UPDATE: Lewis Reed Photos to Appear on Science Channel ‘Impossible Engineering’
I just got word from the Production Assistant at Discovery that the new season of Impossible Engineering Series 4 is about to start airing in the US. Lewis Reed’s race car photographs will be a part of the “London Array Wind Farm” episode which is the second episode of the series. The show is scheduled to be broadcast on Thursday, January 10, 2019 on Discovery’s Science Channel.
The following 1923 dirt track race shots taken by Lewis Reed at the Rockville Fair will be used on the program that will feature a segment on the development of the race car.
Photo by Lewis Reed
Photo by Lewis Reed
About Impossible Engineering
Behind every seemingly impossible marvel of modern engineering is a cast of historic trailblazers who designed new building techniques, took risks on untested materials and revolutionized their field. Brand new series, ‘Impossible Engineering’, is a tribute to their achievements. Each episode details how giant structures, record-beating buildings, war ships and space crafts are built and work. As the show revels in these modern day creations, it also leaps back in time to recount the stories of the exceptional engineers whose technological advances made it all possible. How would they have ever existed without the historical work of their ancestors? Interviews with their great advocates bring engineering history to life and retell how these incredible accomplishments shaped the modern world.
“Impossible Engineering” is produced for Science Channel by Twofour Broadcast.
The 2019 Montgomery County History Conference
Each year in January, the Montgomery County Historical Society holds a day-long conference on various aspects of local history. Upwards of 200 people attend this annual event, which has been held since 2007. This year, I am very honored for the invitation to speak about the history of Reed Brothers Dodge at the History Conference on Saturday, January 26 at 12:45pm.
The PowerPoint presentation will follow the dealerships historic timeline which showcases how Reed Brothers Dodge came into being, and how the company overcame the inevitable changes and challenges throughout almost a decade of being in business. More than 100 photographs will be featured, 60 of them rare, historic images taken by the dealership’s founder, Lewis Reed.
This one-day conference is a place for all people to explore and celebrate the many aspects of our past that shape our community to this day. The conference will be held at the Bioscience Education Center located at 20200 Observation Drive on Montgomery College’s Germantown Campus.
Registration is now open: REGISTER HERE
Lewis Reed Photos to Appear on Science Channel ‘Impossible Engineering’
I recently received an e-mail from the researcher on the new Science Channel series ‘Impossible Engineering’. They found Lewis Reed’s collection of early dirt track race photos that were taken at the Rockville Fairgrounds and asked permission to use a couple of them in an upcoming episode they are making on the development of the race car.
The following 1923 dirt track race shots taken by Lewis Reed will be used on the program.
Rockville Fair, August 1923. Photo by Lewis Reed
Rockville Fair, August 1923. Photo by Lewis Reed
About Impossible Engineering
Behind every seemingly impossible marvel of modern engineering is a cast of historic trailblazers who designed new building techniques, took risks on untested materials and revolutionized their field. Brand new series, ‘Impossible Engineering’, is a tribute to their achievements. Each episode details how giant structures, record-beating buildings, war ships and space crafts are built and work. As the show revels in these modern day creations, it also leaps back in time to recount the stories of the exceptional engineers whose technological advances made it all possible. How would they have ever existed without the historical work of their ancestors? Interviews with their great advocates bring engineering history to life and retell how these incredible accomplishments shaped the modern world.
“Impossible Engineering” is produced for Science Channel by Twofour Broadcast. No mention of when it will be aired, so stay tuned!
Lewis Reed Photo to Appear in PBS Documentary
Rare peak of the inside of an early 1920’s trolley car taken by Lewis Reed, a well-known photographer in Montgomery County, as well as owner and founder of Reed Brothers Dodge of Rockville, Maryland.
The photo will be featured on PBS “American Experience” documentary, “The Great War” a three-night event exploring how World War I transformed America starting Monday, April 10 on PBS. The trolley image is in Episode 3, Wednesday night, between 38-40 minutes into the show. From 1900-1935, the trolley cars – or street cars, as they were also known – went past Reed Brothers Dodge as they traveled up Rockville Pike. Major stops along the line included Georgetown, Alta Vista, Bethesda, Montrose, Halpine, the Fairgrounds, Courthouse Square, and Chestnut Lodge. Panels for advertising line the edge of the ceiling on both sides of the trolley. Instead of AC, the interiors were cooled with wooden ceiling fans. (click on image to enlarge)
The print was originally made from a glass negative, an early photographic technique which was in common use between the 1880s and the late 1920s. The early 1900s were considered by many to be the golden era of early photography, because of its new availability to the public and somewhat simplified production methods. Many of Lewis Reed’s early photographs are now part of the Montgomery County Historical Society photo archives.
Rare peak of the inside of a 1920’s trolley car and passengers featured in PBS documentary “The Great War”. Photo taken by Lewis Reed
Screen shot of credits from The American Experience series, “The Great War” on PBS
Reed Brothers Dodge Featured in Montgomery Magazine
Reed Brothers is very proud and honored to be featured in the month of April/May 2017 Montgomery Magazine, historic landmarks “Then & Now” section. The black and white photograph above is Reed Brothers Dodge located at its original location in Old Rockville at the triangle at Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike – close to 100 years ago – with “That Good Gulf” gasoline drive-through filling station and Dodge Brothers Motor Car and Graham Brothers Truck signage. The Alemite sign in front indicates that Reed Brothers also sold and used the Alemite lubricating system.
In 1918, the Gulf Refining Co. adopted a brick and tile roof station with canopy supported by four brick columns covering two front driveways. “That Good Gulf” was one of the Company’s marketing slogans for a number of years during the twenties and thirties. The second story was added to the showroom with a glazed front looking out onto Rockville Pike on the right. The photo was taken by Lewis Reed in the late 1920s. Note the unpaved dirt road on Rockville Pike and trolley tracks running past the dealership. (click on images to enlarge)
The color photograph above, is the dealership’s location today, now known as Veterans Park. In the 1970s the site was known as the Francis Scott Key Memorial Park, and later in 1988, it was permanently rededicated as Veterans Park. In the late 1960s, the state of Maryland acquired the land to widen 355 and donated the remaining sliver to the City. The state named the connector street behind the dealership’s location “Dodge Street” because Reed Brothers Dodge dealership was located there for more than 50 years.
Montgomery Magazine is a lifestyle magazine, with timely articles on county leaders, entertainment, sports, neighborhood and restaurant profiles, entrepreneurs, historic landmarks then and now, plus seasonal special sections of local interest.
Find the issue online at: http://www.montgomerymag.com/MM_Newsletters.html
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Copyright Notice
Reed Brothers Dodge History (1915-2012) by Jeanne Gartner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 – 2012 
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