Montgomery Preservation Inc. honors book that documents County’s mid-20th-century architecture and neighborhoods for demonstrating excellence in heritage education
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is pleased to announce that its book, Montgomery Modern: Modern Architecture in Montgomery County, Maryland, 1930-1979, has been honored with a 2015 Montgomery County Award for Historic Preservation. The award was presented by Montgomery Preservation Inc. for demonstrating excellence in heritage education at a ceremony at the Sandy Spring Museum on March 25, 2016.
The 250-page, well-illustrated book is written by Clare Lise Kelly, a preservation planner and an architectural historian with the Planning Department’s Historic Preservation Office. The book includes an inventory of key buildings and communities, and biographical sketches of architects and developers.
“Montgomery Modern is surely destined to become an invaluable reference guide to modernist design, planning, construction and – hopefully – preservation of Montgomery County’s mid-century heritage,” said Jerry McCoy, president of the Silver Spring Historical Society, at the award ceremony. “One hopes this book will rekindle popular appreciation for modernism and help raise awareness of the value of modern resources, and to ensure that this significant part of our architectural heritage will remain for the benefit of generations to come.”
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 and other outreach events dedicated to 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.