Photographs and text highlight County’s pioneering mid-20th-century landmarks and neighborhoods
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, has opened Montgomery Modern, an exhibit on mid-20th-century buildings and neighborhoods, at its headquarters (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD). The photography and texts are based on the 2015 book, Montgomery Modern: Modern Architecture in Montgomery County, Maryland, 1930-1979, written by Clare Lise Kelly, a preservation planner and an architectural historian with the Planning Department’s Historic Preservation Office.
“Montgomery Modern reflects Clare’s commitment and passion for preserving the recent past. The exhibit provides a good overview of midcentury modern design in Montgomery County,” said Planning Director Gwen Wright. “It is part of our dedicated and broader efforts to raise awareness about this important era in our County’s history and preserve its legacy.”
The exhibit is located in the atrium of the Planning Department headquarters and is publicly accessible from the entrance lobby next to Royce Hanson Park. It can be viewed during office hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The exhibit will run through March 31.
“The post-World War II era has been little understood and the exhibit helps to raise awareness about the value of buildings from this time period,” said Clare Lise Kelly, who conceived and organized the exhibit.
Copies of the Montgomery Modern book can be purchased online: a hard cover copy costs $65 and a paperback costs $55.
About Montgomery Modern
The publication of Montgomery Modern: Modern Architecture in Montgomery County, Maryland, 1930-1979 is part of the Historic Preservation Office’s award-winning Montgomery Modern initiative to educate the public about the architectural heritage of Montgomery County. This preservation program has included a bus tour, bike tour, book signing and other outreach events dedicated to making residents more aware of the wealth of mid-century modern architecture in the County. Learn more about the Historic Preservation Office’s Montgomery Modern initiative.
Montgomery Modern: Modern Architecture in Montgomery County, Maryland, 1930-1979, written by M-NCPPC senior architectural historian Clare Lise Kelly, provides the historic context for modern architecture in Montgomery County, Maryland, from its first appearance in the 1930s through the 1970s. Richly illustrated with images by DC photographer Carol Highsmith, period photographs and architectural renderings, the book is organized by building types set within four main time periods.
Biographical sketches of practitioners (architects, landscape architects, developers, planners) are included, as well as an inventory of key projects, including buildings and subdivisions. Montgomery Modern is intended to raise awareness about the significance of modern architecture and the fragile nature of the built environment from the recent past.