Bethesda And Chevy Chase In Images Of America
If you drive North on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C., you will soon arrive at the Chevy Chase Circle and the suburb of Chevy Chase, Maryland. If you go slightly West to Wisconsin Avenue and drive North, you will arrive at the suburb of Bethesda, Maryland. These two Maryland suburbs are adjacent, and the residents of each are largely educated and well to do. But there are interesting differences in how each community developed over the years. Steve Roberts, a long-time resident of Bethesda, columnist, and college professor, tells the story of both communities with their similarities and differences in his short photographic history, "Bethesda and Chevy Chase" (2016). The book is part of the Images of America series of local histories by Arcadia Publishing. I have learned a great deal about American communities, both those which I know and those which I don't know, from the Images of America series. I go to Bethesda and to Chevy Chase often and learned from and enjoyed this book.
During much of the 19th century, both Bethesda and Chevy Chase consisted of undeveloped farm land. Even then, Bethesda had a more commercial focus and was dotted with small stores. With the growth in Washington D.C. and the advent of the street car, both communities began to develop. It was good to be reminded of the importance of street cars which are having a small come back in some American cities. Chevy Chase became an exclusively residential community designed for the wealthy and for many years was notorious for its restrictive racial and ethnic covenants. The old hunting grounds in Chevy Chase became country and golf clubs for the elite. Bethesda was always a more lively place and featured a growing commerce and even an industrial park.
In his opening chapters, Roberts alternates between the two suburbs and shows the muddy roads, horse-drawn wagons, and farms of the early years. Then he shows how each community developed with Chevy Chase's residential exclusivity and Bethesda's growing cosmopolitanism. He stresses the importance of population growth, the street car and automobile, and the two World Wars. It took longer than I thought for both suburbs to reach their current character.
Roberts gives chapters in his book to old community landmarks. Thus he discusses Chevy Chase Lake, an exclusive amusement part at the end of the street car line near the current Jones Bridge Road. The lake and the park are long gone. I was interested in learning about the Chevy Chase Seminary, an exclusive women's college that served in Chevy Chase from the early 20th Century to 1950. Bethesda too has unusual landmarks, including a statue that marks the area's old role as a rest point as pioneers headed West. Bethesda became a center for commerce, the home of many government facilities including the National Institute of Health, and a recreational center of its own with Glen Echo Park located to the West. Unhappily Glen Echo Park had its own lengthy history of segregation.
An institution uniting both Bethesda and Chevy Chase is BCC High School located on East-West Highway East of Wisconsin Avenue that for years has educated young people from both communities. BCC is a fine school and it is valuable to be reminded of how both communities, as do Americans everywhere, treasure the education of their children.
Roberts draws heavily on images provided by the Chevy Chase Historical Society and the Bethesda Chamber of Commerce as well as on unusual and rare photographs provided by long term residents. The author knows both Bethesda and Chevy Chase well and states simply, "This is home". I enjoyed learning more about Bethesda and Chevy Chase and thinking about the experiences I have had over the years in both places. As do most of the books in the Images of America series, this book captures something of the diversity of local American life.
