Sycamore Revisited

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guest post: Scott Whipple

Back in June I wrote about the Historic Preservation Commission’s approval of a proposal to install solar panels on the roof of the Sycamore Store, a historic site designated in the Montgomery County Master Plan for Historic Preservation. 

A charming, small yellow building with a large window and a brick chimney, labeled "Sycamore Store." The structure is surrounded by greenery and trees, under a clear sky. A fire hydrant is visible in the foreground.

Sycamore Store, before solar panels

The panels have been installed.  Have a look. 

A yellow building with a "Sycamore Store" sign on the front sits surrounded by trees. A silver pickup truck is parked in front. A green sign on the right reads "Glen Echo." Power lines cross above the street in the foreground.

Yellow building labeled "Sycamore Store" with solar panels on the roof, surrounded by trees. There's a visible "Welcome to Glen Echo" sign and a parked truck in front.

A quaint yellow house with the sign "Sycamore Store" features a brick chimney and solar panels on the roof. It's surrounded by greenery, with a manicured lawn and trees in the background.

A yellow house with a prominent brick chimney and a dormer, featuring solar panels on the dark roof. Trees are in the background.

As discussed back in June, putting solar panels in a highly visible location on a historic resource is not the preferred alternative from a historic preservation perspective, and it is not appropriate in many instances. But sometimes, as with the Sycamore Store, it may be the only place on a site where solar panels will operate effectively. And, given the nature of the historic resource and the design of the facility, the installation may be compatible with the historic building.

With the project complete, I think the Sycamore Store installation works and illustrates well that preservation and sustainability can and do support each other.  In my view the Historic Preservation Commission got it right.