New Mark Commons: Maryland or Scandinavia?

In a series of illustrated presentations and walking tours this spring, Peerless Rockville will explore several of Rockville’s modern neighborhoods, including Twinbrook, New Mark Commons, and King Farm.

Free and open to the public, the series will highlight five neighborhood communities from the early postwar housing boom to mid-century planned development to the “new town” movement popular at the end of the century.  The series will culminate in an evening lecture and panel discussion at Rockville City Hall on the factors that influenced modern development, the significant elements of each time period, and the special features of each community that have contributed to its success and left lasting imprints.

The schedule for the upcoming series:

Building Houses, Creating Community: Joseph Geeraert and Twinbrook, featuring professor Dr. Richard Longstreth of George Washington University, Saturday, March 23, 10 am at the Twinbrook Community Center Annex.

Woodley Gardens: A Traditional Red Brick Neighborhood with a Modern Feel, featuring historian Joan Zenzen, Saturday, April 6, 10 am at the Rockville Senior Center.

New Mark Commons: Edmund Bennett’s Mini-New Town and Its Legacy, featuring professor Dr. Isabelle Gournay of University of Maryland, Saturday, April 20 at 10 am at New Mark Commons Clubhouse.

Americana Centre: Home-Owning from a Different View, featuring historian Dr. Teresa Lachin, Saturday, April 27, 10 am at the Red Brick Courthouse.

Re-Designing Suburbia: Smart Growth in Action at King Farm, featuring Rockville’s Chief of Planning, Jim Wasilak, AICP, Saturday, May 4, 10 am at King Farm Community Center.

Modern Living in Rockville:  Panel discussion featuring the speakers with architect Dr. Elizabeth Milnarik, AIA, of Davis Buckley Architects and Planners, as moderator on Thursday, May 9, 7:30 pm at Rockville City Hall.

For a sneak preview about the series, watch this Rock11 segment.  More information about each event can be viewed on Peerless’  events page.