Bethesda Public Parking Garage Power Rankings
1. Cordell – St.Elmo
Located on two more secluded streets of Bethesda, this simple four story garage on a quaint block of the Woodmont Triangle area is the best parking garage in Bethesda. The visually appealing teal colored railings and convenient stairway on Cordell Avenue gives the Cordell – St. Elmo Garage just enough for first place.
2. Waverly Garage
In the heart of the “Bethesda Financial District”, Waverly Garage even stretches over Waverly Street and shows its magnificent seven story construction along with numerous ways to
enter/exit. The immense stature, coupled with a magnificent view of Downtown Bethesda permits Waverly Garage a runner up finish. Current construction deterred it from the top spot.
3. Bethesda – Elm
Street Parking spots in Bethesda Row are typically few and far between, so this lovable garage offers easy access to both Bethesda Ave and Elm Street, as well as picturesque views of the vast Bethesda skyline.
4. Auburn – Delray
This massive, six-story parking garage is a slight bit far from Woodmont Triangle, but it makes up for it with a great view of the Bethesda skyline from the north. The Auburn – Delray Garage also offers very easy access to both Old Georgetown Road and Norfolk Avenue.
5. Woodmont – Rugby
Although this garage is very small (only two stories), it really stands out with the eloquent mural
that was recently painted on it. Also allows for great access to the recent developments near the intersection of Woodmont Avenue and Battery Lane.
6. Woodmont Corner
Solid location near Woodmont Triangle, however its aggressively average appearance and colossal size makes the Cordell – St. Elmo Garage a much better bet for Woodmont Triangle visitors. This Garage is however titanic in size, and even stretches all the way to Old Georgetown Road.
7. Metropolitan
Located near the Bethesda Transit Center, the Metropolitan Garage allows for easy access to the Red Line, but not much else. The Metropolitan Garage also contains Parking Lot Attendant Booths, which are quite the rarity in Bethesda’s Public Parking Garages. For that reason alone, I’d bet dollars to donuts that it is the most confusing Garage in Bethesda to park in.
8. Capital Crescent
Although this garage is close to Bethesda Row, it is primarily underground and doesn’t really stand out from any of the other exquisite garages in Bethesda. It does however give intrepid hikers, runners, bikers, and even rollerbladers great access to the Capital Crescent Trail just a block away.
9. Cheltenham
A slight bit off the beaten path nearing the East Bethesda neighborhood, this garage is also basically just a hole in the wall. Even being home to the Bethesda Parking Permit Sales Store couldn’t keep the Cheltenham Garage out of the ninth and final spot in the rankings.
By Tom Merritt
Celebrities with MoCo Ties: Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze (born Adam Spiegel) is an Oscar-winning film director, screenwriter, photographer, and actor.
He was at the helm for films such as Being John Malkovich, Where the Wild Things Are, and Her. In addition, Jonze also is a co-creator of the well-known Jackass TV and movie franchise. More recently, Jonze directed Aziz Ansari’s recent Netflix comedy special Aziz Ansari: Right Now.
Jonze was raised in Bethesda, MD and went to Walt Whitman High School. He got his start in creative work through his photography work with Rockville BMX, a cult-favorite bike store that was located in between Rockville and Bethesda in the 1980s.
Jonze currently lives in Los Angeles, CA.
By Daniel Garay
- Montgomery County Council Passes LGBTQ+ Bill of Rights
Montgomery County Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to enact an LGBTQ+ Bill of Rights, the first of its kind in the state of Maryland. Initially proposed by the Council’s first LGBTQ+ member, Evan Glass, the law will expand existing anti-discrimination codes to include gender expression and HIV status.
Included within gender expression-based discrimination are willful failure to use an individual’s preferred name or pronouns and discrimination against an individual because of their clothing, hairstyle, behavior, voice, or similar characteristics.
The law also aims to protect LGBTQ+ seniors by banning LGBTQ+ discrimination in healthcare settings and nursing homes. Half of all people living with HIV are above the age of 50, and with the county’s rapidly growing senior population, healthcare protections are becoming increasingly vital.
“Too many go back into the closet as they enter situations like long term care settings, so we hope that this legislation will give them some measure of hope, and will empower them to know that if the worst should happen that they actually have some rights” says Aaron Tax, Director of Advocacy at LGBTQ+ elders advocacy group Sage.
The legislation will go into effect 90 days from when it is signed by County Executive Marc Elrich.
“Montgomery County is the first place to protect LGBTQ+ seniors, hopefully in the next year or two all Marylanders will have the same protections,” says Councilmember Glass.
(https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/Resources/Files/agenda/col/2020/20201006/20201006_8B.pdf)
By Alicia Clanton
Part of the movie “All The President’s Men” was filmed in Chevy Chase.
In 1975, two scenes from the movie “All The President’s Men”, were filmed at 7009 East Avenue in the Town of Chevy Chase.
“All The President’s Men” premiered in 1976 and depicted the duo of Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) and their uncovering of the connection between the 1972 burglary of the Democratic Party Headquarters in the Watergate Complex in Washington, DC, and a White House Staffer.
Actors Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, and Jane Alexander filmed two scenes for the movie at the home at 7009 East Avenue. Sound trucks and other equipment trucks stretched from East Avenue to Bradley Boulevard for eight days during 1975.
It is even said that between takes, Dustin Hoffman would play touch football with the neighborhood children.
Image Courtesy of Time Magazine
By Tom Merritt
What Should Lakeforest Mall’s Future Be? Let Your Voice Be Heard
The City of Gaithersburg is seeking public input on the future of the Lakeforest Mall site and has released a public input survey this morning — to participate in the survey, please visit https://publicinput.com/Lakeforest?fbclid=IwAR2cwYTA0VtyBZmJO30FIkSYdxlUUgta5nFVO2plzEkgjK7xW9-w2X_BsUM.
The survey, which consists of 19 questions, is extensive and allows for participants to state which amenities would attract them to Lakeforest, chime in on what types of businesses are most needed by Lakeforest’s surrounding community, and even give preferences on future traffic circulation patterns in future Lakeforest development sites.
Back in August, we discussed how the City of Gaithersburg Mayor and City Council passed a resolution that proclaimed a one-year moratorium on development at Lakeforest Mall. Last year, developer WRS, Inc. purchased much of the Lakeforest Mall space, but has been unable to further expand on development due to J.C. Penney, Macy’s, Sears, and Lord & Taylor owning the land that their stores are on.
Despite opposition from WRS, the City of Gaithersburg opted to extend this moratorium to garner public input on the future of the Lakeforest Mall site. The possibilities for the Lakeforest Mall site hold a great deal of importance for the surrounding community, and it will be interesting to see what the future holds.
By Daniel Garay
How much do you know about Montgomery County’s forts?
This map covers the surrounding area of forts Alexander, Franklin, and Ripley, each built within a few miles of Washington D.C. near Glen Echo. Fort Sumner can be seen scribbled on the map in ink. It was connected to the other three forts by trenches. The forts were built as part of D.C.’s defenses during the Civil War. The illustration was created by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
The entire image depicts the same map at various points of completion. Landmarks such as roads, and bodies of water can be spotted on the finished version of the map. The colored body of water is the Potomac River.
Many forts in Montgomery County were not preserved and some were destroyed for residential development in the 1950s.
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.
By Amy Lusignan
The First Ever Federal Monuments are on the Border of Montgomery County
There are 40 “Boundary Stones” that mark the border of Washington, D.C., our nation’s capital. There is one Boundary Stone for every one mile on the District’s border, which is a ten mile by ten mile square.
There are a total of nine Boundary Stones on the border of DC and Montgomery County, mainly along Western Avenue, Eastern Avenue, and within the Washington Aqueduct.
These Boundary Stones were actually the brainchild of President George Washington, after he was commissioned to select a site for the new nation’s capital along the Potomac River. After selecting present day DC as the location, he then decided he needed to outline the border for the Federal City.
The Boundary Stones were placed by Andrew Ellicott and his brother Joseph, along with Benjamin Banneker, a free African-American astronomer and surveyor who helped with calculations.
The first Boundary Stone was placed on April 15th, 1791, and on January 1st, 1793, Ellicott handed the final report and final map to then Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson after all of the Boundary Stones had been placed.
The Boundary Stones marking the border between Montgomery County and DC are as follows.
NW4 “Chain Bridge”
NW5 “U.S. Reservoir”
NW6 “Tenleytown”
NW7 “Chevy Chase Circle”
NW8 “Pinehurst”
NW9 “Rock Creek Park”
North “Near Woodside, MD”
NE1 “Blair Lee” (The NE1 Boundary Stone was unfortunately run over by a bulldozer in 1952, so a plaque marks the spot)
NE2 “Takoma”
Images Courtesy of the Washington Post and Ghosts of DC
By Tom Merritt
