BGuthrie Photos: MD -- Silver Spring -- Silver Heritage Historic Trail

MD -- Silver Spring -- Silver Heritage Historic Trail:

Bruce Guthrie Photos Home Page: [Click here] to go to Bruce Guthrie Photos home page.

Recognize anyone? If you recognize specific folks (or other stuff) and I haven't labeled them, please identify them for the world. Click the little pencil icon

underneath the file name (just above the picture). Spammers need not apply.

Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

Accessing as Spider: The system has identified your IP as being a spider.
IP Address: 18.191.171.235 -- Domain: Amazon Technologies
I love well-behaved spiders! They are, in fact, how most people find my site. Unfortunately, my network has a limited bandwidth and pictures take up bandwidth. Spiders ask for lots and lots of pages and chew up lots and lots of bandwidth which slows things down considerably for regular folk. To counter this, you'll see all the text on the page but the images are being suppressed. Also, some system options like merges are being blocked for you.
Note: Permission is NOT granted for spiders, robots, etc to use the site for AI-generation purposes. I'm sure you're thrilled by your ability to make revenue from my work but there's nothing in that for my human users or for me.
If you are in fact human, please email me at guthrie.bruce@gmail.com and I can check if your designation was made in error. Given your number of hits, that's unlikely but what the hell.

Help? The Medium (Email) links are for screen viewing and emailing. You'll want bigger sizes for printing. [Click here for additional help]

Share: Facebook Twitter Digg
[1] HERIT_100425_01.JPG	[2] HERIT_100425_05.JPG	[3] HERIT_100425_08.JPG
[4] HERIT_100425_13.JPG	[5] HERIT_100425_17.JPG	[6] HERIT_100425_21.JPG
[7] HERIT_100425_24.JPG	[8] HERIT_100425_27.JPG	[9] HERIT_100425_31.JPG
[10] HERIT_100425_35.JPG	[11] HERIT_100425_39.JPG	[12] HERIT_100425_42.JPG
[13] HERIT_100425_47.JPG	[14] HERIT_100425_49.JPG	[15] HERIT_100425_55.JPG
[16] HERIT_100425_58.JPG	[17] HERIT_100425_60.JPG	[18] HERIT_100425_64.JPG
[19] HERIT_100425_69.JPG	[20] HERIT_100717_09.JPG	[21] HERIT_100717_10.JPG
[22] HERIT_100816_64.JPG	[23] HERIT_100816_70.JPG

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. HERIT_100425_01.JPG: Springing Up Masonic Temple Silver Heritage Georgia Avenue At three stories, this was Silver Springs tallest building. Occupying the prime corner lot at 8435 Georgia Avenue was the Masonic Temple, home of the Silver Spring Lodge No. 215 A.F. & A.M. of Maryland. (Ancient and Free Accepted Mason). About three hundred participants attended the June 18, 1927 cornerstone-laying ceremony, during which officials placed within the cornerstone various objects, including a 1927 silver dollar, a Bible, United States and Maryland flags, the roster of Lodge membership, and copies of the Takoma News and Evening Star newspapers. A Chevrolet and Nash automobile dealership originally occupied the ground floor of the Masonic Temple, while the second floor contained a large dining hall, kitchen, and office. The Lodge's ceremonial hall occupied the top floor. Sparkling Spring to Community Welcome to the Silver Spring, Georgia Avenue, one of our two original main streets, was constructed in the 19th century as the Seventh Street Turnpike, a dirt road connecting Washington City to Brookeville, Md. A village named Sligo, was established in the 1830s by Chesapeake and Ohio Canal workers from County Sligo, Ireland, was located at the corner of Georgia and Colesville Road, our other main street. A mica-flecked spring discovered in 1840 by U.S. presidential advisor Francis Preston Blair while riding his horse Selim, inspired the name of Blair's estate Silver Spring, constructed near the spring's site. Silver Spring's original Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station , built in 1878, formed the nucleus from which today's community radiated. The majority of these early-to-mid century buildings still grace Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road and their many side streets. Explore the area and discover the fascinating history of the pioneering entrepreneurs, businesses, and institutions that developed our vibrant and diverse community. Learn more about Historic Downtown Silver Spring at www.sshistory.org
2. HERIT_100425_08.JPG: You Are Here - 1931 Mapping Silver Spring's Success Silver Heritage Georgia Avenue Brick Is Enduring. In 1931, the Lansdale, PA engineer Frank HM Klinge published the Atlas of Montgomery County; Volume One. Real estate atlases were created to assist fire insurance companies in assessing the risk associated with insuring a specific property. (Brick buildings, shaded in red on the plat, weren't likely to burn, so were a lower risk.) These historic atlases, commonly known as plat maps, provide important and detailed information to researchers wishing to understand the history and evolution of a community. The above plat depicts buildings on a portion of the original "Main Street" -- Georgia Avenue. The majority of the buildings on Georgia Avenue between Wayne and Eastern avenues were built in the first half of the 20th century. These one- to three-story durable brick buildings continue to be used nearly a century later. Virtually intact in 2009, these structures are enlivened by multicultural small independent businesses and institutions, offering goods and services to the community, just as when originally constructed. Addition of subsequent commercial and institutional structures presents a veritable timeline of Silver Spring's history and architectural style from the early 1900s to the present. The site of the 1937 Silver Spring Post Office, 8412 Georgia Avenue, was previously occupied by a single family home known as The Elms. Built ca 1897, the wood frame house was occupied by Gist Blair, who served as Silver Spring's first postmaster from 1899 to 1906. It was later the home of Silver Spring's second postmaster, Frank L. Hewitt, and his family during the 1920s.
3. HERIT_100425_17.JPG: A New Deal in Town The Silver Spring Post Office Silver Heritage Georgia Avenue Silver Spring During the Civil War If you has used our post office between 1937 and 1981 you would have seen a mural depicting a possible Civil War scenario. Opened on March 1, 1937, the Georgian Revival style Silver Spring post office at 8412 Georgia Avenue was the first Federal building constructed in Montgomery County. Inside the lobby was a 5' 11" x 15' 11" oil-on-canvas mural titled The Old Tavern, by Nicolai Cikovsky. This artwork was a product of the U.S. Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture, created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal administration to incorporate murals and sculpture in new post office construction. The purpose of the program was to employ out-of-work artists and educate the American public about their culture and history. The mural depicts Civil War Union soldiers who have picked up their mail at the Eagle Inn, a tavern that stood on the corner of Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road. When Cikovsky was asked about the inclusion in the mural of an African-American soldier, seen holding his rifle in one hand and a letter in the other, his reply was "...he is intended to symbolize the result of the Civil War -- namely the liberation of his race." As a matter of fact, over 209,000 African-Americans joined the Union Army to serve during the Civil War. This mural now hangs in the Silver Spring Library. Total Recall: Artist and Russian immigrant Nicolai Cikovsky interviewed 79-year-old Blair Lee, former U.S. Senator (D-Md.), born here in 1857. Lee had many memories of what the community, then named Sligo, looked like. the main crossroads of Sligo were Washington & Brookeville Turnpike and Ashton, Colesville & Sligo Turnpike (Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road). The Eagle Inn, on the right side of the mural, stood on the southwest corner of this intersection. Removed from the Silver Spring post office in 1981, the mural was located by Silver Spring Historical Society founder Jerry A. McCoy in 1994. When postal employees unrolled the mural for the first time, it was covered with Japanese tissue paper to protect the painting's surface. Friends of the Silver Spring Library raised $25,000 to conserve the mural, rededicated at the Silver Spring Library July 7, 1997.
4. HERIT_100425_24.JPG: A Community Grows Wayne Avenue Landmarks Silver Heritage Georgia Avenue With a burst of new development in 1927, downtown Silver Spring's commercial center -- originally located around the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station (8100 Georgia Avenue at Sligo Avenue) -- firmly re-established itself three blocks to the north. Erected on Wayne Avenue, originally named Montgomery, were the Masonic Temple and Silver Spring Armory. These Structures attested to the community's continued growth and permanence. The Silver Spring Armory, 924 Wayne Avenue, was the home of Maryland National Guard's 29th "Blue and Gray" Infantry Division, which served in World War I and II. Dedicated on August 20, 1927, the armory was designed by Maryland State architect Robert Harris and served as Silver Spring's town hall and community center for seventy years. A designated Montgomery County Master Plan for Historic Preservation structure, the Armory was razed in 1998 for construction of a parking garage. Architectural artifacts from the Armory, including its 1927 cornerstone, pre-cast concrete Maryland flag and main level lintel, are located alongside the garage. Situated between these two civic landmarks was the Silver Spring Bowling Alleys, designed engineered, and built by local businessmen John M. Faulconer and Frank B. Proctor. Opened in 1928 with twelve lanes on the first floor, bowling's increased popularity resulted in construction one year later of a second floor that housed twelve additional lanes. The building was razed in the late 1960s and replaced by 962 Wayne Avenue.
5. HERIT_100425_31.JPG: First Bank, First Heist West Side Development Silver Heritage Georgia Avenue Silver Spring's First Bank Robbery occurred in 1928, here on the southwest corner of Georgia Avenue and Oak Street (today's Bonifant Street). Commerce in this block began on September 1, 1925, when the Colonial Revival-style Silver Spring National Bank, at 8252 Georgia Avenue, became the first business to open. Founded in 1910, the move of the community's first bank (from the corner of today's Georgia and Sligo Avenues) was necessitated by Georgia Avenue's widening and construction of the original "viaduct," or Baltimore & Ohio Railroad underpass. The bank robbery occurred here on October 27, 1928 when Takoma Park, MD resident Hugh L. McDaniel told assistant cashier Fred L Lutes to "Give me all you've got." Lutes handed over $2,200 but followed up with two shots from his pistol. Cashier Ira C. Whitacre joined in with three shots from his gun before running outside and firing two more at the bandit escaping in a taxi. Within hours McDaniel was apprehended and all but about $10 of the stolen money was recovered. Two months later, McDaniel, a photographer, was convicted and sentenced to fifteen years in jail. In 1938, the bank merged with the failing Takoma Park Bank and was renamed The Suburban National Bank. Expanded business resulted that year in the addition of a 16-foot-deep classical limestone facade designed by the noted Tilghman Moyer Company of Allentown, PA. A second merger occurred in 1951 with Prince Georges Bank Trust Co. Renamed The Suburban Trust Co, with Silver Spring as its headquarters, a rear addition in the international style was added. "Ghost" letters of The Suburban National Bank name are visible on either side of the Georgia Avenue entrance.
6. HERIT_100425_39.JPG: Spirited Entertainment West Side Development Silver Spring Heritage - Georgia Avenue Silver Spring's First Movie Theater, the 500-seat SECO (Suburban Electric Company), which opened on November 7, 1927 with the silent film "Fireman Save My Child," was located at 8242-8244 Georgia Avenue. The theater, renamed Roth's Silver Spring in 1953, closed on May 31, 1991. with a 99� screening of the 1990 comedy "Home Alone." Next door sat the Cissel Building which originally housed an automobile showroom on the first floor and several businesses on the second. Last occupied by the Silver Spring Restaurant, a fire circa 1972, destroyed the structure. Located across Bonifant Street was the Silver Spring Liquor Dispensary at 8400 Georgia Avenue. Here a crowd of 1,500 gathered late on Dec. 6. 1933 to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition, initiated in 1920 to prohibit "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors" in the U.S. (the policy had been in effect in Montgomery County since 1880). In 1946 a second story was added to the structure and it was named the Kessinger Building. Guardian Federal Savings and Loan Association became the primary tenant of the building in 1953 and it was renamed the Guardian Building. Razed in the late 1970s for the widening of Bonifant Street a portion of the buildings vertically stacked quoins remain as part of the building next door. Sparkling Spring to Community Welcome to Historic Silver Spring. Georgia Avenue, one of our two original main streets, was constructed in the early 19th century as the Seventh Street Turnpike, a dirt road connection Washington City to Brookeville, Md. A village named Sligo, established in the 1830s by Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Workers from County Sligo, Ireland, was located at the corner of Georgia and Colesville Road, our other main street. A mica-flecked spring discovered in 1840 by U.S. presidential advisor Francis Preston Blair while riding his horse Selim, inspired the name of Blair's estate Silver Spring, constructed near the Spring's site. Silver Spring's original Baltimore & Ohio Railroad station, built in 1878, formed the nucleus from which today's community radiated. The majority of these early-to-mid 20th century buildings still grace Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road and their many side streets. Explore the area and discover the fascinating history of the pioneering entrepreneurs, businesses, and institutions that developed our vibrant and diverse community. Learn more about Historic Downtown Silver Spring at www.sshistory.org
7. HERIT_100425_47.JPG: The Burger King Silver Spring Entrepreneurs Silver Heritage Georgia Avenue "Buy 'em by the Bag," the motto urged. For more than half a century, hamburger-hungry customers came to Maryland's first Little Tavern to do just that. Harry F. Duncan founded Little Tavern Shops, Inc., which specialized in 5? little hamburgers, in Louisville, Ky., in 1927. The following year he moved his operation to Washington D. C. and within a decade had 22 shops. Maryland's flagship Little Tavern #1 opened in 1938 at 8230 Georgia Avenue. By 1941, Duncan moved his corporate headquarters to an Art Deco-style brick building at 1007 Ripley Street, located behind the Georgia Avenue Shop. The combination Tudor/Art Deco-style Little Taverns became iconic examples of roadside architecture in the Washington-Baltimore region. In 1957, the Montgomery County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People conducted a survey of 18 cafes -- nine in Silver Spring, nine in Bethesda. Six were cited for refusing sit-down service to African Americans, including the Little Taverns in each community (they only offered carry-out). The other four businesses were in Bethesda. Segregation in Washington, D.C. restaurants had been ruled illegal by the Supreme Court in 1953. Maryland law had no similar provision until 1962, when Montgomery County's Public Accommodations Ordinance went into effect. In 1984, Silver Spring's Little Tavern was placed on the Locational Atlas of Historic Sites, later removed due to lack of owner approval. Closing in 1991, successive restaurants occupied the building. In 2003, an new owner of the 672-sq. ft. building tried to auction it off on E-bay, stipulating it be moved. Preservationist organizations endeavored to preserve Little Tavern through historical designation on-site or moving it. Ultimately, Little Tavern's 200+ per-fabricated exterior porcelain enamel panels and other architectural elements were preserved and given to the National Capital Trolley Museum in Colesville, Md., for potential reconstruction.
8. HERIT_100425_58.JPG: Finding a Niche Early Family Businesses Silver Heritage Georgia Avenue "...A Full Line of Dry Goods and Clothing" was available at Moses Sclar's Grand Leader Store (8221 Georgia Avenue), which opened in 1926 and adjoined John and Joseph Dolan's project (see opposite side) to the south. In operation for over a quarter century, this Jewish family-owned business was run with the assistance of Moses' wife, Catherine, and their children Ada, Reuben, Fannie, and Jacob. Mr. Sclar, orphaned at the age of nine, emigrated from Russia to the U.S. in 1909 and settled in Pennsylvania where he worked as a merchant. In 1926 when he learned that a community in Maryland named Silver Spring had no department store, he packed up his wares and moved. Joined later by his wife and children, his new shop was an early success with farmers who came to town on Saturday evenings to buy shoes, clothing and dry goods. Because there were no synagogues in Silver Spring, many Jewish couples were married in the Sclar's apartment located over the store. Rabbis from Washington D.C. would officiate at the ceremonies. The Grand Leader's original ground floor bay display case windows, second floor balcony, and facade remain intact. Sparkling Spring to Community: Welcome to Historic Silver Spring. Georgia Avenue, one of our two original main streets, was constructed in the early 19th century as the Seventh Street Turnpike, a dirt road connection Washington City to Brookeville, Md. A village named Sligo, established in the 1830s by Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Workers from County Sligo, Ireland, was located at the corner of Georgia and Colesville Road, our other main street. A mica-flecked spring discovered in 1840 by U.S. presidential advisor Francis Preston Blair while riding his horse Selim, inspired the name of Blair's estate Silver Spring, constructed near the Spring's site. Silver Spring's original Baltimore & Ohio Railroad station, built in 1878, formed the nucleus from which today's community radiated. The majority of these early-to-mid 20th century buildings still grace Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road and their many side streets. Explore the area and discover the fascinating history of the pioneering entrepreneurs, businesses, and institutions that developed our vibrant and diverse community. Learn more about Historic Downtown Silver Spring at www.sshistory.org
9. HERIT_100425_64.JPG: Visions Realized Early Family Businesses Silver Heritage - Georgia Avenue Silver Spring in the early 1900s saw the construction of several private dwellings fronting the east side of Georgia Avenue, originally named the Washington and Brookeville Turnpike. One of these was an American four-square house built in 1909 by John Dolan for himself and his wife Geneva. Dolan, was a plasterer by profession, worked as a builder, contractor, and director of the Silver Spring Bank, founded 1910. The residential character of this section of Georgia Avenue soon gave way to development pressure. In 1924, with the increasing commercialism and value of property fronting Georgia Avenue, Dolan decided to move his residence several hundred feet around the corner to 918 Thayer Avenue and construct commercial buildings on the vacated site. The December 1, 1924 Washington Post article "Program of Construction Extends to Maryland" reported that Dolan "...expects to erect three stores on his original home site. All of these stores on the east side of Georgia Avenue are expected to be more valuable construction than some of the present improvements on that side of the street." By 1926 Dolan had completed work on three adjoining, two-story brick buildings at 8223-25-27 Georgia Avenue. The First businesses to occupy these buildings were Richard J."Pop" Dietle's Silver Spring Bakery (8223), Marcel Zimmerman's Silver Spring Electric Co. (8225) and Frederick Di Vecchia's Silver Spring Hardware & Painting Co. (8227). The shop owners and their families lived on the top floor above the business, whose facades are virtually intact.
10. HERIT_100717_09.JPG: Land, Lumber & Lyrics Silver Spring Entrepreneurs Silver Heritage Georgia Avenue "Three ace promoters of Silver Spring in those days [1920s & 30s], they had a finger in almost every pie." So wrote editor Blair Lee III in August 29, 1947 Maryland News describing his father E. Brooke Lee, James H. Cissel and Frank L. Hewitt. Cissel and the elder Lee presided over two businesses that played the seminal role in the growth and reputation of Silver Spring in the early 20th century. Cissel's Silver Spring Building Supply Co. and Lee's North Washington Realty Co. originally resided at 8222-26 Georgia Avenue, constructed in 1922. These two pioneers envisioned, built, and sold commercial, industrial and residential properties throughout Silver Spring and Montgomery County. Together with Hewitt, vice president of the Silver Spring Building Supply Co., the trio collaborated in the development of eight neighboring subdivisions during the 1920s onward. From 1970 to 1987 this building was home to Track Records, a pioneering and top audio recording studio operated and ultimately owned by Mark Greenhouse. Popular with both local and national musicians, artists who recorded here include Linda Ronstadt, Marvin Gaye, Gloria Gaynor, and Peaches and Herb. The exterior of this landmark Colonial Revival-style brick structure remained virtually intact until 2009 when a renovation dismantled significant architectural elements unique to Silver Spring. Originally featured were gray slate roofline canopies, two- and three-over-one double-hung wood sash windows, front entrance doors with stone stoops, and two large display windows facing Georgia Avenue.
11. HERIT_100816_64.JPG: A Downtown is Born Local Institutions Silver Heritage Georgia Avenue The Establishment of Silver Spring's first bank and Newspaper, traditional institutions required for a community to grow and prosper, occurred on this corner with the opening of the Silver Spring National Bank in 1910 and publication of The Maryland News in 1928. Construction of the two-story brick bank cost $4,984 ($117,000 in 2008 dollars). Its opening allowed Silver Spring residents and merchants to conduct financial transactions that benefited the local community instead of customers taking their business to Bethesda, Rockville, Kensington or the District of Columbia where the nearest banks were located. The bank remained in operation at this location until 1925 when it relocated at 8252 Georgia Avenue. In 1927, Silver Spring businessman E. Brooke Lee and Bethesda Chevy Chase Gazette editor and publisher Robert I. Black established The Maryland News as a bi-weekly, country-wide newspaper whose mission was to report "All the News of Montgomery County." The following year The Maryland News building opened on this corner at 8081 Georgia Avenue where the newspaper was composed and printed until 1953. Publication ceased in 1976. Sparkling Spring to Community Welcome to the Silver Spring, Georgia Avenue, one of our two original main streets, was constructed in the 19th century as the Seventh Street Turnpike, a dirt road connecting Washington City to Brookeville, Md. A village named Sligo, was established in the 1830s by Chesapeake and Ohio Canal workers from County Sligo, Ireland, was located at the corner of Georgia and Colesville Road, our other main street. A mica-flecked spring discovered in 1840 by U.S. presidential advisor Francis Preston Blair while riding his horse Selim, inspired the name of Blair's estate Silver Spring, constructed near the spring's site. Silver Spring's original Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station , built in 1878, formed the nucleus from which today's community radiated. The majority of these early-to-mid century buildings still grace Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road and their many side streets. Explore the area and discover the fascinating history of the pioneering entrepreneurs, businesses, and institutions that developed our vibrant and diverse community. Learn more about Historic Downtown Silver Spring at www.sshistory.org
12. HERIT_100816_70.JPG: Heat Up, Cool Down Local Institutions Silver Heritage Georgia Avenue From coal and horse feed to ice cream, a variety of businesses fronting Georgia Avenue have occupied the corner across Sligo Avenue from where you stand. The earliest documented business was Wilkins & Jordan dealers in flour, feed, hay, grain, wood, coal, fertilizers, and plaster. Howard L. Wilkins and William W. Jordan established their business in 1901, "...when there was but one other house in sight." By 1917 this business was owned by James H. Cissel president of the Silver Spring National Bank. In 1923 Cissel sold the business to Howard Griffith and Thomas W. Perry, who specialized in coal, feed, and builders' materials. In 1939 John Nash Gifford founded the Gifford Ice Cream Company when he converted one of the former coal and feed structures at 8101 Georgia Avenue into a plant for the manufacture and sale of Ice Cream. By the time Gifford's closed its doors in 1985, it had become a Silver Spring landmark, serving untold number of ice cream treats and candies. Four years later the business re-opened under new ownership in Bethesda, Md.
Bigger photos? To save server space, the full-sized versions of these images have either not been loaded to the server or have been removed from the server. (Only some pages are loaded with full-sized images and those usually get removed after three months.) I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
Connection Not Secure messages? Those warnings you get from your browser about this site not having secure connections worry some people. This means this site does not have SSL installed (the link is http:, not https:). That's bad if you're entering credit card numbers, passwords, or other personal information. But this site doesn't collect any personal information so SSL is not necessary. Life's good!
Photo Contact: [Email Bruce Guthrie].