August 26, 2010/Mid-Century Modern /by Mid-Century Mike

Open House Picks: My Goodman, Carderock Springs and Custom Potomac MCM

Open staircase in my listing at 4007 Ingersol Dr. in Silver Spring.

I’ll be holding my listing in Rock Creek Woods in Silver Spring open from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday for those of you looking for a Charles Goodman in Montgomery County. Check out this copy from the original brochure: “The architect begins his concept with the beautiful, rolling, wooded terrain of Rock Creek Woods, and the homes have been designed to fit the rise and fall of the land, disturbing it as little as possible. All trees not actually in an excavation or street have been saved…the houses become part of the natural surroundings.” You can see more here about the house in my earlier post.

This 5/3 Brookview model by Charles Goodman is listed at $549K.

Here are a few others that caught my eye. This sprawling 1960 mid-century modern in Potomac was the personal residence of local mid-century architect Jerold Williamson. The price has dropped $85,ooo to $989K. Here are two open houses in Cardrock Springs in Bethesda: a 1962 5/3 Woodside model listed for $847K and an expanded 4/3 Hillcrest model listed for $825K down from $839K. Like Rock Creek Woods, Carderock Springs by Edmund Bennett and architects Keyes, Lethbridge and Condon is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its mid-century modern architecture.

August 25, 2010/Mid-Century Modern /by Mid-Century Mike

The Disappearing Mid-Century Modern Safeways

One of the mid-century modern “Marina” style Safeway stores in the area will be disappearing. This one on Georgia Avenue and Reedie Drive in Wheaton, most likely from the 1960s, will be replaced with with a mixed-used development.

The Marina name comes from the the first Safeway of this design on Marina Boulevard in San Francisco. “Safeway stores from the late 1950s and early 1960s are some of the most easily-identifiable structures on the west coast,” David Gwynn writes at groceteria.com. “A classic and simple modern design, with three main variations, these stores look as clean and fresh today as the day they opened. Many of these stores, such as San Francisco’s Marina Boulevard location (the first such store in June 1959), continue to operate with only minor exterior modifications forty years after their construction.”

If you want to visit one in its vintage state, head to the store further down on Georgia Avenue here in DC (see images below) or this one on University Boulevard in Silver Spring. While many of us appreciate the architecture and are sad to see it disappear, there is a larger discussion of the issues surrounding why some Safeways are redeveloped while others remain in their original state or close to it. Do you know other vintage stores, ones that have been altered or ultimately lost?

August 24, 2010/Mid-Century Modern /by Mid-Century Mike

Mid-Century Modern Office Space: Silver Spring’s Technical Service Park

On the new season of “Mad Men,” Don Draper and the rest of the crew have new digs in the Wallace Harrison-designed Time-Life Building. Anyone looking for their own mid-century office space? I came across Technical Service Park on Linden Lane in Silver Spring a few weeks ago by chance. I’m glad I did. When I first saw the office building with its vintage stone sign and concrete screen block decorated exterior walls, I thought I had taken a detour to LA, Palm Springs or Vegas. If anyone is looking for office space in a mid-century modern building, you can see what is available here (scroll down to the Silver Spring listings.) If you’re not looking for office, at least you can enjoy the pictures of the this well-preserved (at least on the outside) local mid-century commercial space. Speaking of Harrison, stay tuned for a report on my visit to his Empire State Plaza in Albany.

Month: August 2010