Then & Now: Rockville Garage 102 Years Ago
Reed Brothers Dodge and the surrounding area sure has changed a lot in its almost century-long history. You might not realize how much things have changed until you look back and see what it looked like in the past. For this post, I have used one of Lewis Reed’s original photographs for “then” and a Google Maps street view image from today for “now”.
THEN: The photo below is the Rockville Garage located at its original location at the triangle at Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike. In 1917, Reed Brothers became an authorized Texaco Filling Station and sold Texaco gasoline from a single pump. To the right is a Texaco Gasoline Filling Station sign. One very tall Texaco branded fuel pump can be seen in this photo along with two Texaco Petroleum refueling trucks. Parked in front is a line-up of some very early Dodge Brothers Motor Cars.
Note the unpaved dirt road on Rockville Pike and trolley tracks running past the dealership. From 1900-1935, the trolley cars 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.
1917 Original Rockville Garage with 2 story addition. Note the Texaco Filling Station signage and the Texaco Petroleum fuel truck refilling the single pump in front. Photo by Lewis Reed
NOW: The “now” photo is a google maps image of the same location… 102 years later. The dealership’s location today is 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. New pavement has long since replaced the trolley tracks on Rockville Pike in this photo.
Reed Brothers Dodge original location at the triangle today. Google Image, 2019.
Then & Now: Wilson Bridge Hagerstown 105 Years Apart
Looking at old photographs is like peering through an open window back into history. Not only do they give you a sense of wonder from traveling back in time, but also a staggering feeling of awe from seeing just how much things have changed. For this post, I have used one of Lewis Reed’s original photographs for “then” and a Google stock image for “now”.
Wilson Bridge (THEN): Built in 1819, this five arch structure named for nearby village was the first stone bridge built by Washington County. Erected by Silas Harry at cost of $12,000, it was a major improvement to the road system between Baltimore and Cumberland, providing continuous smooth surface from eastern seaboard to western wilderness. Wilson Bridge carried traffic until seriously damaged by storm flood in 1972. It was placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Wilson Bridge Hagerstown, Maryland. Photo by Lewis Reed, 1914
Wilson Bridge (NOW): The bridge was beautifully restored in 1984 by LeRoy E. Myers. The bridge is one of numerous still standing stone bridges in central and western Maryland.
Restored Wilson Bridge today
Then & Now: Walker Avenue Gaithersburg
This post is a continuation of a series of “Then & Now” images that will show photographs of buildings, street scenes, and other historical locales from Lewis Reed’s Photo Collection alongside photographs of how they appear today. These photos show the same view of Walker Avenue in Gaithersburg about 98 years apart.
Walker Avenue (THEN): This photo of Walker Avenue in Gaithersburg was taken by Lewis Reed from the steeple of Grace United Methodist Church in the late 1920s. The street is named after John Walker, whose farm became Walker Avenue when he decided to subdivide the front end in 1904. Walker was mayor of Gaithersburg from 1906 to 1908 and again from 1918 to 1924. In June 1913, Walker Avenue was the first street in Gaithersburg to have electric streetlights installed along its full length. This period saw major advances in technology, communication, and transportation.
Walker Avenue in Gaithersburg taken from the steeple of Grace United Methodist Church, late 1920s. Photo by Lewis Reed
Walker Avenue (NOW): Walker Avenue is the most cohesive street in Gaithersburg’s historic district. Most of its houses were built between 1904 and 1930.
Walker Avenue in Gaithersburg today
Source: Maryland Historical Trust
Then & Now: Saylorsburg Lake House & Hotel of Horror
With Halloween just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to feature a photograph that Lewis Reed took of the Saylorsburg Lake House Hotel, now the site of Hotel of Horror. The aging Lake House Hotel in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, once a vibrant Poconos retreat, was a popular hotel for the region’s tourists who were looking for fun on nearby Saylors Lake. During the hotel’s heyday, its staff was booking rooms a year in advance. Today, the former hotel’s fame is generated from its annual Halloween haunted-house attraction.
Lake House Hotel (THEN): The legend of the Lake House Hotel spans more than two-hundred years. According to local folklore, during World War II, many of the employees at the Lake House were called to assist in the Pennsylvania National Guard, leaving the local asylum with one lone security guard to watch over the entire building. The inmates escaped, made their way to the hotel and took it over. The insane patients performed experiments on the guests. What was once a renowned resort for the rich and famous, became a torture chamber.
Saylorsburg Lake House Hotel. Photo taken by Lewis Reed, 1915.
Hotel of Horror (NOW): This 2018 season will celebrate the 26th year that the Hotel of Horror has been fascinating and horrifying legions of fans from the far reaches of the United States and even internationally. To all the readers of this blog: Have a spooky, enjoyable and very safe Halloween!
Welcome to The Hotel of Horror, The Pocono Mountains Premier Haunted House Attraction
Then & Now: Library of Congress
You might not realize how much Washington DC has changed until you look back and see what it looked like in the past. In this “Then & Now” feature, I have combined one of Lewis Reed’s original photograph’s for “then” and matched it with a corresponding contemporary shot for “now”.
Library of Congress (THEN): The Library of Congress was relocated to Washington, DC, in 1800, having previously been housed in New York and Philadelphia, which had each served as temporary capitals of the early United States of America. It is the research library serving the U.S. Congress as well as the national library of the United States, and it holds over 23 million volumes in its collection, making it the world’s largest library. The structure as it stands today was erected between 1888 and 1894, following the 1851 fire that destroyed 35,000 of the Library’s books (two-thirds of its holdings at that time), including much of Thomas Jefferson’s donated collection.
Library of Congress. Photo by Lewis Reed, ca. 1910
Library of Congress (NOW): The same view 108 years later. Now, the Library of Congress is one of the largest and best-equipped libraries in the world. It houses approximately 90 million items on 540 miles of shelves. The Library of Congress is physically housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill and a conservation center in rural Virginia. The Library’s Capitol Hill buildings are all connected by underground passageways, so that a library user need pass through security only once in a single visit.
Library of Congress today
Source: Wikipedia
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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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