. Sorority meetings were held in the
English Garden Castle, Swiss Chalet, American Bungalow,
Colonial House, Spanish Mission, Dutch Windmill, and
During World War II, the U.S. Army acquired the site for
Japanese Pagoda. Students resided in the Italian Villa
a convalescent center for soldiers. The Army relocated
and the Shingle Style Senior House. They took physical
its medical facility to the main Walter Reed campus in
education classes in the Classical Revival Gymnasium and
Washington, D.C. in the 1970s, first using the buildings
studied in the Shingle Style Miller Library.
that comprise this historic district for administration
and later abandoning them before deaccessioning the
Beginning in 1916, NPS President Dr. James Ament
property. Many deteriorated and others were lost to fire
instituted his own building campaign, expanding campus
and vandalism. Beginning in 2003, the district has enjoyed
buildings, constructing an elaborate network of covered
a renaissance, undergoing a major redevelopment effort
walkways and bridges, and installing classical garden
combining the rehabilitation of historic buildings with
sculptures. Ament designed the last building constructed
sympathetic infill construction.
on campus--the awe-inspiring Ballroom (1927), which,
when constructed, was the tallest building in Montgomery
County.

Design Guidelines for Historic Sites and Districts 109

Historic Districts

POLYCHROME HISTORIC DISTRICT - 32/5

LISTED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
The Nature of Polychrome and its Resources
9900, 9904 Colesville Road; 9919, 9923, 9925 Sutherland Road

The Polychrome Historic District is a cohesive collection of innovative concrete residences designed and built
by a single craftsman. This Art Deco style district is located on a major thoroughfare in Silver Spring.

Master craftsman John Joseph Earley (1881-1945)

built the five single-family dwellings that comprise the
Polychrome Historic District in 1934-5. These unique
houses are outstanding examples of the Art Deco style
and reflect Earley’s artistry and craftsmanship. Earley
developed and patented a process whereby conventional
wood frames were clad with prefabricated mosaic
concrete panels. The concrete was stripped to expose
brilliantly colored aggregate particles, creating an effect
similar to impressionist or pointillist painting. In addition
to their striking, richly ornamented appearance, these
houses represent a relatively rare example of precast
concrete panel construction in single-family housing
for the time period. Earley’s patented structural system
led to widespread use of precast architectural concrete
as a major exterior cladding material. The legacy of the
Polychrome houses can be seen in thousands of curtain-
wall buildings nationwide. In 1996, the historic district
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

110 Montgomery County, Maryland

 Historic Districts

SANDY SPRING HISTORIC DISTRICT - 28/11

The Nature of Sandy Spring and its Resources
One of the oldest settlements in the county, Sandy Spring was a rural, kinship community that evolved over
time and was centered on the Quaker meeting house. This small historic district is entirely comprised of public
buildings that reflect the spiritual and financial core of the community. These buildings are the meeting house
(1817), lyceum (1859), bank (1895), and insurance company (1904) buildings. The district is characterized by
simple design and brick construction.

Founding families were relations of Richard Snowden,

Quaker developer and land speculator. In 1715 he
patented Snowden’s Manor, and in 1743 Snowden’s Manor
Enlarged which included the Olney-Sandy Spring area.
His daughters Deborah and Elizabeth married James
Brooke and John Thomas, respectively, and built houses
in what became Sandy Spring in 1728. The settlement
took its name from the Sandy Spring, a water source that
bubbled up through a patch of white sand.

The Brooke and Thomas families were founders of the

Sandy Spring Friends Meeting in 1753. The Meeting
House served as the spiritual center for the community.
While most other early communities grew around a
commercial core, Sandy Spring evolved from the Meeting
House. With the formal organization of the Friends
Meeting, a frame structure was built in 1753. The Sandy
Spring Meeting House, the third on the site, is a brick
building, built in 1817. Typical of Quaker meeting
houses, the Sandy Spring Friends Meeting House has a century, Sandy Spring was the center of innovations
rectangular form with two front entrances, is simple in that benefited the entire county. The oldest agriculture
design, yet made of high quality materials. According to organization in the U.S., the Farmers Club of Sandy
tradition, the bricks were made at a nearby farm and laid Spring, was established here. Sandy Spring Quakers
by mason William W. Farlin. In the adjacent cemetery, established early bank and insurance companies that still
simple markers identify the Quaker graves. The earliest thrive today. The Savings Institution of Sandy Spring,
graves were unmarked, though written records report the organized in 1868, is the oldest bank in the county.
first burial in 1754. The Community House is a two-story Its first permanent home was the brick Sandy Spring
building erected in 1859 as the Lyceum. The grounds are Bank building, built in 1895. Established in 1848, the
sheltered by a grove of mature trees including a county Montgomery Mutual Insurance Company was the earliest
champion yellow poplar or tuliptree. insurance company in the county, providing aid in time of
disaster. The 1904 building housed the company before
The early 19th century was an era of prosperity in the new quarters were built on Meetinghouse Road. Built by
community. A commercial area began to develop, with the community, the Lyceum (1859) reflects the Quaker
a general store and post office dating from about 1817. commitment to education and continues to be a center
A blacksmith shop followed in 1819. By the mid-19th of social and intellectual activity in Sandy Spring.

Design Guidelines for Historic Sites and Districts 111

Historic Districts

SOMERSET HISTORIC DISTRICT - 36/35

The Nature of Somerset and its Resources

Somerset Heights, established in 1890, was one of Montgomery County’s earliest streetcar suburbs. The district
is composed of some 50 historic houses dating from 1890s to the 1920s. These frame residences, designed
in styles including Queen Anne and Colonial Revival, would have been considered comfortable and stylish in
their day.

In l905, there were 35 families living in Somerset.

Residents successfully petitioned for a State Charter to
incorporate as a town government and elected a mayor
on May 7, l906. The town council greatly improved the
community’s quality of life, upgrading roads, repairing
pipes, providing adequate water service, and contracting
for fire service.

Most of the houses in Somerset were not architect-

designed showplaces but builder’s versions of plan-book
designs. Resident community founders did not construct
high-style architectural gems, as in Chevy Chase’s Section
2 or Otterbourne. If their houses, the first built in the
community, set a tone for subsequent residences it was
one of unassuming comfort.

Early examples of standardized builder houses are found

in Somerset. In 1900, developer Edward C. Halliday
contracted with builders Richard and William Ough
Five U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists formed the to build speculative houses. Most of the Ough houses
Somerset Heights Land Company, together purchasing 50 date from 1901 and are Four Squares with gable-on-hip
acres of the Williams Farm just outside of Washington roofs.
D.C. Founders platted a community with a grid system of
streets named after counties in England. Large lots with Today, the mature trees, landscaping, and original grid
30-foot setbacks sold for prices lower than those in the system of streets complement the visual streetscape
District of Columbia and were promoted as healthful and established a century ago. Other important features
free of malaria. Three electric trolley lines and a steam enhancing the historic character of the Somerset
railway (the present Georgetown Branch) were nearby community include: the spacing and rhythm of the
for an easy commute to the District, while low taxes buildings, the uniform scale of the existing houses, the
and the ability to vote in Maryland were also attractive relationship of houses to the street, the ample-sized lots
selling points. and patterns of open space in the neighborhood.

112 Montgomery County, Maryland

 Historic Districts

TAKOMA PARK HISTORIC DISTRICT - 37/3

LISTED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
The Nature of Takoma Park and its Resources
The largest historic district in the county, Takoma Park is historically significant as both an early railroad
suburb and a streetcar community. The district is characterized by a picturesque streetscape, hilly terrain, and
mature trees. Late 19th century houses include high style Queen Anne, and Shingle. Dating from the streetcar
era are Craftsman and Colonial Revival bungalows and Four Squares. Takoma Park has a high concentration
of mail-order catalog houses.

It was the second railroad suburb of Washington, platted

ten years after Linden. The opening of streetcar lines led
to the development of new subdivisions, expanding the
Takoma Park community in the early 20th century.

Throughout much of the 19th century, the land was open

farmland and vacation retreats for Washingtonians. A few
houses from this period still exist, such as the c. 1875-
85 Woodward House, 25 Holt Place, and the mid-19th
century Greek Revival Douglas House.

Takoma Park was platted in 1883. Developer Benjamin

Franklin Gilbert purchased a 90-acre farm, platted a
subdivision with picturesque, winding streets named for
native trees, and promoted the property for its natural
environment and healthy setting. Equally reflective of
Gilbert’s promotion of the natural setting is the use of
the Native American “Takoma”, meaning “exalted” or
“near heaven.” Later he added the “Park” appellation to
draw attention to its healthy environment.

Takoma Park houses built between 1883 and 1900

were fanciful, turreted, multi-gabled affairs of Queen
Anne, Stick Style, and Shingle Style influence. Some of
the earliest architect-designed houses in the county are
in Takoma Park. These first houses were substantial
residences with spacious settings. The lots were deep,
typically 50 feet by 200-300 feet with 40-foot setback
requirements. The earliest dwellings, many of which are
extant, were built on Cedar Avenue (originally known as
Oak Avenue), Maple Avenue, and Holly Avenue.

By 1886, Takoma Park had a post office and a new railroad

station. Fifteen trains a day ran between Washington and
Takoma Park to serve a population of 100. By 1893, the
town’s population quadrupled. Four subdivisions had
expanded the town, which was incorporated in 1890.
Takoma Avenue, Pine Avenue, and Holly Avenue were
among the streets to develop during this period.

Design Guidelines for Historic Sites and Districts 113

Historic Districts

The start of streetcar service along Carroll Avenue in Scores of Bungalows, and Craftsman-style houses and
1897, operated by the Baltimore and Washington Transit catalog-order houses were built in this era. Advertisements
Company, made the adjacent areas more attractive for from 1914 for bungalows on Willow Avenue promoted
residential development, leading to new subdivisions. their accessibility just “three minutes to car line” and
This line, supplemented in 1910 by the Washington and individuality “no two are alike in design.” At least fifteen
Maryland line (1910 27), led to the creation of eight models of Sears kit houses have been identified in the
additional subdivisions extending out from the trolley historic district.
lines. The inexpensive electric streetcar, the availability of
low-cost house plans and kit houses in combination with Takoma Park’s commercial areas known as Old Town and
smaller lot sizes made home ownership in Takoma Park Takoma Junction retain much of their early 20th century
possible for individuals of more modest income levels character. Most of the buildings are one-two story brick
than during the previous period. By 1922, the population structures with simple detailing. Particularly noteworthy
soared to 4,144, making Takoma Park the tenth largest examples are the Park Pharmacy building prominently
incorporated town in Maryland. Among the streets, which located at the intersection of Laurel and Carroll and
developed during the 1910s and 1920s in response to the commercial building at 7000 Carroll Avenue which
the establishment of streetcar lines, are Willow, Park, exemplifies the Art Deco period with its zigzag motif
Philadelphia, and Carroll Avenues. cornice and polygonal light fixtures. The Sovran Bank
building at Carroll and Willow (originally the Suburban
The appearance today of much of the Takoma Park Trust) is a distinguished example of Beaux Arts design.
historic district is formed by the large numbers of
dwellings constructed from 1900 into the 1920s. The Takoma Park continues to thrive today, with a population
houses built in Takoma Park during this period reveal of 20,000. Though the train no longer stops there,
changing American tastes in house design from the the town’s close relationship with mass transportation
elaborate ornamentation of the late 19th century continues. The Metro enables residents to continue the
dwellings to more practical, simplified designs. Many of tradition, started with the railroad and extended with the
these early 20th century houses reflect the aesthetics of streetcars, of living in the suburbs and commuting to the
the Arts and Crafts Movement, which emphasized the District using mass transit. Two sections of Takoma Park
inherent nature of the building materials and structural have been listed on the National Register of Historic
elements for ornamentation. Similarly, they reflect a social Places.
trend towards a more informal, unpretentious style of
living. American Four Square, Craftsman, Bungalow,
and Colonial Revival designs continued the pattern of
suburban development previously established. This
included detached, wood frame single-family residences
with uniform setbacks from the streets, though at a smaller
scale. Entire streetscapes of these houses, particularly the
Bungalow form and Craftsman design, are found along
Willow, Park, Philadelphia, and Westmoreland Avenues.

114 Montgomery County, Maryland