Comments on Glenmont Arcade shows Montgomery's commercial history - Greater Greater Washington

Comment by RonK

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:25:14 EDT

I suppose in the 1950's the thought was that the turn of the century antiquated victorian era architecture had to go. Make room for progress! Keep the arcade. Build around it. Every era should have architecture preserved for historical sake.

Comment by Wheaton

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 09:10:00 EDT

@iana

Well it's hard to say they were wrong about the blighted future of the area - whether or not that's the metro's fault...

Comment by MLD

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 08:39:17 EDT

@Frank IBC

The Gifford's company still survives as a wholesale operation, just the retail stores were closed.

Comment by Frank IBC

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:16:22 EDT

Sage - Jetties restaurant on Fairmont Avenue at Veterans Park sells "Giffords Ice Cream". I guess they bought the recipe and the trademark.

Comment by Frank IBC

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 11:23:52 EDT

Iana - you see some of the same thinking in many comments opposing the Purple Line. That people from DC (tnen) or PG County (now) are supposedly going to ride the train to come and rob your house.

Comment by iana

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 09:51:00 EDT

The little arcade inside the Woodmoor Shopping Center has a bit of that time-capsule feeling too.

I know an older fellow who lived around Glenmont and he told me about the early 1980s neighborhood meetings about plans for the area around the Metro station there (which, you might recall, didn't actually open until 1998). He said everyone there at the time was imagining some dystopian caricature of the NYC subway at the time, that the whole neighborhood would become infested with rats and covered in graffiti and so on. Fun times.

Comment by Thayer-D

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 09:14:31 EDT

I second Rich's comments which I tend to agree with anyway. Googie tends to be the best of 1950's and 1960's modernism, becasue at least they where trying to have fun. MLK boxes have always reminded me of the grid paper architects drew on, forgetting that their designs where supposed to be measured by the grid, not actually become the design. The late Art-Modern is definatley worth saving like the Flower Theater, but that period was the last incarnation of design, before it became completely abstracted in to bland boxes. My guess is this negation of the pedestrian was another nail in the coffin of cities at the time.

Comment by Rich

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 23:03:44 EDT

Arcades need pedestrian traffic to work and this one would need a complete reconception and re-renting of the immediate complex to really have preservation value. It actually would make a nice srts-type space with the right traffic driving anchor.

Glenmont is not usunual--many early suburban shopping areas were developed piecemeal like this, much like an old fashioned downtown, although Glenmont's shopping center is less organized than these places usually are. The lack of common ownnership makes redevelopment difficult. The owners tend to be small holders nervous about stasis and change. Unlike a lot of these suburban downtowns, Glenmont doesn't have much coherence and sacrificing something clever like the arcade might help in getting a more integrated place.

As for mid-century retail architecture. The interesting stuff has been disappearing for years. Arlington's redevlopment has erased or covered up a lot of it. Rockville Pike (upthread) was a rellative late comer and most of the earlier complexes like Congressional have lost what little character they once had and Mid-Pike soon will be a mixed use complex. There isn't much surviving Googie here (scattered and often in poor repair) and the late art moderne is probably what's most visible and worth saving. The DC area's post-WWII archectural stock is pretty awful--the highlights include mediocre buildings by name brand architects like the Washington Plaza hotel, the much maligned MLK library, and celebrity architect kitsch like the Kennedy Center; most of the rest is excessively bland, which is why places like the Flower Theater are worth saving.

Comment by GWalum

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 22:52:41 EDT

Why settle for "either/or" - why not have both? Save the arcade and accommodate additional development/density on the site! And please save the former bowling alley too - Tuffy Leemans - GW Colonials Football great, NY Giants Star and NFL Hall of Famer!

Comment by Tim H

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 12:38:49 EDT

Dan, although I think historic preservation is valuable, and I don't consider myself an expert on the worthiness of this particular venue, my gut response is that the small good of preserving this marginally worthwhile space would be greatly outweighed by any delay in positive development or reduction in utility of the new development that might occur through trying to keep the arcade. Maybe this is colored by the fact that, personally, I don't find it aesthetically pleasing or of great use.

Regardless, I really hope they can build some sort of town-center-like place at this site. A much bigger issue to me than the arcade is: if this place even does get redeveloped, will it be done in an even somewhat urban form? I applaud the county planners for their vision but there are little/no government dollars to help it along at this point, so we might just get what we get... or get nothing.

Comment by Bryan E

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 12:17:31 EDT

@ Dan Reed

As a resident of Glenmont, I would be VERY HAPPY if the Glenmont Shopping Center was another version of Bethesda Row and I don't think you'd find one resident who wouldn't be as well.

More importantly, WHO is claiming the arcade as a local landmark? I'm sorry, but Thayer-D is correct that a small hallway with outward facing store fronts and a neat sign is NOT historic or worthy of that designation. If you want to preserve the sign, fine. Remove it and then demo the building, but it absolutely nothing to claim as historic.

Comment by Thayer-D

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 21:00:11 EDT

I'm all for historic preservation, but this seems like a stretch. This site is a strip mall and an incredibly cheap one at that. No one visiting the preserved "Arcade" of Glenmont will feel transported back to another era becasue unfortunatley that era is still with us. Look up and down Rockville Pike or any of the older arterials going out of DC and you will find post war strip malls of every stripe. Yes, this one has a halllway with inward facing stores, but I'm not sure every retail aramgement has to be preserved, especially given it's location on two major roads and a metro station nearby.

"There aren't many remaining examples of architecture from the 1950's and 60's" I find this statement incredible. The huge postwar boom that transformed our area from a sleepy southern town has left ample evidence for historians and antiquarians to pour over. The current mid century modern revival has done something a lot more important than shed light on this ubiquitous peroid of car oriented disposable architecture, it's shown that forward looking modernist architects aren't above reviving historical styles. Nothing wrong with that if you're not in the habit of criticising every other revival style as nothing more than disneyland nostangia.

There's a lot of cool looking "googie" or "doowop" or "mid-century" architecture around to preserve and inspire young architects, but this building has nothing of note beyond a retro looking sign. Save the sign, revive the style, but don't save what is essentially a dime a dozen strip mall when such a promising TOD could be developed.

Comment by dan reed!

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 19:12:23 EDT

@Bryan

As I wrote, the arcade is the only example of its kind in Montgomery County - the ones in Bethesda are similar, but different - and people do seem to appreciate the sign. That said, I don't see why it's impossible to keep the arcade and build around it.

David raises an interesting point: how far do you go to preserve the context of something deemed historic? I wouldn't save the parking lot, and I wouldn't keep the rest of the shopping center, which doesn't appear to have the same historical significance. But the Arcade is unique and a local landmark, not unlike the Flower Theatre in Long Branch, and just because it's a little rundown doesn't mean it can't be salvaged.

We can scrape everything in Glenmont and build a town center like Bethesda Row on top, but then you might as well just go to Bethesda Row. We can have new development AND attempt to acknowledge what already exists as well.

Comment by Bryan E

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 10:52:42 EDT

The arcade is a dump and needs to be bulldozed with everything else. I participated in the County zoning meetings where 100 residents sat together with the County to come up with ideas for redevelopment that serve the residents better.

Not one wanted the shopping center to remain as is. Almost everyone wanted to see it flattened and a totally new configuration created with a more "town center" development, with better retail, traffic flow, lighting, housing (condos/apts) and walking paths.

The only ones who are dragging their feet are the 13 land owners and Greenhill is the biggest jerk of the bunch. He doesn't want to redevelop the area because he owns half of Wheaton and he's invested in Wheaton and wants the business to stay there, not move up Georgia Ave.

Thankfully, the County is moving ahead with the landowners of the surrounding apartments, who are owned by single entities and who are interested in selling their property for redevelopment.

The Glenmont Shopping Center will remain the eyesore that it is, but other development will proceed and Greenhill can take a hike.

Comment by David Rotenstein

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 10:03:41 EDT

Interesting post Dan. Historic preservation shouldn't be about relic collecting and antiquarianism. I wonder if there would be the same level of attachment and aesthetic appeal if the sign hadn't survived all of the changes to the property. The sign and arcade raise valid questions about balancing the need to preserve elements of the recent past with the community's needs to redevelop obsolete properties.

The sign, arcade, and shopping center represent the zenith of car culture in Washington's suburbs: the Postwar boom. If historic preservation is about context as well as artifact, you need to ask yourself what should be preserved here. Like the Flower shopping center, the focal point of this site at the time it was developed wasn't the architecture or signage: it was the abundant, accessible, and free parking. Should the vast sea of asphalt be preserved along with the sign and arcade to keep with preservation's goals of considering the entire scene, the tout ensemble? Or do we need to admit that preservation has not really evolved from the 20th century model of preserving the pretty and appealing? If you call for preserving the sign and arcade here, you cannot divorce the elements from the entire scene that includes lots of unsustainable parking lot area.

I'm not suggesting that the property doesn't warrant scrutiny and recognition that it is historic. I think it does require study and I think it meets all of the applicable criteria -- legal and academic -- for being called "historic." But is it historic enough to preserve the entire scene or should the artifacts be recovered, excavated (to draw on an archaeology metaphor), and the property owner allowed to move on with whatever development is necessary to allow the community to grow and prosper?

Comment by Mike O

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 08:25:40 EDT

At what point is "historical preservation" simply saving old junk? It turns urbanists into public hoarders. When it comes to the extremes of saving old, impractical mostly vacant shopping centers that have been underutilized for decades simply out of "preservation" it hampers redeveloping neighborhoods from fully reaching their potential and benefitting the larger community.

Comment by LisaR

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 05:37:37 EDT

The Glenmont arcade is definitely a relic. The entrance to Tuffy Lehman's duckpin lanes was at the end of the arcade. However, while i like the idea of preserving the sign, let's not let nostalgia lead to any attempt to block redevelopment of this site (not that anyone has suggested that....yet). The Glenmont shopping center is an incredible land resource in this highly developed county, and almost adjacent to Metro. Investment in the center would be good for the neighborhood and the county.

Comment by Frank IBC

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 19:56:25 EDT

Yes, there was a Giffords at that arcade for ages. It closed about 10 or 15 years ago and was later replaced by the store next to the Bethesda Row theaters. The latter store closed in 2010.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifford%27s_Ice_Cream_%26_Candy_Co.

Comment by Frank IBC

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 19:31:02 EDT

The "Glenmont Arcade" sign makes me think of this logo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hItX0ArND9k

Comment by Sage

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 18:42:39 EDT

While reading this piece, I, too, was thinking of the small arcade at 7710 Wisconsin Ave. in Bethesda. If I'm not mistaken, an ice cream parlor is located there—Giffords?—or at least one used to be.

As for the Glenmont Arcade, it's a tough call. Times have changed. Wheaton has changed. The one-person business shop is almost no longer. What makes this structure valuable in terms of possible preservation is its design and layout—the small angled retails spaces, etc.—yet it is just those facets that are pushing the building toward obsolescence. Should we be preserving structures as relics, particularly if there is no feasible case for adaptive reuse?

Comment by dan reed!

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 18:40:07 EDT

I haven't been to that arcade before, but I've been to another one at St. Elmo Avenue and Old Georgetown Road (I think). You have to go through a parking garage to get inside, and then there's a little carpeted hallway with some shops. Definitely a time warp! I'll have to see the other one before it's gone.

Comment by Frank IBC

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 18:34:42 EDT

I immediately thought of the one in Bethesda. Sadly, its days are numbered - there is going to be a Westin Hotel built there soon.

http://www.gazette.net/article/20111214/NEWS/712149459&template=gazette

I don't know the future of the Glenmont Arcade, but I hope they at least save that sign. A great example of Googie style.

Comment by Ben Ross

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:45:19 EDT

There's a little arcade in Bethesda, at 7710 Wisconsin Ave. You can walk through to a little parking lot that cars enter from Woodmont Avenue. If you look at the Wisconsin Ave entrance on Google Streetview, you will see signs for Comfort Shoes and KG Hair Studio, which both are entered through the arcade if you are coming from Wisconsin.