Building Blocks

Building Blocks. A Penny for Your Thoughts. , "Shop Along the Silver Strip, Suburban Washington's Newest and Finest Shopping Community," proclaimed the January 8, 1942 Silver Spring Standard newspaper upon its opening. Businesses residing in these storefronts offered a variety of consumer services generating sidewalk traffic along this side of Colesville Road. Note Art Deco detailing on the limestone facades and the distinctive "floating" display case windows and recessed entrances., The Fillmore Silver Spring has enlivened the block since 2011. This International Style granite and limestone landmark at 8656 Colesville Road began its life in 1950 as J. C. Penny Co. department store No. 1334. Prominent architect Clifton Bryan White, of Silver Spring, received a diploma of merit for its "superior architecture" from the American Institute of Architects Maryland Division. An immediate hit with shoppers from the day it opened, the store's size doubled to nearly 40,000 sq. ft. in 1956. Expanded facilities included one of the largest men's wear departments in Penny's chain, and an entire floor devoted to women's fashion. An outside patio displaying outdoor furniture, picnic equipment, and garden tools was a new feature. This store operated until 1988., Earliest extant structures on this side of the block are the 1941 Real Estate Co. headquarters with nine offices and two stores at 8634-8635 Colesville Road, and the 1940 La June Hairdressers (with air conditioning!), 8642-8644 Colesville . All were constructed by MRE. founded 1937 by President J. Ingram Medley (1891-1984) and Secretary/Treasurer Walker L. Funderburk (1899-1989). They began their careers in 1928 and 1923 respectively with Col. E. Brooke Lee, founder of the North Washington Realty Co., a pioneering developer of commercial and residential properties in Silver Spring. This block is part of the Silver Spring Central Business Historic District.