Bethesda Maryland

A Modern House to ‘Feel Good In’

Contrast and harmony. That’s how author Thomas Drexel describes the multi award-winning David Jameson designed home in Bethesda I currently have listed for $1.75 million. The home, located in the wonderful Mohican Hills section of Glen Echo Heights, was selected for the recently released book “50 Houses to Feel Good In,” published by Random House (Germany).
“Liveable modern architecture does not need to be a contradiction,” the publisher says in notes for the 240-page beautiful hardback book. “This can be seen in the single-family homes presented here, which combine an inviting, warm feeling with a creative and contemporary design.”
The color of the Cor-Ten steel matches the color of the surrounding trees during the fall. Photo by Paul Warchol.
Jameson’s modernist design is constructed of COR-TEN steel, stucco and glass was built to connect with the wooded site and display the work of local artists. “The russet color of the [steel] material provides a direct connection to the surrounding nature, and contrasts attractively with the white plaster walls,” Drexel writes. See the whole chapter on the house (in German.)
The house has already won three top design awards: the 2013 Northern Virginia Chapter AIA Award of Excellence, the 2013 Maryland AIA Award for Residential Architecture and the 2013 Washington DC AIA /Washingtonian Residential Design Award.
The soaring two-story living room looks out onto the .36 wooded yard. Photo by Paul Warchol.
Elegantly scaled and sited on the deep .36 acre lot with mature trees, the 3,500 square foot home has Read More >

Mid-Century Modern Market Heating Up

During the past week, I have seen a major uptick in activity in the local mid-century market. Five of the new mid-century modern listings that came on the market this past week are already under contract, including this custom home by Charles Goodman (pictured above) on more than acre in Bethesda. Listed at $995K, it went under contract in four days. I’m seeing multiple offers and escalation clauses, so buyers need to be armed with pre-approval letters and ready to compete for houses they really want. This is a change from the past few years where homes would linger on the market for months. Today, even homes that need substantial work are going quickly. This is just a brief snapshot of the new spring market. We’ll see if this warming trend continues as the weather heats up.

Open House Sunday at My Charred Oak Estates Listing

A shot from the original kitchen.

I’ll be holding my 5/3 1961 vintage mid-century modern listing in Charred Oak Estates open from 2 to 5 on Sunday. If you are searching for a MCM in Bethesda or know someone who is, stop by to take a look.

–Michael

Open Houses Galore in Carderock Springs Today

If you have been thinking about checking out Carderock Springs in Bethesda, now may be a good time to look. Here are eight houses for sale in the community; six of them are open today. Carderock, built by Edmund Bennett and designed by the MCM architecture team of Keyes, Lethbridge and Condon, was named earlier this year to the National Register of Historic Places.

These six are by Bennett and Keyes, Lethbridge and Condon.

1967 4/3 – $798K

1962 5/3 – $810K – Open 5/31

1966 5/3 – $839K- Open 5/31

1968 4/3 – $850K – Open 5/31

1969 4/2.5 – $849K – Open 5/31

Expanded 1964 5/3 – $995K

These two were developed later and we’re not done by Bennett.

1971 5/3 – $1.09 Million – Open 5/31

1971 5/3 – $855K- Open 5/31

Redland Knolls in Bethesda

This 1942 Frank Lloyd Wright-style home I blogged about here was featured in a Washington Post story yesterday about Redland Knolls, a Bethesda neighborhood off of River Road. The house sold for $1.275 early last year and is said to have been designed by one of Wright’s students, although that has not been confirmed. There are number of nice mid-century modern homes in the neighborhood (check out the ones along Pyle Road), which the Post describes as an “eclectic” mix of architectural styles.

Carderock Springs is Now Historic

Carderock Springs, the mid-century modern community in Bethesda built in the 1960s by pioneering developer Edmund Bennett and designed by Arthur Keyes, Francis Donald Lethbridge and David Condon, was named to the National Register of Historic Places in December after a four-year effort by residents and county officials. Charles Goodman’s Rock Creek Woods, Hammond Wood and five homes on Takoma Avenue are other the MCM communities in Montgomery County on the National Register. Read more about Carderock’s designation here.

Bethesda’s Mid-Century Police Station Endangered

It’s been a little slow for new interesting mid-century modern properties for sale, so I’m trying to catch up on some items that I’ve been meaning to get to for awhile.
For those who know Bethesda well, the 2nd District Police Station with its distinctive light-blue window panels, is likely to disappear. Montgomery County has asked for proposals to redevelop the corner of Wisconsin and Montgomery Avenues, which has an estimated worth of $2.5 million. Proposals were due Oct. 10. Police officials says the 1961 building is inadequate for the their needs and has continuing maintenance problems.
Officials from the Bethesda Urban Partnership and the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce support efforts to redevelop the site, according to the Gazette. “There are places that are just prime for assemblage and development,” said David Dabney, executive director of the Bethesda Urban Partnership, a non-profit charged with the promotion and upkeep of downtown Bethesda. “… We want to update that corner and make it alive.”
I know I enjoy seeing the building whenever I drive past. I’ll miss it when the corner is made to look like everything else.

Open House: Two Early 1970s Bethesda Contemporaries

Both of these early 1970s Bethesda contemporaries have been on the market for some time and have had their prices reduced. They are also both open today from 1 to 4 p.m. if you are out looking.
1972 5/5 – $1.999 Million – Located in Bannockburn Estates on nearly an acre, the home has a large, open foyer and living room with massive stone fireplace, wood-beamed cathedral ceiling and wall of windows. It also has an indoor pool and tennis court. Located here.
1971 5/3.5 – $899K – This Bethesda contemporary has dropped $100K and features a great open living room with wood ceiling and plenty of glass. Located here.

Modern Snapshot: Charles Goodman’s Bethesda United Church of Christ

Charles Goodman designed the Bethesda United Church of Christ at the corner of Fernwood Road and Democracy Boulevard in 1957. The sanctuary is an octagonal room with a soaring wood-beamed ceiling. The church, on its web site, says clear windows were used in the sanctuary rather than stained glass “to make sure that we could see the world around us, and that the world could see us as well.” A very modern idea, which fit well with Charles Goodman’s design philosophy and use of vast expanses of glass. Goodman also designed two other churches in the area. In 1951, he designed the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ, Latter Day Saints in D.C, and in 1963, the Unitarian Church of Arlington (now the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington.)

Two Ken Freeman Contemporaries in Bradley Park

Here are two new listings for Ken Freeman-designed homes in Bradley Park in Bethesda.
1961 4/2.5 – $890K – Does not look like too much updating in this two-level split on a third of an acre. Being sold in “AS IS” condition. It sold for $870K a year ago.
1959 3/3 – 865K – Not sure why someone would put leaded windows in this four-level split. Open Sunday, July 27, from 1 to 4 p.m.

Modern Snapshot: Charles Goodman’s Whittier Woods School

I’m launching a new feature, Modern Snapshot, which will highlight mid-century modern buildings in our area that are not only still standing, but still being used on a daily basis–a school, church, library or some other type of space. If you have suggestions, ideas or submissions (with pictures), please send here.
The first building I’m featuring is the Whittier Woods School located on Whittier Boulevard in Bethesda. Attributed to Charles Goodman, the 1950s-era school, now the Kenwood Park Children’s Center at Whittier Woods Center, is brick with lots of glass and examples of colored exterior panels Goodman often incorporated into his designs. While the building has been expanded, it appears that the original structure was retained with the new section simply attached to the existing building. Achitectural historian Elizabeth Jo Lampl, in her writings on Goodman, says the school was originally called Kenwood Park School. I found a reference to the school as Whittier Woods from the early 1960s. The letters spelling out the school’s name, which appear to be original, indicate that the name was changed when that cool, very MCM typeface was still being used.

Billy Smull-Designed Bannockburn Home to Remain

Good news. The 1953 Billy Smull-designed Bannockburn Estates home I wrote about here has been purchased by MCM fans who intend to preserve the home. “We just bought this house,” the anonymous poster said. “We love it, and we certainly are not going to tear it down! We plan to update/restore it a little bit, which it needs, and that’s all. It’s exactly what we were looking for.” With the home sitting on the market for a while and with the price dropping $300,000, it looked like the property was being sold for the .82 acres of land in the prime Bethesda neighborhood. I had a feeling the home was a goner; I’m glad I was wrong.

Drumaldry in Bethesda

Built by developers Miller and Smith in the early 1970s, the homes in Drumaldry are contemporary homes with plenty of glass, open spaces and redwood cathedral ceilings, yet private because of the 6-foot brick walls built around the properties. When I first saw the homes from outside, I did not get a very modern or contemporary feel (I actually first thought of Sherwood Forest). That definitely changes once you walk inside. Here are two homes in the neighborhood currently for sale:
1972 4/2.5 – $730K – This listing has good images.
1973 – 4/3 – $790K – This one only has one exterior image.

High Point in Bethesda

High Point is a mid-century neighborhood located along Massachusetts Avenue in Bethesda. You can find a number of cool ramblers and California contemporaries on Massachusetts, Osceola Road and Onondaga Road. While most of the mid-century homes remain, there are signs of unfortunate change. Along Onondaga Road, I saw a barren lot, one completed McMansion and one in progress across the street.

Whither Bradley Park?

I was looking at this 1963 home in Bradley Park the other day when I came across this lot. For the most part, the original California contemporary homes by Ken Freeman remain. Some have been modified while others have met the wrecking ball to make way for homes that, to say the least, do not fit in with the rest of the community.

Unfortunately, the home I linked to above, (which has dropped $100K by the way), sits on a cul-de-sac right near a brick McMansion monstrosity. Without community covenants restricting what types of homes can be built, I fear more of Freeman’s MCM homes will disappear.