Downtown Bethesda Walking Tour
Description
Tour historical places of downtown Bethesda, MD.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
Tour historical places of downtown Bethesda, MD.