First published in 1998, the Planning Department book documents the history of a model suburban community and highlights trends in American domestic architecture
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is pleased to announce the reprinting of Chevy Chase: A Home Suburb for the Nation’s Capital, the definitive reference book on this historic community at Montgomery County’s southern border with Washington, DC.
Written by historians and former Planning Department staffers Elizabeth Jo Lampl and Kimberly Prothro Williams, the book was originally published in 1998 by the Montgomery County Planning Department and the Maryland Historical Trust Press. The book is now available for online purchase through Lulu.com.
This 184-page, richly illustrated narrative chronicles the history and architecture of Chevy Chase, Maryland, documenting the fascinating history of a developer’s vision for a model streetcar community and its far-reaching impact on suburban development. In doing so, the book reveals the importance of the suburban ideal, a novel concept in the 1890s, to our national culture.
More than a simple land venture, Chevy Chase defined the turn-of-the-century suburban archetype. It was planned as a comprehensive, ideal community that incorporated the latest principles in transportation, infrastructure and public institutions, together with high standards for landscape and architectural design. The subsequent expansion beyond the community’s original boundaries is a model of 20th-century suburban growth.
Learn more about the Chevy Chase book and purchase it online for $20 at montgomeryplanning.org/historic.
About the Authors
Elizabeth Jo “Joey” Lampl co-authored the Chevy Chase book while working as an architectural historian and preservation planner in the Planning Department’s Historic Preservation Office. She is currently the Cultural Resources Manager for the Montgomery County Department of Parks, where she oversees the public history, museums, archaeology and historic building rehabilitation programs on parkland.
Kim Prothro Williams is an architectural historian and the National Register Coordinator for the DC Historic Preservation Office. Previously a preservation consultant, Kim has researched and written about rural and urban building traditions in the Washington metropolitan region for more than 25 years.