Evening star., 1951-02-05

not TO reallZe IL. ElgHI VI ~
patrons who stop in this eank
are women. When I try to get
anything done in a civic way I
appeal to Mrs. Edith Whalen.
She's one of our most active club
women. If she approves it. some
how or other within "a hours
every woman of the community
knows about it."
The businessmen have discov-
cred who runs the community
every time they have tried to ex-
pand. Business is so good that
the stores are overdowing. It
might be said of Bethesda that
it is experiencing a boom but not
enjoying it. The majority OF the
population, sparked by the women,
is against "furthersencroachment"
of business.
Every attempt at rezoning to
allow construction of apartment
houses on Wisconsin avenue (Be-
thesda calls it Main street, north
of the District line has been de-
feated. So also have most at
temptS to allow business on the
side streets in the blocks just off
Main street and Old Georgetown
road.
This inner conflict is causing
condition in the community
which in an individual. psychol-
ogists would call a personality
disturbance. Businessmen rise in
the Bethesda luncheon (Kiwanis,
Lions, Civitan) and demand that
Bethesda be put on the map.
Map Makers Discover Town.
It will surprise Washingtonians
to know that until recently. be-
cause they are not incorporated
villages, map makers ignored both
Bethesda and Silver Spring.
On the other hand there are
residents of areas which the busi-
nessmen would like to have termed
Bethesda who do not care whether
it is on the map or not. They
prefer to have their addresses
listed as washington Ia" or
Edgemoor or Chevy Chase.
Not being incorporated, Bethes-
da has no definite boundaries. It
is primarily the area around the
juncture of the Rockville Pike
(Route 240) and the Old George
town road, now major traffic
intersection because the East
West highway has been cut
through to that point.
There are several maps with
conflicting boundaries. The
Bethesda voting district Mont
gomery County, District y in
cludes the village of Chevy Chase.
The Chevy Chase Post Office area
includes much of the area between
the District line and Bethesda
The fire departments have still
other maps. The high school and
the library are called Bethesda
Chevy Chase which will be the
name of the shopping center
planned for Wisconsin avenue
and the District line just across
from the new Woodward &,
Lothrop store. Perhaps the hy-
phenated name will prevail in the
area in the future.
The name Bethesda certainly
has been put on the maps by the
Bethesda Rescue Squad, the
Naval Medical Center and the
National Institutes of Health, Uncle
Sans research center. The clini-
cal center at the institute now
under construction is one of the
largest buildings in the Wash
ington area. It will be the first
hospital entirely devoted to re-
search. The patients in the 500
beds will be admitted because the
researchers want to work on their
type of malady. They will be
special types of heart, cancer and
mental cases. The hospital will
take up only one-fourth the floor
space, research the rest. Five
thousand persons will work there
each day.
Attractive Residential Area.
With the great increase OF
workday population, it is doubt
full whether the residents of Be-
thesda will be able to keep busi-
ness from expanding. Business
linen tell them new business will
ease tax burdens but they will
have none of it. Why they are
resisting is readily apparent te
any one who will turn off Wiscon-
sin avenue and tour Bethesda S
''lanes" and roads" 1t is one OF
the most attractive sections in the
entire Washington area.
The Edgemoor section west OF
Wisconsin avenue and south of the
Old Georgetown road is marked
by it's trees as well as its houses
The houses are in a vast grove OF
oaks and many of them have
been decorated with spruce trees
giant Christmas trees planted SC
long ago that many are now sc
feet tall. There are tall ever
green hedges and cedar trees
After last weeks snowfall it was
a winter wonderland.
There are new houses across
from those built in the '20s. AS a
result. there are modern one STORY
ramblers across the streets from
Georgian and Tudor structures
such good examples of each style
that they make good neighbors
and an interesting neighborhood