Rare 1920s Aerial Photos of Reed Brothers Dodge
A retrospective of Lewis Reed’s rare aerial photographs of Reed Brothers Dodge dealership and images of Rockville Maryland circa 1920s – 1930s. With photography for a hobby, one that began even before automobiles were around, Lewis Reed amassed a large library of photographs showing Montgomery County in the early 20th century. Many of his photographs are now part of the Montgomery County Historical Society photo archives.
Lewis Reed was not an aviator, but he obviously saw great potential in taking photographs from the air. The aerial photographs below were taken by Lewis Reed sometime during the 1920s and 30s and are quite possibly some of the earliest known aerial photographs taken of Rockville. (click on images to enlarge)
Aerial view of Reed Brothers Dodge circa 1936 with canopied Gulf Gas Station. A two-story house stands behind the dealership.
Later aerial view showing the used car lot where previously stood a two-story house. St Mary’s Church at lower portion of photo. The connector street behind the dealership was later named “Dodge Street” in honor of Lewis Reed because his dealership was located there for so many years (1914-1970).
1920s – Original Reed Brothers facility with St Mary’s Church and Cemetery at upper portion of photo. The road at the bottom is Rockville Pike.
1920s – Original Reed Brothers facility at the intersection of Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike. “Pigeon Bridge” on Veirs Mill Road is at the top of the picture. Note the unpaved dirt road.
An early 1920s aerial view looking over Rockville. Red Brick Courthouse tower can be seen top left.
This 1920s aerial image of Rockville appears to be the opposite perspective as the one above. Confederate Monument is visible in the triangle at bottom left and the Red Brick Courthouse tower is across the street on the right.
New Milestone: 20K Page Views
Just a quick post with an offering of thanks to all of you who have read this blog. This evening it hit 20,000 page views, a little over 12 months into its creation.
I’m extremely proud of what this blog has accomplished thus far, and I hope to continue reaching new people as time goes on.
I would also like to take this opportunity to offer a special thank you to Hemmings Daily blogger Daniel Strohl, who posted a link to our Historic Timeline on their own blog which helped boost our page views – Four-Links – NYC cop car show, Reed Brothers Dodge history, coachbuilder Mark Nugent, microcars in the Pacific Northwest written by Daniel Strohl June 22, 2013.
Thank you to everyone who visits us from all around the world…we have so far been visited by folks from all fifty of the United States and 114 different countries world wide.
I’m seriously blown away by the momentum this blog has carried in the way of page views over the past few months. But this blog wouldn’t exist, no matter how great the ideals behind it and no matter how much drive I had to share them, if it weren’t for our readers.
Dodge Brothers Emblem
Dodge Brothers logo used from 1914 to 1927
The original Dodge was a circle, with two interlocking triangles forming a six-pointed star in the middle; an interlocked “DB” was at the center of the star, and the words “Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicles” encircled the outside edge. Although the “Brothers” was dropped from the name for trucks in 1929 and cars in 1930, the DB star remained in the cars until the 1939 models were introduced.
What’s the meaning behind the Dodge Brothers emblem?
Unfortunately, John and Horace Dodge died before they publicly told anyone how they arrived at this symbol. If any family members knew the reasons behind this, nothing was ever revealed or discovered. Apparently no one thought to ask them!
Among the possibilities:
1. These are two interlocking Greek letter “deltas” or “D s” for the two Dodge brothers
2. A medieval symbol of mysticism and the joining of mind and body, also possibly the joining of two brothers, who were known to be personally very close, in this business venture.
3. An abstraction of the square and compass of the Freemasons.
4. Nothing more or less than a badge with six pointed star similar to those used for law-enforcement officer’s badges, some outlined with triangles. Sheriff, Marshall, and police badges frequently were and are six pointed stars. The old-west Dodge City badge had six points. Horace Dodge was said to enjoy accompanying local law-enforcement officers on their runs.
5. There are other instances of a company ‘logo” selected for no particular deep meaning other than that it suited the fancy of those who selected it. The Chevrolet “bow-tie” is a classic example, as it was copied from the wall paper of a hotel room.
6. At the time the emblem was selected (most likely 1912-1914) it’s likely that the Dodge brothers were unaware of its use in Judaism. In fact, at this time, that symbol was not used universally in this context.
Rumors that are wrong include:
1. They chose the “Star of David” as a Jewish symbol to anger Henry Ford.
Fact: The brothers were actually friends with Ford at the time the emblem was selected. They were business partners with Ford and even were guests at Edsel Ford’s wedding.
2. They chose the “Star of David” as a Jewish symbol to appease Jewish bankers who financed the business.
Fact: There were no outside investors.
3. The Dodge Brothers were Jewish
Fact: They were not.
Vintage Newspaper Ads
These vintage newspaper ads from Lewis Reed’s Rockville Garage were found on NewspaperARCHIVE.com, the largest historical newspaper database online. Prior to the advent of television and radio advertising, print media was the most popular form of advertising and most car ads were black and white.
The very first advertisement below, distributed by the Oldsmobile Sales Company in the Sunday, June 29, 1919 edition of The Washington Post is the very first ad in which the Rockville Garage appeared. Dealers are listed in fine print at the bottom: note Rockville Garage, Rockville, Md, which is highlighted in yellow.
Initially, Reed Brothers sold Oldsmobile and Hudson, along with Dodge. (click on images to enlarge)
Rockville Garage – The Washington Post – Sunday, June 29, 1919, Washington, District Of Columbia
Rockville Garage – Washington Post, The – Sunday, July 11, 1920, Washington, District Of Columbia
Rockville Garage – The Washington Post, Sunday, July 04, 1920, Washington, District Of Columbia
Rockville Garage – The Washington Post Sunday, July 18, 1920, Washington, District Of Columbia
Rockville Garage – The Washington Post Sunday, August 08, 1920, Washington, District Of Columbia
Demolition Begins at Former Reed Brothers Dodge
Dealership Front
A long time landmark in Rockville is coming down. Two large backhoes started demolishing the car dealership building on Thursday, May 16, 2013 to make way for a mixed use development. When the state widened the roads in 1970, Reed Brothers Dodge relocated from its original facility at the intersection of Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike (now Veterans Park) to a new 26,000 square foot showroom and Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep service complex located at 15955 Frederick Road in Rockville, Maryland. (click on images to enlarge)
A business landmark in Rockville since 1915, Reed Brothers Dodge was one of the 15 dealerships in Maryland and 789 dealerships nationwide notified by Chrysler that their franchise agreement would not be renewed. During this time when many car dealers had to close their doors, Reed Brothers drew on its traditions, got creative, and managed to come up with the right stuff to survive. The signs that stood outside on Rockville Pike still said Reed Brothers Dodge, but inside, a new business was forming: Reed Brothers Automotive. Reed Brothers changed its name from Reed Brothers Dodge to Reed Brothers Automotive, and continued on as a used car dealer and repair shop until May 2012.
Service Dept being reduced to rubble
After almost a century of serving Rockville – and three years after Chrysler terminated the Reed Brothers Dodge franchise – the dealership property went to settlement on August 30, 2012. The site was sold to Bainbridge Shady Grove, LLC whose plans include constructing a $90M project to include a 6-story residential building with 417 multi-family units and a 517 space parking structure.
What’s remaining of the Showroom, Parts Dept and Body Shop
On the side looking back at the rear lot.
A couple of funny things happened to me while I was photographing the demolition… In order to get decent shots, I had to pull my car onto the neighboring CARMAX lot. Well, as soon as I got out of my car and pointed my camera at the work in progress, a CARMAX salesman approached and asked, “would you like me to appraise your car, ma’am?” When I told him who I was and what I was doing (and no, I did not wish to have my car appraised…haha!), he reached out, shook my hand and replied, “no problem ma’am, nice to meet you.” So, I went on about my business without being bugged by anymore car salesmen.
View from CARMAX lot of the Service Department being demolished
Next, I wanted to get some pictures from a different angle, so I decided to try to go (sneak?) through the front entrance — past the sign on the gate that said “NO TRESPASSING”. Eeek! I usually do not even THINK about doing those kinds of things, but I did anyway knowing it was going to be my only chance to get these photos. No sooner did I get out of my car and point my camera, a worker came over to inform me that I was on private property. That was the weirdest feeling of all. After yet another brief explanation of who I was and what I was doing he was very polite and warned me to stay clear of the heavy equipment. Yes sir!!
Front entrance “gate guards” and remains of street signage laying on the ground
Parts Department
Heavy equipment parked on side lot
It was a bittersweet moment for me to stand there and watch as workers tore down what had been my family’s livelihood for 97 years. As part of the third generation of the family, we leave behind us many good memories and a true legacy for the people in our company, the community, and our family.
It’s change.
It’s time for another chapter in Reed Brothers Dodge history.
Books
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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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