The first post office in Bethesda was probably at the Bethesda Meeting House, in 1852. However, it closed within 6 months. Later, a general store owned by William E Darcy, at the intersection of Rockville Pike and Old Georgetown Road, operated a post office. The community was known as Darcy's Store after the general store, but in 1871, by the urging of the pastor of the Bethesda meeting house, the name of the community was officially changed to Bethesda. Later, the Post Office operated from Wilson's Store (Community Hardware). During the Great Depression, President Franklin D Roosevelt established economic programs known as the New Deal, including the Works Progress Administration, which aimed to provide jobs to Americans and improve American infrastructure. The Bethesda Chamber of Commerce created a committee to persuade David Lewis, the local congressmen to set aside WPA money for a new post office as the one at Wilson's Store was inadequate for the population growth Bethesda had experienced. In June of 1936, 115,000 dollars was set aside for the new post office. The lot at 7400 Wisconsin was purchased for 45,000, while 54,000 dollars was given to builders Sofarelli Brothers of Jamaica, NY. The stone, from Stoneyhurst Quarrys on River Road, was also used in the Bank of Bethesda, and downtown shopping centers. When the post office closed in 2012, the mural depicting the Farm Women's Market was moved to the Bethesda Chevy Chase Regional Services Center.

Rockville Post Office constructed by the WPA

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Silver Spring Post Office constructed by the WPA

The Bethesda Post Office was one of three post offices built in Montgomery County under the   Works Progress Administration (others in Rockville and Silver Spring). The post office was built in 1938, in the Classical Revival style, with native Stoneyhurst stone.  The Bethesda Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda was also constructed under the Works Progress Administration. The Post Office had an addition to the North side in 1966. The original portion features a hipped roof, arched windows, and a cupola. Inside, a mural by Robert Gates depicts the Bethesda Farm Women Market. Four pilasters support an engraving with the words "United States Post Office, Bethesda, Maryland." The office closed in 2012 and is today vacant after a fitness studio closed in 2020. 

Old Post Office Bethesda

This short walk through the heart of Bethesda, Maryland begins at the earliest surviving commercial structure and includes several other historic downtown buildings such as the Bethesda Theatre and the Little Tavern. The tour also includes historical markers, schools, a monument, and historic homes.

Bethesda was first a crossroads, between Rockville turnpike (now MD-355) and Old Georgetown Road. Wilson's Store was constructed on the site of a tollbooth on the Rockville turnpike by Alfred Wilson, a former teacher. Stock in Wilson's store was bought in from DC by the Wilsons since no one would deliver to Bethesda. From 1895 to 1905, the store was also Bethesda's Post Office. In addition, Wilson's Store was the location of the telephone for Bethesda, the only for miles around. The store supplied wood for fires, feed for chickens, tools for farms, oil for lamps, and clothing. In 1922, Wilson sold the store to George Bradley and in the mid-1920s, the building held Bethesda's first public library. Bradley was forced out of business in 1931 due to the Great Depression, but his clerks, the Broadhurst's assumed control of the business. It became Community Paint and Hardware until closure in 1986. The building itself is 3 bays wide and 3 bays deep, although it was originally 9 bays deep. It is covered in stucco, which was added when Bradley took over, as stucco was popular during the time. The storefront has large plate glass windows. In March 1988, the area around the store was redevloped into the Apex building development, and during this time, the building was cut to 3 bays and moved about 50 feet to the south. Until 2017, the building was used as a bank. In 2017, as part of demolishing the Apex building for the Purple Line, Wilson's store was moved to Middleton lane in an old parking lot.

This store is Bethesdas earliest surviving commercial structure and the only remaining store from before the 20th century. It was built around 1890 on the site of the old Rockville turnpike tollbooth and was originally known as Wilson's store. During Bethesda's early days, Wilson's Store also was host to the local Post Office and was Bethesda's only store, containing groceries, dry goods, hardware, and fuel. Later, the building housed the Community Paint and Hardware store. The two-story building is typical of the times commercial architecture and has commercial space on the first floor and residential space above. The building has been moved twice before, once in 1988, and once in 2017. 

Community Paint and Hardware Store (Wilson's Store)

Architect John Eberson (1875-1954) was known as the "Dean of American Theatre Architects." Woodmont Development Company was the builder on the project. The Bethesda Theatre was the flagship of a string of independent movie theaters operated by Sidney Lust (1884-1955). Despite the influence of the Great Depression, Washington, D.C. was one of the few American cities that experienced a boom of theater construction during this decade. It opened on May 19, 1938 under the name Boro Theatre, but became the Bethesda Theatre within a year. Blond brick is the main building material for the structure. The theater is composed of rectangular blocks of varying stories: an auditorium block and an entrance block, which included shops. At the entrance is is a sidewalk-facing ticket booth, trimmed in grooved aluminum. A vertical sign crowns the entrance block, spelling "BETHESDA" in vertical letters. Behind the theater is a large parking lot constructed as part of the original building plan, signifying the geological shift in population to car-dependent suburbs and the decrease in importance of downtown cultural centers in the 1930s. Acoustical paneling or plaster in the walls was covered with fabric, and the ceiling was painted with a celestial design on a blue background, indicative of Eberson's work. The original layout and many interior elements, including murals and finishings, remain. The seating, however, has changed over time. When the theater opened, the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Tribune published a supplement commending Lust for his vision in building it. This supplement also published congratulations from politicians of other cities where Lust had built theaters, including the mayors of Rockville and Hyattsville, and state and national senators. Film stars Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, and W. C. Fields also wrote greetings for the publication. The Bethesda Theatre was one of the first buildings in the area to have air conditioning. It was the site not only for film showings, but also community events and demonstrations. In 1983, the traditional movie house theater became a restaurant as well under the name Bethesda Cinema 'n Drafthouse; in 1990, it became the Bethesda Theatre Cafe. In 1985, the Montgomery County Master Plan for Historic Preservation included the building, and the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. In 2007, supported by tax breaks and state and county funding, the Bozzuto Group renovated the theater and built apartments above it. It was auctioned off in June 2010 and reopened as the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club.

Designed by renowned architect John Eberson, this art deco-style theater was completed in 1938 and is one of the only remaining art deco theaters in the region constructed during Hollywood's Golden Age. Known as the Boro Theatre during some of its years in business, this theater was part of an independent movie house chain owned by Sidney Lust. The theater's establishment was integral to the development of the business center of Bethesda and therefore also part of the suburbanization of the DC metro area. Though the theater has undergone some renovations, name changes, and new business models over its history, it has operated almost continuously since 1938. In 1999, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places and now serves as the home of Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club.

Bethesda Theatre (Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club)

Little Tavern was a small chain of fast-food restaurants located primarily in Washington, D.C. The chain was founded by Harry F. Duncan in Louisville, Kentucky. Other locations opened up in the Baltimore-Washington area, and the Louisville location closed in 1950. Before 1931, the locations were constructed similarly to those of the White Castle chain, however, the third Baltimore location adopted the high pitched roof and Tudor style that later became synonymous with Little Tavern. The location at Cordell and Wisconsin was the second location in Bethesda, with the first opening in 1937, at 7317 Wisconsin Avenue. The 1937 building later moved to Montgomery Avenue and was demolished in the 1970s. Little Tavern at Cordell and Wisconsin was built in 1955 and is one of a handful remaining Little Taverns still standing. Because of changing tastes and development in Bethesda, the chain struggled and the Bethesda location closed in 1983 with the last Little Tavern closing on April 29, 2008.

The small, one-story building at the corner of Cordell Avenue and Wisconsin Avenue is the former home to a restaurant named Little Tavern. The building and other restaurants in the chain are distinct for their green roof and construction in the old English cottage, Tudor style. The buildings were constructed of modern building materials such as vitrolite, tile, Formica, and aluminum alloy. The building was designated a historic site in 1994, due to its architecture being a prime example of roadside architecture from the early automobile era. Currently, the restaurant is a Chinese takeout.  

Little Tavern Bethesda

When Leslie Beall died in 1965, the house was passed on to his daughter, Virginia Withers, who maintained an antique shop in the building. As the downtown area of Bethesda began substantial development, many neighbors sold off their land to developers, however, Withers remained adamant about keeping her land which stretches from the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Arlington Rd to Moorland lane. In 1986, the Chevy Chase Saving and Loan Inc made a deal with Withers and the county planning board in which the house was kept and public green space was erected in exchange for denser development allowed in the new Chevy Chase Garden Plaza, which still remains today. In addition, to the North of the house, a gazebo was constructed that is now used to sell pizza. Currently, the house is an art studio.

The Leslie Beall House in Bethesda was constructed in 1925, adjacent to a grocery store run by Leslie Beall. The grocery store was the first in Bethesda to have delivery and fresh meat. The house is marked by its central portico with columns, one-story wings with roof balustrades, and roofing with terra cotta tiles. Since 1986, the building and its adjacent gazebo have been used for commercial purposes. 

Leslie Beall House

In 1985, local Bethesda construction company Rozansky &amp; Kay placed a stone historic marker at this site to mark the historic crossroads known as the "Five Points." The marker is dedicated to the citizens of the Montgomery County. The stone plinth marker bears a plaque depicting a map of the intersection and commemorates three hundred years of travel along these routes, 1685-1985. The trails used by Native Americans prior to the seventeenth century evolved over time to become major streets in Bethesda: <ul><li>Edgemoor Lane</li><li>Wisconsin Avenue (Maryland Route 355), traveling north-south through the intersection</li><li>East West Highway (Maryland Route 410) leading east from this location</li><li>Old Georgetown Road (Maryland Route 187), leading northwest from this location</li></ul> Maryland routes 187 and 410 originate at this spot. This intersection continues to be a hub of commerce and community in Bethesda. The Bethesda Metro Station, built in 1984 on the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority's Red Line, sits underneath this intersection and the exit emerges near this spot on Wisconsin Avenue. The establishment of the marker soon followed the opening of this metro station. As a result of this station's construction, one of the roads on the marker, Edgemoor Lane, no longer intersects with the other roads at this location; it now intersects with Old Georgetown Road northwest of the Five Points.

For over 300 years, this intersection has been at the heart of trade and travel in the area that is now Bethesda, Maryland. Originally the roads that meet here were trails used by Native Americans which evolved into five major streets in Bethesda. In 1985, not long after the construction of Bethesda Metro Station underneath this spot, Rozansky & Kay Construction Company placed a stone historic marker at the crossroads to commemorate three centuries of travel along these routes. One of the streets named in the historical marker inscription, Edgemoor Lane, no longer meets the intersection with the other four streets.

Five Points (Bethesda)

<div>In 1911 the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) set out to mark the “Old Trails Road” stretching from Maryland to California. Initial plans called for painted mileage markers throughout the route. Those plans were later abandoned in favor of pioneer mother statues.&nbsp; </div><div>National DAR Commission chairperson Arlene B. Nichols Moss was inspired by Portland, Oregon’s 1905&nbsp;Sacajawea&nbsp;monument to commission&nbsp;Madonna of the Trail&nbsp;statues to be placed in the 12 states through which the “Old Trails Road” passed. Sculptor August Leimbach envisioned a scene in which she is looking for her husband whom she believes to be in danger. Like other Pioneer Mother statues erected during the late 1920s, the 12 DAR statues balanced strong, active roles for women with softer maternal symbolism.One&nbsp;Madonna of the Trail&nbsp;statue was erected in each of the states through which the National Old Trails Road passed. The statues were cast from algonite (a form of cast stone produced from a mixture of crushed marble, Missouri granite, stone, cement and lead ore) at the cost of $1,000 per statue.&nbsp; The statues were placed along key white migration routes, such as the early-19th-century National Road (later U.S. Route 40) and Santa Fe Trail (later the infamous Route 66). But the precise location of the monument within each state was selected based on both the site’s historical significance and the influence of local DAR chapters. Maryland's statue was placed not at the start of the Old National Road, but the site of the first American military road.The 12 Madonna of the Trail&nbsp;statues are among the best-known of nearly 200 pioneer-themed public monuments in the United States.&nbsp; But many local residents have questioned the placement of a Madonna of the Trail in urban Bethesda,
Maryland. She seems to garner little attention except when she stands in the way of urban redevelopment or threatens to
fall onto passing commuters. A sinkhole that developed beneath the statue in 2004 caused her to lean like the famous Tower of Pisa.&nbsp;Nonetheless, city leaders remain committed to
maintaining the statue within their community’s business district.&nbsp;In 2001, Cumberland, Maryland, sought to raise its own visibility as the
easternmost point on the Old National Road by adopting Bethesda’s Madonna of the Trail.&nbsp;<blockquote>'Not in my lifetime,' responded Bethesda
Chamber of Commerce President Jack Alexander. 'You all are welcome to come look at it,' he said, ‘but you’re not
leaving with our madonna.’1</blockquote>The&nbsp;Madonna of the Trail was so important to civic identity that it&nbsp;was featured on Bethesda's logo, but that logos and the statue it depicts remain largely unknown to residents of what has become a major urban core for the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. </div>

The easternmost of 12 identical statues depicting white pioneer women migrating along 19th-century western trails. Commissioned by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), they were dedicated in 1928-29 in 12 states stretching from Maryland to California. The Bethesda monument has been shifted to accommodate urban renewal and is featured on the city's logo.

Madonna of the Trail (Bethesda, MD)

The first post office in Bethesda was probably at the Bethesda Meeting House, in 1852. However, it closed within 6 months. Later, a general store owned by William E Darcy, at the intersection of Rockville Pike and Old Georgetown Road, operated a post office. The community was known as Darcy's Store after the general store, but in 1871, by the urging of the pastor of the Bethesda meeting house, the name of the community was officially changed to Bethesda. Later, the Post Office operated from Wilson's Store (Community Hardware). During the Great Depression, President Franklin D Roosevelt established economic programs known as the New Deal, including the Works Progress Administration, which aimed to provide jobs to Americans and improve American infrastructure. The Bethesda Chamber of Commerce created a committee to persuade David Lewis, the local congressmen to set aside WPA money for a new post office as the one at Wilson's Store was inadequate for the population growth Bethesda had experienced. In June of 1936, 115,000 dollars was set aside for the new post office. The lot at 7400 Wisconsin was purchased for 45,000, while 54,000 dollars was given to builders Sofarelli Brothers of Jamaica, NY. The stone, from Stoneyhurst Quarrys on River Road, was also used in the Bank of Bethesda, and downtown shopping centers. When the post office closed in 2012, the mural depicting the Farm Women's Market was moved to the Bethesda Chevy Chase Regional Services Center.

The Bethesda Farm Women's Market was started by a group of 19 farm women, led by Blanche A Corwin, in Montgomery County who were suffering from the Great Depression and low prices who needed more money. The market first opened on February 4, 1932, in an old store on Wisconsin Avenue, and it was a large success. By the end of 1932, the group moved into its current structure, and they purchased it in 1935.The building of the farm market is a simple 105 feet by 45 feet rectangular frame on a concrete foundation, covered in german siding. Double door entrances on the east (rear) and west (front) lead into the one room structure.Currently, the market has around two dozen vendors and is open three times a week. Recently, plans have formed to redevelop, move, and add an addition to the market as well as creating a much denser nearby space.

The Bethesda Farm Women's Market, also known as the Montgomery Farm Women's Cooperative Market is a farmers market that operates year-round in downtown Bethesda. The farmers market building is located on the corner of Willow Lane and Wisconsin Avenue and was constructed c. 1932. The market is the county's oldest market, and in addition, it represents a movement of farmers' wives in the Great Depression looking for new avenues of revenue. 

Bethesda Farm Women's Market

Bethesda Chevy Chase High School first started in 1926, when a ninth grade was added to an 8 grade school on Wilson Lane. In 1928, with more grades, the school moved to Leland, near the intersection of 44th street and Willow Lane in Chevy Chase. At the time, it was only the third high school in the county, with Rockville HS and Takoma Silver Spring HS in other sections of the county. In 1936, when the new school building opened on the site of the old Watkins farm, grades 10, 11, and 12 moved to the new BCC HS while the old Leland site was converted to Leland Junior High School for grades 7 and 8. Leland was demolished in 1988 for the new Leland Community Center. The BCC original building is a 25 bay wide, 3 and a half story structure, with a cupola on the top of the central wing. It was built with funds from the Public Works Administration, which was a depression-era economic program set up by President Franklin D Roosevelt to increase jobs and rebuild America's infrastructure. Buildings such as the Bethesda Post Office were also funded through the PWA. The administration building, built in 1952, models the original building in style and structure.

The Bethesda Chevy Chase High School, constructed in 1935, is one of two high schools in Montgomery County that was constructed with Public Works Administration funds (the other being Montgomery Blair High School). The original building when constructed, was the largest school building in Maryland. Constructed in the Georgian Revival style, it was based on the academic buildings of William and Mary College, and Harvard College. The school has undergone numerous additions in response to population growth. The 1952 administration building was the last public school building in Montgomery constructed in the Georgian revival style, with modernism taking over school designs. Other additions include one in 1938, 1941, 1946, a 1976 renovation, a 2002 major addition that combined the Administration and original building into one building, and a new 2018 addition.   

Downtown Bethesda Walking Tour

Old Post Office Bethesda

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information