College Heights Estates Historic District
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
1. SITE DESCRIPTION
The residential neighborhood of College Heights Estates, platted in several sections between 1938 and 1976, consists of 120 acres. The streets grid was laid out by College Heights Estates, Inc., as an automobile suburb. The design intentionally protects the neighborhood from through traffic with the use of winding streets and cul-de-sacs. Thus, access to and from Baltimore Avenue (Route 1) to the east and Ade1phi Road to the west, is limited. Real estate brochures produced by College Heights Estates, Inc., describe the setting as "two miles of wide winding improved streets [that] beckon home seekers to rolling wooded lots..." I Each property has a paved driveway that leads to a free standing or attached garage. The undulating lots are landscaped, particularly along the rear and sides with mature trees, while shrubs and planned gardens frame the foundation level of the dwellings. The size of the lots and setback of the houses are consistent through the neighborhood which were, points established as covenants by the real estate development company in 1938. Many of the properties have brick or stone paved walkways and/or steps that lead from the street or driveway to the main entries. Fencing, as stipulated by the covenants, is rare, and relegated to the rear of the lots.
2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Development of the Four Initial Subdivisions, 1938-1942
In College Heights Estates, two forms dominated during this initial period of development Cape Cod and two-and-one-half-story rectangular box. Both forms recognized colonial-era precedents, but were notably larger and often augmented by wings on the side elevations. Illustrations of the enlarged Cape Cod form are located at 4102 Clagett Road, 4104 Clagett Road, and 4200. Clagett Road. Dating from 1938, these speculative houses are five bays wide, rising one-and-one-half stories in height. The structures are economically built of concrete blocks veneered in brick laid in seven-course Flemish bond or stretcher-bond. The prominent side-gable roofs, each covered in square-butt slate shingles, are pierced by three front-gable dormers. The rooflines have slight overhangs with molded cornices and narrow friezes. The house at 4200 Clagett Road has modillions along the soffit, which returns along the side elevations. Finished with weatherboard-clad cheeks, the dormers have double-hung, wood sash windows with narrow molded surrounds and shallow wood sills. The single-leaf entries are located at the center of the facades, ornately framed by wide surrounds illustrating the classical order with Tuscan pilasters or fluted square-edge surrounds, sidelights, and/or transoms. The flanking double-hung, wood sash windows are framed by narrow molded surrounds, projecting rowlock brick sills, operable louvered shutters, and jack arches with splayed bricks. Exterior-end brick chimneys rise from the side elevation, partially engaged within a one-story wing. The wings are used as sunrooms, porches, and/or garages. The house at 4200 Clagett Road, for example, has a wood-frame porch on the southwest side elevation, while a brick-veneer garage extends from the northeast side elevation. The house at 4102 Clagett Road has a brick-veneer garage on the side elevation, while the house at 4104 Clagett Road has a wood-frame porch with louvers on the side elevation.
The other prominent house form was the two-and-one-half-story, rectangular box. Noted examples include the dwellings at 3909 Calverton Drive, 4009 Clagett Road, 4011 Clagett Road, 4109 Clagett Road, and 7002 Chansory Lane; all of the houses date from 1938. Three bays wide, these dwellings are constructed of concrete block faced in seven-course Flemish-bond or stretcher-bond brick veneers. The steeply pitched side-gable roofs were originally covered in square-butt slate shingles; some of the roofs have been recovered in asphalt shingles. The slightly overhanging eaves on three of the dwellings are finished with shallow soffits and narrow frieze boards with dentil molding.
More high-style detailing is found along the cornice of the house at 4109 Clagett Road, which is embellished with a corbeled brick cornice. Typical of the period, when applied ornamentation was limited for economical reasons, the house at 7002 Chansory Lane lacks an ornate cornice or overhang along the facade. Exterior-end chimneys with corbeled caps rise from the side elevations of the dwelling. The main blocks of the dwellings are augmented by one-story wings that project from the side elevations to house garages and porches. The fenestration, materials, and ornamentation of the wings are in keeping with the main block, often hiding the existence of a garage. The slope of the site allows for the two-car garage at 4011 Clagett Road to be set below grade. Similarly, the one-car garage at 4009 Clagett Road is set notably back on the side elevation so as not to interfere with the massing of the main block. Like the Cape Cod dwellings from this initial period of speculative development, the main entry openings are centrally located on the facades, ornately framed by classically inspired surrounds. The entry openings provide the greatest variation to the standard design utilized by the development company. The houses at 3909 Calverton Drive and 4109 Clagett Road have semicircular porticos of wood frame. Supported by Tuscan columns and pilasters, the porticos have an ogee-molded cornice with wide frieze and a balustraded roof. The single-leaf opening at 3909 Calverton Drive, which was constructed in 1938, is further embellished by a semicircular arch with molded surrounds, sidelights over recessed panels, and a fanlight. The entry at 7002 Chansory Lane has fluted Tuscan pilasters supporting a narrow entablature and broken pediment with urn. The paneled door, reached by double entry stairs with a metal balustrade, is framed by recessed sidelights and panels. The one-bay-wide porch at 4011 Clagett Road has thin Tuscan columns with a narrow frieze, enclosed pediment, and a front-gable roof. The main entry at 4009 Clagett Road is located in a projecting entry bay or vestibule veneered in brick. Covered by a shallow-pitch front-gable roof with a raking cornice and returns, the vestibule holds a semicircular-arch single-leaf door. The side elevations of the vestibule are pierced by small multi-light, fixed windows.
The fenestration of these early dwellings is indicative of the period during which the buildings were constructed. Maintaining the symmetrical placement required of the Colonial Revival style, the window openings on the first stories of these houses are notably larger than those of the second story and secondary elevations. This allowed for greater illumination in the formal or public spaces, such as the living room and dining room, while providing intimacy for the private rooms such as the bedrooms and baths. These enlarged windows, the precursor of the picture or landscape window, emerged in the 1930s. As is illustrated in College Heights Estates, this larger opening initially had intervening muntins, which added a layer of visual charm by framing the interior and exterior views. By capturing the exterior views, the interior spaces appeared larger and more spacious, yet were framed by muntins that added interest and beauty. The majority of the window openings hold the traditional double-hung sash. Not elongated like several preceding architectural styles advocated, the first-story openings are wider than those of the upper story, yet tend to hold the same number of lights. The width of the openings is further accentuated by the louvered shutters. The influence of the picture or landscape window that ultimately became the single most ubiquitous feature of the single family house following World War II is suggested at 7002 Chansory Lane. The first-story openings are exceptionally wide, holding a pair of metal casement windows framed on the sides and top by fixed lights. The dwelling at 7003 College Heights Drive, which has the traditional rectangular box form augmented by a projecting bay on the facade, presents an excellent example of the picture window and technological innovations that were distinctly modern. Lacking muntins in order to fuse the outdoors with the interior, the large opening holds a single pane of glass, which is framed by narrow molded surrounds and undersized shutters.
Deviations from the traditional rectangular box form are minimally present in the first platted sections of College Heights Estates and are believed to have been designed for a specific owner rather than as speculative development. The two-and-one-half-story dwellings at 7003 College Heights Drive and 7008 Eversfield Drive (1939) both maintain the rectangular box form but have projecting end bays that vary. The projecting bay at 7003 College Heights Drive, which extends from the main roof, allows for a two-bay porch to stretch across the main block over the main entry opening and an expansive picture window. This one-story porch provides sheltered outdoor living space, much like the one-story wings of its contemporary neighbors. The projecting bay at 7008 Eversfield Drive houses the main entry, which is the single example of a side-entry opening from this period. Covered by a front-gable roof, the projecting bay is adorned with brick quoins. One-story wings project from the side elevations, housing a garage with porch above and library/den. One of the most interesting augmentations to the traditional rectangular box form is located at 6911 Wells Parkway. Constructed in 1938, this imposing dwelling is two-and-one-half stories in height and three bays wide. Brick chimneys with corbeled caps rise from the side elevations, which are marked by one-story wings. The concrete-block structure is veneered in six-course Flemish-bond brick. Although recalling the Colonial Revival style in form, the house is an excellent illustration of the Tudor Revival style. The main entry, centrally located on the façade, is housed in a two-story canted bay. The three-sided bay abuts a large rectangular bay that projects from the western end of the facade. Both the canted entry bay and the rectangular end bay are faced in cut stone, with wavy-edge weatherboard siding in the upper gable end. The side-gable roof of the main block is contrasted by the steeply pitched conical roof of the canted bay and the front-gable roof of the end bay. Tudor Revival-style elements include the shallow lancet-arched stone (possibly limestone) surround of the main entry, which holds a door of vertical boards with metal strap hinges, and the narrow fixed window on the second story that recalls arrow slits of the medieval castles. The influences of the picture window are presented through the paired double-hung windows in the project bay and the expansive three-part windows in the one story wing.
The smallest house from this period is located at 7002 Southwark Terrace. Constructed in 1939, this modest single-family dwelling reflects the standards and guidelines presented by the FHA Small Housing Program and Low-Cost Housing Act of the 1930s. The one-and-one-half-story building is constructed of concrete block with a veneer of six-course American-bond brick that has been painted. It is a three-bay-wide structure covered by a steeply pitched side-gable roof. The projecting bay on the northern end of the facade gives the building an L-shaped plan. The main entry opening is unceremoniously located on the side elevation of the projecting bay. The projecting bay, set on a raised foundation because of the sloping site, has board-and-batten siding in the upper gable end. Paired double-hung windows pierce the facade of the projecting bay, which also has very narrow openings at the south corner of the first story and in the upper gable end. Reminiscent of the Tudor Revival style, a large shouldered chimney with a corbeled cap and three terracotta pots rises from the façade of the dwelling, abutting the main entry. Indicative of the period is the large landscape window with twenty-four fixed muntins to the south of the exterior chimney. A one-story wing, housing a two-car garage, projects from the south elevation of the structure.
One of the most imposing dwellings from this initial period of development is located at 4112 Clagett Road. Built by M. Bosma & Sons in 1938, the dwelling is the best and largest example of the Tudor Revival style in College Heights Estates. The house has a rectangular form augmented by projecting bays crowned with steeply pitched front-gabled roofs. Constructed of concrete blocks, the building is veneered in cut stone on the facade and skintled brick on the secondary elevations. The slightly overhanging upper gable end on the facade is finished with wavy-edge weatherboard siding. The roof, covered in multi-color, rectangular slate shingles, is pierced by large shed-roof dormers with paired casement windows. A massive interior-end chimney of stone and brick rises from the northeast side elevation. The main entry, located in a projecting bay at the center of the facade, is framed by stone quoins with a narrow stone lintel. A narrow casement window pierces the upper gable end. Indicative of the period, the house is illuminated by large window openings, each holding metal casements typical of the Tudor Revival style. Like many of the houses from this initial phase of development, the Charles Joyce House is sited on an expansive corner lot with planned landscaping that enhances the large picture windows illuminating the house's interior spaces.
New construction lagged noticeably in the early 1940s despite the existence of buildable lots, which were serviced by water, sewer and paved streets. The Franklin map of Prince George's County documents that twenty-five of the 107 lots within the planned subdivision of College Heights Estates had been improved by 1940. Many of the buildings constructed in the early 1940s maintained the same traditional forms and features indicative of the Colonial Revival style; yet on a few of the houses the influences of the Modern Movement are clearly evident. Houses like 4107 Clagett Road (1940) continue the two-and-one-half-story rectangular box form, augmented by a one-story porch wing and one-story garage wing. The house at 7004 Eversfield Drive (1940) also presents this same form with one-story wings; however, the facade is dominated by a projecting central bay ornamented with a semicircular portico. The Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival styles unite at 4004 Clagett Road (1940). This two-and-one-half-story dwelling is one of the few structures built of wood frame clad in weatherboard siding. The upper gable end of the projecting end bay is finished with board and-batten siding. The main entry is located at the center of the facade, set within a steeply pitched front-gabled vestibule. Veneered in cut stone, the vestibule has a wide entry opening flanked by narrow fixed windows with delicate tracery. The openings are slightly recessed and framed in stretcher-course bricks that provided a decorative contrast to the yellow/brown hue of the stone and white-painted weatherboard. A canted oriel projects from the upper gable end. The window openings, which are wider on the first story, hold double-hung sash framed by louvered shutters.
The house at 3915 Calverton Drive (1940) is one of the rare examples in College Heights Estates of the Dutch Colonial Revival style, which was highly popular in the second quarter of the twentieth century. This house also includes elements closely associated with the Tudor Revival style. This concrete-block structure, clad in six-course American-bond brick, is notably larger than many of its stylistic counterparts in such neighboring subdivisions as University Park, Riverdale, and Calvert Hills. The main block is four bays wide with a large one-story garage wing on the side elevation. The imposing side-gable roof, covered in large square-butt slate shingles, is marked by an expansive shed roofed dormer. The dormer, which is three bays wide, is clad in wavy weatherboard siding. The centrally placed entry is modestly framed by a narrow square-edge surround and sheltered by a shed roof porch with large knee brackets. The opening and the porch are framed by narrow diamond-paned windows. The first story of the dwelling is pierced by paired windows (originally holding casements) topped by hood moldings with dog ears. The exterior-end brick chimney has an ornately corbeled cap and two terracotta pots. The character-defining features of the two examples of the Modern Movement's Streamline Moderne are its smooth surfaces, curved corners, and horizontal emphasis. Portrayed on the two examples in College Heights Estates-4000 Clagett Road (1941) and 6910 Wells Parkway (1942)—these elements all contribute to the feeling of aerodynamic force generated by transportation machinery, such as ships, airplanes, and automobiles. The lack of surface ornamentation emphasizes the smooth white finish of the stuccoed walls. Horizontal bands of large picture windows create a distinctive streamlined look that is highlighted by the use of corner or end-bay windows that present the illusion of wrapping around the corners of the building. Incised string courses and a shallow-pitch roof, both illustrated at 4000 Clagett Road, further emphasize the horizontality of the style. The house at 6910 Wells Parkway has a side-gabled roof covered in contrasting red ceramic tiles. Although the form of the roof and its material are not consistent with the Streamline Modern, they are traditional to the Cape Cod form that dominated suburban developments like College Heights Estates in the second quarter of the twentieth century. Commonly, with the Streamline Moderne, ornamentation is restricted to mirrored panels, glass wall blocks, cement panels, and occasionally a metal panel with low relief decoration that is confined to the entry or window openings. The house at 6910 Wells Parkway, for example, has an unpainted, stretcher-course brick surround framing the main entry opening. The wide window openings are recessed within larger openings with projecting sills and string courses. Red ceramic tiles have been placed to either side of the openings, suggesting shutters of colonial-era architecture. The recessed entry opening at 4000 Clagett Road is capped by a shallow, semicircular-arch hood. The reveals of the opening have square-edge string courses. Typical of automobile suburbs, both houses have attached garages that project as wings from the side elevations.
Post-World War II Development, 1946-1959
Despite the great need for housing in the Washington metropolitan area during World War II, no additional plats were established and no new construction occurred in College Heights Estates in the period between 1943 and 1946; only one house was constructed in 1942. Previously platted lots continued to be offered for sale; however, the needed building materials to construct what developer A.H. Seidenspinner described as "better housing" were not readily available because of restrictions and bans established during the war. 2 With the conclusion of the war in 1945, plans for new plats and new houses began, although it was notably slow in spite of the tremendous need for housing. In 1946, Plat 5 was subdivided, creating ten building lots. That same year, new construction consisted only of the Colonial Revival-style house at 7005 Eversfield Drive, which typified the traditional two-and one- half-story rectangular box form employed in the first years of development.
In 1947, two new houses were constructed for speculative purposes by the development company-6912 Wells Parkway and 4112 Clagett Road. Both houses respected the traditional Colonial Revival stylistic elements and forms but embraced several features of the Modern Movement. The single family dwelling at 4112 Clagett Road has the three-bay-wide main block with a central entry. The first story is veneered in stone while the second story is clad in weatherboard siding with wall dormers. Although the main block is exceptionally large, the limited use of weatherboard siding, along with the extended width of the wings on the side elevations, gives the building a stronger sense of horizontality than its Colonial Revival-style neighbors. This sense of horizontality is further emphasized at 6912 Wells Parkway, which is an interpretation of the ranch house form. The house at 6912 Well Parkway is an excellent example of this; it is of ranch house form but is larger and more ornate than was typical in the Washington area at the time. The defining elements of the ranch house form are the low-lying, one-story (or possibly one and and-one-half-story) structure with an L- or U-shaped plan. It is covered by a dominating side-gable roof that includes one or two projecting front gable bays on the facade. Influenced by the Modern Movement, the dwelling has expansive landscape windows with multi-pane, fixed sash framed by narrow operable windows. The main entry opening is asymmetrically recessed within the main block. The location of the entry, the expansive landscape windows, and the placement of the interior brick chimney, complete with corbeled cap and two terracotta pots, implies the location and large size of formal living spaces such as the living and dining rooms. The garage is located in what appears to be a separate building, connected by a one story porch that is enclosed with wood-frame screens.
New construction in the latter part of the 1940s was minimal, resulting in the completion of thirteen single-family dwellings that all appear to have been constructed by College Heights Estates, Inc., as speculative ventures. The lack of development during this period, especially by property owners who collaborated in the design of their homes, prompted the real estate development company to be conservative in the planning of their speculative housing. All examples erected in 1948 and 1949 reflect the Colonial Revival-style. The forms are overwhelmingly Cape Cod, such as those seen at 4003 Clagett Road, 7011 Chansory Lane, and 7006 Eversfield Drive, and the two-and-one-half story rectangular box at 4005 Clagett Road, 4101 Clagett Road, and 7107 Wells Parkway. The house at 3914 Calverton Drive is an example of the minimal traditional form, with its L-shaped plan. However, the building has been enlarged to accommodate the more affluent residents of College Heights Estates. The main block, which is constructed of concrete blocks veneered in cut stone and brick, is four bays wide; the typical minimal traditional house is only two bays wide. The western end of the facade is dominated by the projecting front-gable bay, which houses the private spaces based on the minimal size of the window openings. The eastern end of the facade has a projecting front gable bay that serves as the garage.
One of the most unusual houses from this period, 7007 Chansory Lane (1949), was greatly influenced by the Modern Movement. The house has an L-shaped plan and is constructed of concrete blocks veneered in seven-course, American-bond brick that has been whitewashed. The building is covered by a cross-hip roof of square-butt wood shingles. The roof is marked by dormers with shallow semicircular-arch roofs and vertical-board siding on the cheeks and face. The dormers as well as the windows in the main block have metal casements, lacking any applied surrounds. Rowlock brick sills provided the only ornamentation to the openings. The main entry is unceremoniously located on the west elevation, hidden from view by a large conifer and paved parking. A front-gable bay projects from the northern end of the facade. This bay, finished with vertical-board siding in the upper gable end and metal casement windows, houses the two-car garage. The rear of the building, like the ranch house, takes advantage of the slope of the landscape to provide additional living space below grade that opens onto the rear yard. The expansive windows, in particular those in the metal-clad boxed window, provide an unobstructed view of the natural setting. A large exterior-end chimney with a corbeled cap and terracotta pots signals the location of the living room at the western end of the dwelling.
The period of greatest development in College Heights Estates occurred in the 1950s, well after many of the neighboring residential subdivisions had been improved. Elements of the Colonial Revival dominated on the traditional Cape Cod and two-and-one-half-story rectangular box, often becoming very high style as exhibited at 7006 Forest Hill Drive (1952). The houses at 3802 Calverton Drive (1957) and 3902 Commander Drive (1950) are excellent examples of the Cape Cod form enlarged to meet the needs of the College Heights Estates clientele. The main block of the buildings, which are veneered in brick, are five bays wide; the traditional Cape Cod form is three bays wide. The side gable roof is steeply pitched and pierced by front-gable dormers. One-story wings project from both side elevations of the house at 3902 Commander Drive, providing additional living space on the upper story and garage space below grade at the rear. A hyphen connects the large two-car garage to the main block of the dwelling at 3802 Calverton Drive.
The house at 3915 Commander Drive (1958) shows the influences of the Modern Movement on the Cape Cod form. It maintains the traditional three-bay-wide form, but it is notably larger and low-lying. Large dormers pierced by triple windows dominate the side-gable roof, which has wide overhanging eaves and a molded wood cornice. The central entry, which falsely appears recessed, is flanked by semicircular bay windows that hold seven narrow double-hung sashes. These landscape windows reflect the views demanded by architecture of the Modern Movement. A large two-car garage is set below grade on the side elevation of the dwelling. The two-and-one-half-story rectangular box form that dominated the landscape of College Heights Estates in the late 1930 through the 1940s continued to be constructed throughout the neighborhood in the 1950s. Yet, like the Cape Cod, the form was often enlarged and elements of the Modern Movement were incorporated into the design. For example, the house at 3906 Commander Drive (1950) is three bays wide with a central entry. The first-story windows on the façade are conspicuously larger than those of the second story and secondary elevations. The large square openings, which flank the central entry opening, project slightly from the plane of the wall. Framed in wide square-edge surrounds with an ogee-molded cornice and plain frieze, the landscape windows hold 25-fixed lights. The main entry has a multi-panel wood door framed by narrow sidelights. The opening, finished with a narrow surround, is sheltered by, a very shallow hip roof supported by metal filigree posts. The size of the house is further enlarged by large one-story wings that project from the side elevations. Another imposing example is the house at 3806 Calverton Drive (1959), which is an expansive five bays wide. Constructed of brick now painted white, the house has a Colonial Revival style entry in the center bay of the façade. The paneled wood door is ornamented with narrow sidelights and a shallow fanlight. Like the previous example, this house has slightly projecting bays with landscape windows on the first story. Each of the bays, which are bowed, contains five fixed windows of five lights. The bays are topped by half-hip roofs of standing-seam metal and are set on paneled bases. One-story wings protrude from the side elevations of the building; one of the wings acts as a hyphen connecting the garage.
One of the most high-style examples of a two-and-one-half-story rectangular box is located at 7010 Forest Hill Drive (1950). The building is constructed of concrete blocks faced in a veneer of stretcher bond bricks. The main block is three bays wide and two bays deep, covered by a side-gable roof. This is the only example of the Classical Revival style in College Heights Estates, suggesting it was a collaborative effort between architect and owner rather than speculative development produced by the real estate development company. The façade is ornately adorned with a full-height portico supported by large freestanding and engaged Tuscan columns. The portico has a wide entablature composed a molded architrave, plain frieze, ogee bed molding, denticulated cornice, and enclosed tympanum with raking cornice. A round window with delicate muntins pierces the center of the tympanum. The main entry is segmentally arched, filled with a paneled wood door framed by leaded-glass sidelights, molded surrounds, leaded fanlight, and stone imposts at the base of the soldier bricks framing the top of the opening. A one-story wing, with a flat roof, projects from the side elevation and wraps around to the rear of the building where it meets with a screened porch. Another excellent high-style example is the five-bay-wide house at 7015 Chansory Lane (1951). This imposing two-and-one-half-story rectangular box has a deeply recessed central entry with paneled Tuscan pilasters supporting a plain frieze and broken swan's neck pediment with urn. The paneled wood door is framed by sidelights and paneled reveals. The symmetrically placed window openings, elongated at the first story, hold eight over-eight, double-hung sash with splayed stone lintels and keystones. Wide paneled shutters frame the openings. The steeply pitched, side-gable roof is covered in square-butt slate shingles and finished with a boxed ogee-molded cornice with frieze. Three front-gable dormers protrude from the roof. Typical of this form, one-story wings project from the side elevations.
Two notable variations to the Colonial Revival-style forms are located at 3801 Calverton Drive\ (1958) and 7001 Lovell Drive (1957). The houses are influenced by the two-and-one-half-story rectangular box form within the main block, yet highlight the two-story lateral wing of the split-level form that emerged during the prosperity of the 1950s. Further, there are references to the Colonial Revival style in the overhang or jetty at the second story. The jetty, a feature of early Colonial houses constructed throughout the 1600s, was used in England to provide shelter over the street-level market stalls. The American interpretation of the overhang is shallower (four-to-six inches deep) and was purely a decorative holdover. 3 Typical of the style, the corners of the jetty are finished with a corner drop or pendant. This house form is often called a "garrison colonial house."
The house at 6908 Wells Parkway (1954), an example of the evolution of the traditional Cape Cod into a new Modern Movement form, is four bays wide with a recessed central entry that lacks an ornate surround. The concrete-block structure is veneered in stretcher-bond brick with cut stone applied to the lower half of the facade's eastern end. The variation in cladding material and the expansive size of the picture window, which consists of a large single-pane fixed light framed by four-light metal casements, suggests the eastern end of the building houses formal areas such as the living room. This is further implied by the placement of the exterior-end chimney on the east elevation. The dwelling also has large landscape windows illuminating the private spaces at the western end of the structure. These openings, which frame the landscaped vista along Wells Parkway, consist of three four-light metal casements, frame by paneled shutters. Like the traditional Cape Cod, the building is one-and-one-half stories in height, covered by a steeply pitched side-gable roof A recessed hyphen of wood frame connects to the one-story garage wing on the side elevation. Other examples expressing this evolution include 3900 Calverton Drive (1950), 3910 Commander Drive (1956), and 4001 Clagett Road (1958).
More straightforward examples of the ranch house are also found in College Heights Estates during this period, although again there are only a few. The house at 7007 Forest Hill Drive (1952) is one of the best examples, taking advantage of the sloping landscape to capture additional living space at the rear and placing the attached garage wing away from the main block. This one-story house is constructed of concrete blocks veneered in stretcher-bond brick. Variety of material is provided by the stone-clad planter that extends along the façade from the garage wing to the main entry. This variation of materials visually guides visitors to the unceremoniously placed main entry, which is characteristically devoid of applied surrounds and ornamentation. The dominating side-gable roof, pierced by a large brick chimney between the main block and garage wing, has a wide overhang that shelters the façade. The deeply recessed entry opening is framed to the side by a large picture window composed of a single-pane of glass edged by narrow metal casement windows of five lights. The house at 7211 Windsor Lane (1957) is another example of the low-lying ranch house. This model has placed the garage below grade in the main block rather than within an attached wing. The main block is faced in a brick veneer and asbestos shingles, which was a popular cladding material in early to mid-twentieth century. The shallow pitched roof has expansive eaves that shelter the large picture and landscape windows.
The house at 7100 Eversfield Drive is an excellent representation of the enlarged minimal traditional form. Constructed by builder W.E. Simmons, the house was constructed in 1955. The design for the one-and-one-half-story house, as with all other dwellings constructed in the neighborhood, was approved by Arthur Seidenspinner, who was president of College Heights Estates, Inc. The concrete block structure is veneered in stretcher-bond brick, which according to the builder's description of materials, was to be "Cusha Calvert Tea Rose" bricks. 4 The rectangular form, augmented by the low lying front-gable projection, is 34 feet wide and 30 feet deep. A one-story garage wing projects from the north side elevation, while a one-story wing protrudes from the west rear elevation. The dominating side-gable roof, which is covered in asphalt shingles, is pierced by a modest front gable dormer with a single double-hung window. A brick chimney with a corbeled cap and three terracotta pots rises from the center of the structure. Typical of Modern Movement houses, the projecting front gable bay has a large picture window, which is described on the builder's work order as "Thermopane in picture windows in living room and recreation room." 5 The single-pane center window is fixed, flanked by one-over-one, double-hung windows of pine. The centrally placed entry opening has a paneled wood door with a leaded-glass sidelight on one side. The house was constructed in six months for a cost of $24,222, which was comparable to neighboring dwellings in College Heights Estates but was about $5,000 to $10,000 more than new houses in surrounding neighborhoods. 6 Other examples of the enlarged minimal traditional house, many with picture and/or landscape windows, include 7006 Windsor Lane (1951), 3912 Calverton Drive (1952), 6900 Forest Hill Drive (1955), 7208 Windsor Lane (1955), and 3918 Calverton Drive (1958). A modest example, which is more typical of the surrounding neighborhoods, is located at 7203 Adelphi Road (1952).
Several examples of the split-level house were constructed in College Heights Estates. An excellent example is the house at 3913 Commander Drive, which was constructed in 1955. The house is constructed of concrete blocks faced in stretcher-bond brick. The main block is covered by a low lying, side-gable roof with slate shingles, which were not common as a roofing material at this time but was the preferred material of College Heights Estates, Inc. The character-defining two-story bay of the split-level house is covered by a shallow-pitched hip roof. The roof has wide overhanging eaves with ogee bed molding and a narrow frieze that acts as a lintel for the window openings. The design of the house takes full advantage of the sloping site, allowing for an exposed basement that opens onto a rear yard. The main entry is ceremoniously placed within the center of the facade, inset within a two-story bay. The recessed porch is supported by square posts and pilasters. The opening, which holds a paneled wood door, is ornately framed by a Colonial Revival-style surround with ogee molding, narrow sidelights, and a fanlight. The main block has paired and triple double-hung windows that act as landscape windows for the formal areas of the interior. The more private spaces, such as the bedrooms and family room in the two-story bay, are illuminated by single double hung windows that are wider than standard openings. Those on the lower story are squat, indicating they light rooms that are located below grade. The garage is located on the lower level of the main block, reached by the side elevation. The neighboring house at 3914 Commander Drive (1955) is identical in form, but not in detailing or fenestration. This house has a picture window at the center of the main block. The opening is composed of a large single-pane window framed by multi-light metal casements, finished with inoperable shutters. The projecting two-story bay has paired double hung windows, also with inoperable shutters. The lower story of the bay, on the facade, houses the two-car garage, which is sheltered by a half-hip roof supported by wrought-iron posts set on brick piers. The main entry is located on the center of the facade, framed by Tuscan columns. The low-lying roof, now covered in asphalt shingles, includes a side gable over the main block and a hip roof over the two story bay. The peaks of the roof are marked by louvered vents. A large brick chimney rises from the exterior-end of the main block, heating the formal space illuminated by the large picture window. Similar examples are located at 3909 Commander Drive (1953), 3908 Commander Drive (1955), 7008 Wells Parkway (1956), 3917 Commander Drive (1958), and 7004 Lovell Drive (1958).
Although many of the houses constructed in College Heights Estates in the 1950s were similar in style and form because they were designed as speculative housing by the real estate development company and thus reflected the desirable architectural fashions popular at the time, a few examples stand out for their individuality. Each of these houses is believed to have been designed for a specific client who collaborated with an architect of their own choosing. The final designs were all approved by Arthur Seidenspinner and College Heights Estates, Inc. One such example is the imposing house at 3916 Calverton Drive, which was completed in 1951. Utilizing the Colonial Revival style, the house is an expansive five bays wide, covered by a shallow-pitched, side-gable roof with an ogee molded cornice and narrow frieze that abuts the second-story openings. The main entry is located at the center of the facade within a slightly projecting entry bay clad in cut stone. The rest of the concrete block structure is veneered in stretcher-bond brick. The wide entry bay is pierced on the first story by the single-leaf door, which is modestly framed by a square-edge surround and stone lintel. The second story opening is semicircular, with a six-over-six, double-hung window topped by a transom. The first-story windows of the flanking bays are standard size, visually elongated by the paneled spandrels located below the sills.
Another example of this kind of individualized expression is the house at 6903 Forest Hill Drive, constructed in 1953. The house is composed of three parts—a two-bay main block, a one-bay wing, and a one-story garage wing. The two-story main block is covered by a front-gable roof, one of the few such examples in College Heights Estates. The building is completely clad in weatherboard siding, also a rarity in this neighborhood where brick veneer dominates. Four structural bays deep, the main block has a side entry opening sheltered by a louvered storm door. The expansive opening on the first story holds an eight-over-twelve, double-hung, wood-sash window with shutters that extend from the lintel to the base of the plain spandrel. Both the entry and window openings are crowned by high-style wood lintels with narrow friezes, ogee-molded lintel caps, and projecting keystones. The entry is further adorned with fluted Tuscan pilasters. The second-story openings are symmetrically placed above, each holding eight-over-twelve, double-hung windows with operable shutters. The wide frieze that encircles the main block acts as a lintel for the openings. The enclosed tympanum, which is finished with a narrow raking cornice, is pierced by an oculus window with diamond panes and square-edged surround with four keystones. The one-bay-wide wing on the east side elevation has the same fenestration on the first story as the main block, save the spandrel. The upper half story is illuminated by a large wall dormer with a front-gabled roof and eight-over-twelve, double-hung, wood-sash window. The main block and side wing are reminiscent of eighteenth-century colonial architecture; however the one-story garage on the west side elevation quickly destroys the illusion, returning the viewer to the mid-twentieth century when housing the automobile was primary to residential architectural design. The large side-gable garage wing houses two cars.
More typical of the mid-twentieth century, although substantially larger than its neighbors, is the house at 3909 Forest Hill Drive, which dates from 1956. This house was designed by architect V.T.H. Bien. Recalling the Italian Renaissance style, the house is rectangular in form with a recessed central bay on the facade that shelters the main entry and second-story porch. The concrete-block structure is veneered in stretcher-bond brick, which has been painted. Typical of the period, the first-story openings hold large landscape windows composed of thirty-five lights. The slightly recessed openings are devoid of applied ornamentation. The main entry is centrally located, holding a wide sixteen light and cross-panel wood door framed by wide louvered shutters. A similar door is symmetrically located on the second story, providing access to the porch, which is enclosed with ornately scrolled balusters of wrought iron. The smaller second-story openings, as well as those on the secondary elevations, have eight-over-eight, double-hung sash windows with operable louvered shuttered and projecting wood sills. The shallow-pitched, hip roof is covered with square-butt slate shingles. The wide overhanging eaves have a plain soffit, narrow frieze, and ogee bed molding. A one-story wing projects from the side elevation. This original feature serves as a garage, accessible from the rear of the dwelling.
The house at 7112 Eversfield Drive, also constructed in 1956, is thought to be another architect designed house. Rectangular in form, the building follows the form of a split level house by providing a full two-story section at the southern end of the main block, although the northern end is one story with a one-story wing. Constructed of concrete blocks, the building is covered on the lower story with stretcher-bond brick; the upper story (which reads as a half story) is covered in stucco, which was not a typical cladding material in College Heights Estates. The roof, which has an extremely shallow pitch, is covered in asphalt shingles and has expansive overhanging eaves. Like the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright and H.H. Richardson, the building has a deeply recessed entry opening that is hidden behind a semicircular arch and the banded window openings are narrow, located just below the eaves of the roof. Thus, the most dominating feature of the facade is the two garage door openings in the two-story section at the southern end of the main block. A one-story wing on the north side elevation has a band of elongated openings that act as landscape windows. A large stone-clad chimney rises from the north elevation of the wing, evoking its use as a formal living area.
Final Subdivisions, 1960-1976
The 1960s Houses of College Heights Estates
By 1960, College Heights Estates was largely developed with single-family dwellings, which followed the architectural precedents of the previous decade with regard to style, form, fenestration, and materials. The ranch house and split-level house continued to be the form of choice, although larger than traditionally constructed nationwide and often with Colonial Revival-style and Modern Movement elements such as classically inspired surrounds and expansive picture windows. Large examples of the minimal traditional include 4015 Van Buren Street (1960), 3923 Commander Drive (1961), and 3921 Commander Drive (1962). Illustrations of the Cape Cod form are located at 7004 Windsor Lane (1960), 3916 Commander Drive (1961), 3925 Commander Drive (1961), 3907 Commander Drive (1965), and 4002 Van Buren Street (1967). The traditional two-and-one-half story rectangular box form was erected during this period, although only minimally. Examples include 3920 Commander Drive (1960) and the two notably large models at 4001 Van Buren Street (1966) and 3920 Calverton Drive (1967). The split-level house was the most popular form built in College Heights Estates in the 1960s. Continuing many of the elements embraced during the 1950s, examples can been found at 3804 Calverton Drive (1960), 3902 Calverton Drive (1960), 7019 Adelphi Road (1960), 7102 Wells Parkway (1960), 6912 40th Street (1962), and 7101 Adelphi Road (1965). Straightforward examples of the ranch house, lying low to the ground with a strong horizontal emphasis, are located at 7201 Adelphi Road (1965), 7000 Southwark Terrace (1965), and 7110 Wells Parkway (1967).
The Houses of the 1970s and Beyond
Beginning in 1970s, the forms and styles commonly illustrated in the neighborhood were abandoned in favor of what several architectural historians refer to as "re-revivals" or "neocolonial." 7 These houses pay homage to the Colonial Revival-style Cape Cod and two-and-one-half-story rectangular box forms but employ new synthetic materials designed to simulate natural and historic materials.
Additionally, no longer reviewed by College Heights Estates, Inc., the designs incorporate materials not traditionally used in the neighborhood in previous decades. This includes stucco cladding, mansard roofs, one-over-one double-hung windows with false muntins, aluminum siding, and vinyl siding. Often, brick or stone is applied to just the facade, while the secondary elevations are clad in a synthetic material.
Alterations and Additions
Alterations and additions in College Heights Estates are remarkably minimal. This is due in large part to the expansive size and scale of the dwellings, which comfortably accommodate large families and their twenty-first-century needs. Minor alterations have occurred, such as the replacement of wood sash or metal casement windows with vinyl windows, but this is not commonplace. Asphalt shingles have replaced the original slate shingles on slightly more than half of the houses, but the pattern and texture created by the replacement shingles often evokes those original details. Very few of the houses have been enlarged, and those additions are generally located on rear elevations and are not fully visible from the street. In general, these changes do not diminish the integrity of the vast majority of the individual buildings or College Heights Estates. Typically, the additions and alterations are sensitive to the original design, workmanship, materials, and feeling of the contemporaneous buildings, while often ensuring the integrity of the main block. When additions have substantially altered the original form, scale, and fenestration of a building, it is identified as a non-contributing resource. Outbuildings College Heights Estates was developed during a period when the automobile dominated the American landscape and the more affluent residents to whom this neighborhood was marketed required a garage in which to house their car(s). Many of the houses have garages attached by hyphens or located within the main block. Thirteen of the properties include freestanding garages, many of which were constructed at the same time as the dwelling or soon thereafter. Garages are predominantly constructed of concrete blocks veneered in brick to mimic the dwelling in material and style. Two examples are constructed of wood frame with weatherboard siding, and one is constructed of exposed concrete blocks. The roofs are gabled, typically side-gabled and covered with slate shingles. Eighteen properties have freestanding sheds, all of which are prefabricated and non-historic. Other ancillary outbuildings include a home office, a large garden structure with fountain, and a few refabricated playhouses.
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Footnotes
1 College Heights Estates, Inc., "College Heights Estates, College Heights: Where Home Values Endure," undated (in possession of Ronald Blunck at 7100 Eversfield Drive).
2"Builders, Attention," Advertisement, Washington Post, 23 May 1943.
3 Rachel Carley, Visual Dictionary of American Domestic Architecture (New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 1994), 63.
4 "Description of Materials," dated August 1955 (in possession of the current property owner, Ronald Blunck at 7100 Eversfield Drive).
5 Ibid.
6 In 1957, the typical house cost $12,220 to $20,000. See http://www.fiftiesweb.com/pop/prices-1957.htm.
7 Jeffery Howe, editor, The Houses We Live In (London, England: PRC Publishing, Ltd., 2002), 379; Virginia and Lee McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses (New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985), 489.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
1. SITE DESCRIPTION
The residential neighborhood of College Heights Estates, platted in several sections between 1938 and 1976, consists of 120 acres. The streets grid was laid out by College Heights Estates, Inc., as an automobile suburb. The design intentionally protects the neighborhood from through traffic with the use of winding streets and cul-de-sacs. Thus, access to and from Baltimore Avenue (Route 1) to the east and Ade1phi Road to the west, is limited. Real estate brochures produced by College Heights Estates, Inc., describe the setting as "two miles of wide winding improved streets [that] beckon home seekers to rolling wooded lots..." I Each property has a paved driveway that leads to a free standing or attached garage. The undulating lots are landscaped, particularly along the rear and sides with mature trees, while shrubs and planned gardens frame the foundation level of the dwellings. The size of the lots and setback of the houses are consistent through the neighborhood which were, points established as covenants by the real estate development company in 1938. Many of the properties have brick or stone paved walkways and/or steps that lead from the street or driveway to the main entries. Fencing, as stipulated by the covenants, is rare, and relegated to the rear of the lots.
2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Development of the Four Initial Subdivisions, 1938-1942
In College Heights Estates, two forms dominated during this initial period of development Cape Cod and two-and-one-half-story rectangular box. Both forms recognized colonial-era precedents, but were notably larger and often augmented by wings on the side elevations. Illustrations of the enlarged Cape Cod form are located at 4102 Clagett Road, 4104 Clagett Road, and 4200. Clagett Road. Dating from 1938, these speculative houses are five bays wide, rising one-and-one-half stories in height. The structures are economically built of concrete blocks veneered in brick laid in seven-course Flemish bond or stretcher-bond. The prominent side-gable roofs, each covered in square-butt slate shingles, are pierced by three front-gable dormers. The rooflines have slight overhangs with molded cornices and narrow friezes. The house at 4200 Clagett Road has modillions along the soffit, which returns along the side elevations. Finished with weatherboard-clad cheeks, the dormers have double-hung, wood sash windows with narrow molded surrounds and shallow wood sills. The single-leaf entries are located at the center of the facades, ornately framed by wide surrounds illustrating the classical order with Tuscan pilasters or fluted square-edge surrounds, sidelights, and/or transoms. The flanking double-hung, wood sash windows are framed by narrow molded surrounds, projecting rowlock brick sills, operable louvered shutters, and jack arches with splayed bricks. Exterior-end brick chimneys rise from the side elevation, partially engaged within a one-story wing. The wings are used as sunrooms, porches, and/or garages. The house at 4200 Clagett Road, for example, has a wood-frame porch on the southwest side elevation, while a brick-veneer garage extends from the northeast side elevation. The house at 4102 Clagett Road has a brick-veneer garage on the side elevation, while the house at 4104 Clagett Road has a wood-frame porch with louvers on the side elevation.
The other prominent house form was the two-and-one-half-story, rectangular box. Noted examples include the dwellings at 3909 Calverton Drive, 4009 Clagett Road, 4011 Clagett Road, 4109 Clagett Road, and 7002 Chansory Lane; all of the houses date from 1938. Three bays wide, these dwellings are constructed of concrete block faced in seven-course Flemish-bond or stretcher-bond brick veneers. The steeply pitched side-gable roofs were originally covered in square-butt slate shingles; some of the roofs have been recovered in asphalt shingles. The slightly overhanging eaves on three of the dwellings are finished with shallow soffits and narrow frieze boards with dentil molding.
More high-style detailing is found along the cornice of the house at 4109 Clagett Road, which is embellished with a corbeled brick cornice. Typical of the period, when applied ornamentation was limited for economical reasons, the house at 7002 Chansory Lane lacks an ornate cornice or overhang along the facade. Exterior-end chimneys with corbeled caps rise from the side elevations of the dwelling. The main blocks of the dwellings are augmented by one-story wings that project from the side elevations to house garages and porches. The fenestration, materials, and ornamentation of the wings are in keeping with the main block, often hiding the existence of a garage. The slope of the site allows for the two-car garage at 4011 Clagett Road to be set below grade. Similarly, the one-car garage at 4009 Clagett Road is set notably back on the side elevation so as not to interfere with the massing of the main block. Like the Cape Cod dwellings from this initial period of speculative development, the main entry openings are centrally located on the facades, ornately framed by classically inspired surrounds. The entry openings provide the greatest variation to the standard design utilized by the development company. The houses at 3909 Calverton Drive and 4109 Clagett Road have semicircular porticos of wood frame. Supported by Tuscan columns and pilasters, the porticos have an ogee-molded cornice with wide frieze and a balustraded roof. The single-leaf opening at 3909 Calverton Drive, which was constructed in 1938, is further embellished by a semicircular arch with molded surrounds, sidelights over recessed panels, and a fanlight. The entry at 7002 Chansory Lane has fluted Tuscan pilasters supporting a narrow entablature and broken pediment with urn. The paneled door, reached by double entry stairs with a metal balustrade, is framed by recessed sidelights and panels. The one-bay-wide porch at 4011 Clagett Road has thin Tuscan columns with a narrow frieze, enclosed pediment, and a front-gable roof. The main entry at 4009 Clagett Road is located in a projecting entry bay or vestibule veneered in brick. Covered by a shallow-pitch front-gable roof with a raking cornice and returns, the vestibule holds a semicircular-arch single-leaf door. The side elevations of the vestibule are pierced by small multi-light, fixed windows.
The fenestration of these early dwellings is indicative of the period during which the buildings were constructed. Maintaining the symmetrical placement required of the Colonial Revival style, the window openings on the first stories of these houses are notably larger than those of the second story and secondary elevations. This allowed for greater illumination in the formal or public spaces, such as the living room and dining room, while providing intimacy for the private rooms such as the bedrooms and baths. These enlarged windows, the precursor of the picture or landscape window, emerged in the 1930s. As is illustrated in College Heights Estates, this larger opening initially had intervening muntins, which added a layer of visual charm by framing the interior and exterior views. By capturing the exterior views, the interior spaces appeared larger and more spacious, yet were framed by muntins that added interest and beauty. The majority of the window openings hold the traditional double-hung sash. Not elongated like several preceding architectural styles advocated, the first-story openings are wider than those of the upper story, yet tend to hold the same number of lights. The width of the openings is further accentuated by the louvered shutters. The influence of the picture or landscape window that ultimately became the single most ubiquitous feature of the single family house following World War II is suggested at 7002 Chansory Lane. The first-story openings are exceptionally wide, holding a pair of metal casement windows framed on the sides and top by fixed lights. The dwelling at 7003 College Heights Drive, which has the traditional rectangular box form augmented by a projecting bay on the facade, presents an excellent example of the picture window and technological innovations that were distinctly modern. Lacking muntins in order to fuse the outdoors with the interior, the large opening holds a single pane of glass, which is framed by narrow molded surrounds and undersized shutters.
Deviations from the traditional rectangular box form are minimally present in the first platted sections of College Heights Estates and are believed to have been designed for a specific owner rather than as speculative development. The two-and-one-half-story dwellings at 7003 College Heights Drive and 7008 Eversfield Drive (1939) both maintain the rectangular box form but have projecting end bays that vary. The projecting bay at 7003 College Heights Drive, which extends from the main roof, allows for a two-bay porch to stretch across the main block over the main entry opening and an expansive picture window. This one-story porch provides sheltered outdoor living space, much like the one-story wings of its contemporary neighbors. The projecting bay at 7008 Eversfield Drive houses the main entry, which is the single example of a side-entry opening from this period. Covered by a front-gable roof, the projecting bay is adorned with brick quoins. One-story wings project from the side elevations, housing a garage with porch above and library/den. One of the most interesting augmentations to the traditional rectangular box form is located at 6911 Wells Parkway. Constructed in 1938, this imposing dwelling is two-and-one-half stories in height and three bays wide. Brick chimneys with corbeled caps rise from the side elevations, which are marked by one-story wings. The concrete-block structure is veneered in six-course Flemish-bond brick. Although recalling the Colonial Revival style in form, the house is an excellent illustration of the Tudor Revival style. The main entry, centrally located on the façade, is housed in a two-story canted bay. The three-sided bay abuts a large rectangular bay that projects from the western end of the facade. Both the canted entry bay and the rectangular end bay are faced in cut stone, with wavy-edge weatherboard siding in the upper gable end. The side-gable roof of the main block is contrasted by the steeply pitched conical roof of the canted bay and the front-gable roof of the end bay. Tudor Revival-style elements include the shallow lancet-arched stone (possibly limestone) surround of the main entry, which holds a door of vertical boards with metal strap hinges, and the narrow fixed window on the second story that recalls arrow slits of the medieval castles. The influences of the picture window are presented through the paired double-hung windows in the project bay and the expansive three-part windows in the one story wing.
The smallest house from this period is located at 7002 Southwark Terrace. Constructed in 1939, this modest single-family dwelling reflects the standards and guidelines presented by the FHA Small Housing Program and Low-Cost Housing Act of the 1930s. The one-and-one-half-story building is constructed of concrete block with a veneer of six-course American-bond brick that has been painted. It is a three-bay-wide structure covered by a steeply pitched side-gable roof. The projecting bay on the northern end of the facade gives the building an L-shaped plan. The main entry opening is unceremoniously located on the side elevation of the projecting bay. The projecting bay, set on a raised foundation because of the sloping site, has board-and-batten siding in the upper gable end. Paired double-hung windows pierce the facade of the projecting bay, which also has very narrow openings at the south corner of the first story and in the upper gable end. Reminiscent of the Tudor Revival style, a large shouldered chimney with a corbeled cap and three terracotta pots rises from the façade of the dwelling, abutting the main entry. Indicative of the period is the large landscape window with twenty-four fixed muntins to the south of the exterior chimney. A one-story wing, housing a two-car garage, projects from the south elevation of the structure.
One of the most imposing dwellings from this initial period of development is located at 4112 Clagett Road. Built by M. Bosma & Sons in 1938, the dwelling is the best and largest example of the Tudor Revival style in College Heights Estates. The house has a rectangular form augmented by projecting bays crowned with steeply pitched front-gabled roofs. Constructed of concrete blocks, the building is veneered in cut stone on the facade and skintled brick on the secondary elevations. The slightly overhanging upper gable end on the facade is finished with wavy-edge weatherboard siding. The roof, covered in multi-color, rectangular slate shingles, is pierced by large shed-roof dormers with paired casement windows. A massive interior-end chimney of stone and brick rises from the northeast side elevation. The main entry, located in a projecting bay at the center of the facade, is framed by stone quoins with a narrow stone lintel. A narrow casement window pierces the upper gable end. Indicative of the period, the house is illuminated by large window openings, each holding metal casements typical of the Tudor Revival style. Like many of the houses from this initial phase of development, the Charles Joyce House is sited on an expansive corner lot with planned landscaping that enhances the large picture windows illuminating the house's interior spaces.
New construction lagged noticeably in the early 1940s despite the existence of buildable lots, which were serviced by water, sewer and paved streets. The Franklin map of Prince George's County documents that twenty-five of the 107 lots within the planned subdivision of College Heights Estates had been improved by 1940. Many of the buildings constructed in the early 1940s maintained the same traditional forms and features indicative of the Colonial Revival style; yet on a few of the houses the influences of the Modern Movement are clearly evident. Houses like 4107 Clagett Road (1940) continue the two-and-one-half-story rectangular box form, augmented by a one-story porch wing and one-story garage wing. The house at 7004 Eversfield Drive (1940) also presents this same form with one-story wings; however, the facade is dominated by a projecting central bay ornamented with a semicircular portico. The Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival styles unite at 4004 Clagett Road (1940). This two-and-one-half-story dwelling is one of the few structures built of wood frame clad in weatherboard siding. The upper gable end of the projecting end bay is finished with board and-batten siding. The main entry is located at the center of the facade, set within a steeply pitched front-gabled vestibule. Veneered in cut stone, the vestibule has a wide entry opening flanked by narrow fixed windows with delicate tracery. The openings are slightly recessed and framed in stretcher-course bricks that provided a decorative contrast to the yellow/brown hue of the stone and white-painted weatherboard. A canted oriel projects from the upper gable end. The window openings, which are wider on the first story, hold double-hung sash framed by louvered shutters.
The house at 3915 Calverton Drive (1940) is one of the rare examples in College Heights Estates of the Dutch Colonial Revival style, which was highly popular in the second quarter of the twentieth century. This house also includes elements closely associated with the Tudor Revival style. This concrete-block structure, clad in six-course American-bond brick, is notably larger than many of its stylistic counterparts in such neighboring subdivisions as University Park, Riverdale, and Calvert Hills. The main block is four bays wide with a large one-story garage wing on the side elevation. The imposing side-gable roof, covered in large square-butt slate shingles, is marked by an expansive shed roofed dormer. The dormer, which is three bays wide, is clad in wavy weatherboard siding. The centrally placed entry is modestly framed by a narrow square-edge surround and sheltered by a shed roof porch with large knee brackets. The opening and the porch are framed by narrow diamond-paned windows. The first story of the dwelling is pierced by paired windows (originally holding casements) topped by hood moldings with dog ears. The exterior-end brick chimney has an ornately corbeled cap and two terracotta pots. The character-defining features of the two examples of the Modern Movement's Streamline Moderne are its smooth surfaces, curved corners, and horizontal emphasis. Portrayed on the two examples in College Heights Estates-4000 Clagett Road (1941) and 6910 Wells Parkway (1942)—these elements all contribute to the feeling of aerodynamic force generated by transportation machinery, such as ships, airplanes, and automobiles. The lack of surface ornamentation emphasizes the smooth white finish of the stuccoed walls. Horizontal bands of large picture windows create a distinctive streamlined look that is highlighted by the use of corner or end-bay windows that present the illusion of wrapping around the corners of the building. Incised string courses and a shallow-pitch roof, both illustrated at 4000 Clagett Road, further emphasize the horizontality of the style. The house at 6910 Wells Parkway has a side-gabled roof covered in contrasting red ceramic tiles. Although the form of the roof and its material are not consistent with the Streamline Modern, they are traditional to the Cape Cod form that dominated suburban developments like College Heights Estates in the second quarter of the twentieth century. Commonly, with the Streamline Moderne, ornamentation is restricted to mirrored panels, glass wall blocks, cement panels, and occasionally a metal panel with low relief decoration that is confined to the entry or window openings. The house at 6910 Wells Parkway, for example, has an unpainted, stretcher-course brick surround framing the main entry opening. The wide window openings are recessed within larger openings with projecting sills and string courses. Red ceramic tiles have been placed to either side of the openings, suggesting shutters of colonial-era architecture. The recessed entry opening at 4000 Clagett Road is capped by a shallow, semicircular-arch hood. The reveals of the opening have square-edge string courses. Typical of automobile suburbs, both houses have attached garages that project as wings from the side elevations.
Post-World War II Development, 1946-1959
Despite the great need for housing in the Washington metropolitan area during World War II, no additional plats were established and no new construction occurred in College Heights Estates in the period between 1943 and 1946; only one house was constructed in 1942. Previously platted lots continued to be offered for sale; however, the needed building materials to construct what developer A.H. Seidenspinner described as "better housing" were not readily available because of restrictions and bans established during the war. 2 With the conclusion of the war in 1945, plans for new plats and new houses began, although it was notably slow in spite of the tremendous need for housing. In 1946, Plat 5 was subdivided, creating ten building lots. That same year, new construction consisted only of the Colonial Revival-style house at 7005 Eversfield Drive, which typified the traditional two-and one- half-story rectangular box form employed in the first years of development.
In 1947, two new houses were constructed for speculative purposes by the development company-6912 Wells Parkway and 4112 Clagett Road. Both houses respected the traditional Colonial Revival stylistic elements and forms but embraced several features of the Modern Movement. The single family dwelling at 4112 Clagett Road has the three-bay-wide main block with a central entry. The first story is veneered in stone while the second story is clad in weatherboard siding with wall dormers. Although the main block is exceptionally large, the limited use of weatherboard siding, along with the extended width of the wings on the side elevations, gives the building a stronger sense of horizontality than its Colonial Revival-style neighbors. This sense of horizontality is further emphasized at 6912 Wells Parkway, which is an interpretation of the ranch house form. The house at 6912 Well Parkway is an excellent example of this; it is of ranch house form but is larger and more ornate than was typical in the Washington area at the time. The defining elements of the ranch house form are the low-lying, one-story (or possibly one and and-one-half-story) structure with an L- or U-shaped plan. It is covered by a dominating side-gable roof that includes one or two projecting front gable bays on the facade. Influenced by the Modern Movement, the dwelling has expansive landscape windows with multi-pane, fixed sash framed by narrow operable windows. The main entry opening is asymmetrically recessed within the main block. The location of the entry, the expansive landscape windows, and the placement of the interior brick chimney, complete with corbeled cap and two terracotta pots, implies the location and large size of formal living spaces such as the living and dining rooms. The garage is located in what appears to be a separate building, connected by a one story porch that is enclosed with wood-frame screens.
New construction in the latter part of the 1940s was minimal, resulting in the completion of thirteen single-family dwellings that all appear to have been constructed by College Heights Estates, Inc., as speculative ventures. The lack of development during this period, especially by property owners who collaborated in the design of their homes, prompted the real estate development company to be conservative in the planning of their speculative housing. All examples erected in 1948 and 1949 reflect the Colonial Revival-style. The forms are overwhelmingly Cape Cod, such as those seen at 4003 Clagett Road, 7011 Chansory Lane, and 7006 Eversfield Drive, and the two-and-one-half story rectangular box at 4005 Clagett Road, 4101 Clagett Road, and 7107 Wells Parkway. The house at 3914 Calverton Drive is an example of the minimal traditional form, with its L-shaped plan. However, the building has been enlarged to accommodate the more affluent residents of College Heights Estates. The main block, which is constructed of concrete blocks veneered in cut stone and brick, is four bays wide; the typical minimal traditional house is only two bays wide. The western end of the facade is dominated by the projecting front-gable bay, which houses the private spaces based on the minimal size of the window openings. The eastern end of the facade has a projecting front gable bay that serves as the garage.
One of the most unusual houses from this period, 7007 Chansory Lane (1949), was greatly influenced by the Modern Movement. The house has an L-shaped plan and is constructed of concrete blocks veneered in seven-course, American-bond brick that has been whitewashed. The building is covered by a cross-hip roof of square-butt wood shingles. The roof is marked by dormers with shallow semicircular-arch roofs and vertical-board siding on the cheeks and face. The dormers as well as the windows in the main block have metal casements, lacking any applied surrounds. Rowlock brick sills provided the only ornamentation to the openings. The main entry is unceremoniously located on the west elevation, hidden from view by a large conifer and paved parking. A front-gable bay projects from the northern end of the facade. This bay, finished with vertical-board siding in the upper gable end and metal casement windows, houses the two-car garage. The rear of the building, like the ranch house, takes advantage of the slope of the landscape to provide additional living space below grade that opens onto the rear yard. The expansive windows, in particular those in the metal-clad boxed window, provide an unobstructed view of the natural setting. A large exterior-end chimney with a corbeled cap and terracotta pots signals the location of the living room at the western end of the dwelling.
The period of greatest development in College Heights Estates occurred in the 1950s, well after many of the neighboring residential subdivisions had been improved. Elements of the Colonial Revival dominated on the traditional Cape Cod and two-and-one-half-story rectangular box, often becoming very high style as exhibited at 7006 Forest Hill Drive (1952). The houses at 3802 Calverton Drive (1957) and 3902 Commander Drive (1950) are excellent examples of the Cape Cod form enlarged to meet the needs of the College Heights Estates clientele. The main block of the buildings, which are veneered in brick, are five bays wide; the traditional Cape Cod form is three bays wide. The side gable roof is steeply pitched and pierced by front-gable dormers. One-story wings project from both side elevations of the house at 3902 Commander Drive, providing additional living space on the upper story and garage space below grade at the rear. A hyphen connects the large two-car garage to the main block of the dwelling at 3802 Calverton Drive.
The house at 3915 Commander Drive (1958) shows the influences of the Modern Movement on the Cape Cod form. It maintains the traditional three-bay-wide form, but it is notably larger and low-lying. Large dormers pierced by triple windows dominate the side-gable roof, which has wide overhanging eaves and a molded wood cornice. The central entry, which falsely appears recessed, is flanked by semicircular bay windows that hold seven narrow double-hung sashes. These landscape windows reflect the views demanded by architecture of the Modern Movement. A large two-car garage is set below grade on the side elevation of the dwelling. The two-and-one-half-story rectangular box form that dominated the landscape of College Heights Estates in the late 1930 through the 1940s continued to be constructed throughout the neighborhood in the 1950s. Yet, like the Cape Cod, the form was often enlarged and elements of the Modern Movement were incorporated into the design. For example, the house at 3906 Commander Drive (1950) is three bays wide with a central entry. The first-story windows on the façade are conspicuously larger than those of the second story and secondary elevations. The large square openings, which flank the central entry opening, project slightly from the plane of the wall. Framed in wide square-edge surrounds with an ogee-molded cornice and plain frieze, the landscape windows hold 25-fixed lights. The main entry has a multi-panel wood door framed by narrow sidelights. The opening, finished with a narrow surround, is sheltered by, a very shallow hip roof supported by metal filigree posts. The size of the house is further enlarged by large one-story wings that project from the side elevations. Another imposing example is the house at 3806 Calverton Drive (1959), which is an expansive five bays wide. Constructed of brick now painted white, the house has a Colonial Revival style entry in the center bay of the façade. The paneled wood door is ornamented with narrow sidelights and a shallow fanlight. Like the previous example, this house has slightly projecting bays with landscape windows on the first story. Each of the bays, which are bowed, contains five fixed windows of five lights. The bays are topped by half-hip roofs of standing-seam metal and are set on paneled bases. One-story wings protrude from the side elevations of the building; one of the wings acts as a hyphen connecting the garage.
One of the most high-style examples of a two-and-one-half-story rectangular box is located at 7010 Forest Hill Drive (1950). The building is constructed of concrete blocks faced in a veneer of stretcher bond bricks. The main block is three bays wide and two bays deep, covered by a side-gable roof. This is the only example of the Classical Revival style in College Heights Estates, suggesting it was a collaborative effort between architect and owner rather than speculative development produced by the real estate development company. The façade is ornately adorned with a full-height portico supported by large freestanding and engaged Tuscan columns. The portico has a wide entablature composed a molded architrave, plain frieze, ogee bed molding, denticulated cornice, and enclosed tympanum with raking cornice. A round window with delicate muntins pierces the center of the tympanum. The main entry is segmentally arched, filled with a paneled wood door framed by leaded-glass sidelights, molded surrounds, leaded fanlight, and stone imposts at the base of the soldier bricks framing the top of the opening. A one-story wing, with a flat roof, projects from the side elevation and wraps around to the rear of the building where it meets with a screened porch. Another excellent high-style example is the five-bay-wide house at 7015 Chansory Lane (1951). This imposing two-and-one-half-story rectangular box has a deeply recessed central entry with paneled Tuscan pilasters supporting a plain frieze and broken swan's neck pediment with urn. The paneled wood door is framed by sidelights and paneled reveals. The symmetrically placed window openings, elongated at the first story, hold eight over-eight, double-hung sash with splayed stone lintels and keystones. Wide paneled shutters frame the openings. The steeply pitched, side-gable roof is covered in square-butt slate shingles and finished with a boxed ogee-molded cornice with frieze. Three front-gable dormers protrude from the roof. Typical of this form, one-story wings project from the side elevations.
Two notable variations to the Colonial Revival-style forms are located at 3801 Calverton Drive\ (1958) and 7001 Lovell Drive (1957). The houses are influenced by the two-and-one-half-story rectangular box form within the main block, yet highlight the two-story lateral wing of the split-level form that emerged during the prosperity of the 1950s. Further, there are references to the Colonial Revival style in the overhang or jetty at the second story. The jetty, a feature of early Colonial houses constructed throughout the 1600s, was used in England to provide shelter over the street-level market stalls. The American interpretation of the overhang is shallower (four-to-six inches deep) and was purely a decorative holdover. 3 Typical of the style, the corners of the jetty are finished with a corner drop or pendant. This house form is often called a "garrison colonial house."
The house at 6908 Wells Parkway (1954), an example of the evolution of the traditional Cape Cod into a new Modern Movement form, is four bays wide with a recessed central entry that lacks an ornate surround. The concrete-block structure is veneered in stretcher-bond brick with cut stone applied to the lower half of the facade's eastern end. The variation in cladding material and the expansive size of the picture window, which consists of a large single-pane fixed light framed by four-light metal casements, suggests the eastern end of the building houses formal areas such as the living room. This is further implied by the placement of the exterior-end chimney on the east elevation. The dwelling also has large landscape windows illuminating the private spaces at the western end of the structure. These openings, which frame the landscaped vista along Wells Parkway, consist of three four-light metal casements, frame by paneled shutters. Like the traditional Cape Cod, the building is one-and-one-half stories in height, covered by a steeply pitched side-gable roof A recessed hyphen of wood frame connects to the one-story garage wing on the side elevation. Other examples expressing this evolution include 3900 Calverton Drive (1950), 3910 Commander Drive (1956), and 4001 Clagett Road (1958).
More straightforward examples of the ranch house are also found in College Heights Estates during this period, although again there are only a few. The house at 7007 Forest Hill Drive (1952) is one of the best examples, taking advantage of the sloping landscape to capture additional living space at the rear and placing the attached garage wing away from the main block. This one-story house is constructed of concrete blocks veneered in stretcher-bond brick. Variety of material is provided by the stone-clad planter that extends along the façade from the garage wing to the main entry. This variation of materials visually guides visitors to the unceremoniously placed main entry, which is characteristically devoid of applied surrounds and ornamentation. The dominating side-gable roof, pierced by a large brick chimney between the main block and garage wing, has a wide overhang that shelters the façade. The deeply recessed entry opening is framed to the side by a large picture window composed of a single-pane of glass edged by narrow metal casement windows of five lights. The house at 7211 Windsor Lane (1957) is another example of the low-lying ranch house. This model has placed the garage below grade in the main block rather than within an attached wing. The main block is faced in a brick veneer and asbestos shingles, which was a popular cladding material in early to mid-twentieth century. The shallow pitched roof has expansive eaves that shelter the large picture and landscape windows.
The house at 7100 Eversfield Drive is an excellent representation of the enlarged minimal traditional form. Constructed by builder W.E. Simmons, the house was constructed in 1955. The design for the one-and-one-half-story house, as with all other dwellings constructed in the neighborhood, was approved by Arthur Seidenspinner, who was president of College Heights Estates, Inc. The concrete block structure is veneered in stretcher-bond brick, which according to the builder's description of materials, was to be "Cusha Calvert Tea Rose" bricks. 4 The rectangular form, augmented by the low lying front-gable projection, is 34 feet wide and 30 feet deep. A one-story garage wing projects from the north side elevation, while a one-story wing protrudes from the west rear elevation. The dominating side-gable roof, which is covered in asphalt shingles, is pierced by a modest front gable dormer with a single double-hung window. A brick chimney with a corbeled cap and three terracotta pots rises from the center of the structure. Typical of Modern Movement houses, the projecting front gable bay has a large picture window, which is described on the builder's work order as "Thermopane in picture windows in living room and recreation room." 5 The single-pane center window is fixed, flanked by one-over-one, double-hung windows of pine. The centrally placed entry opening has a paneled wood door with a leaded-glass sidelight on one side. The house was constructed in six months for a cost of $24,222, which was comparable to neighboring dwellings in College Heights Estates but was about $5,000 to $10,000 more than new houses in surrounding neighborhoods. 6 Other examples of the enlarged minimal traditional house, many with picture and/or landscape windows, include 7006 Windsor Lane (1951), 3912 Calverton Drive (1952), 6900 Forest Hill Drive (1955), 7208 Windsor Lane (1955), and 3918 Calverton Drive (1958). A modest example, which is more typical of the surrounding neighborhoods, is located at 7203 Adelphi Road (1952).
Several examples of the split-level house were constructed in College Heights Estates. An excellent example is the house at 3913 Commander Drive, which was constructed in 1955. The house is constructed of concrete blocks faced in stretcher-bond brick. The main block is covered by a low lying, side-gable roof with slate shingles, which were not common as a roofing material at this time but was the preferred material of College Heights Estates, Inc. The character-defining two-story bay of the split-level house is covered by a shallow-pitched hip roof. The roof has wide overhanging eaves with ogee bed molding and a narrow frieze that acts as a lintel for the window openings. The design of the house takes full advantage of the sloping site, allowing for an exposed basement that opens onto a rear yard. The main entry is ceremoniously placed within the center of the facade, inset within a two-story bay. The recessed porch is supported by square posts and pilasters. The opening, which holds a paneled wood door, is ornately framed by a Colonial Revival-style surround with ogee molding, narrow sidelights, and a fanlight. The main block has paired and triple double-hung windows that act as landscape windows for the formal areas of the interior. The more private spaces, such as the bedrooms and family room in the two-story bay, are illuminated by single double hung windows that are wider than standard openings. Those on the lower story are squat, indicating they light rooms that are located below grade. The garage is located on the lower level of the main block, reached by the side elevation. The neighboring house at 3914 Commander Drive (1955) is identical in form, but not in detailing or fenestration. This house has a picture window at the center of the main block. The opening is composed of a large single-pane window framed by multi-light metal casements, finished with inoperable shutters. The projecting two-story bay has paired double hung windows, also with inoperable shutters. The lower story of the bay, on the facade, houses the two-car garage, which is sheltered by a half-hip roof supported by wrought-iron posts set on brick piers. The main entry is located on the center of the facade, framed by Tuscan columns. The low-lying roof, now covered in asphalt shingles, includes a side gable over the main block and a hip roof over the two story bay. The peaks of the roof are marked by louvered vents. A large brick chimney rises from the exterior-end of the main block, heating the formal space illuminated by the large picture window. Similar examples are located at 3909 Commander Drive (1953), 3908 Commander Drive (1955), 7008 Wells Parkway (1956), 3917 Commander Drive (1958), and 7004 Lovell Drive (1958).
Although many of the houses constructed in College Heights Estates in the 1950s were similar in style and form because they were designed as speculative housing by the real estate development company and thus reflected the desirable architectural fashions popular at the time, a few examples stand out for their individuality. Each of these houses is believed to have been designed for a specific client who collaborated with an architect of their own choosing. The final designs were all approved by Arthur Seidenspinner and College Heights Estates, Inc. One such example is the imposing house at 3916 Calverton Drive, which was completed in 1951. Utilizing the Colonial Revival style, the house is an expansive five bays wide, covered by a shallow-pitched, side-gable roof with an ogee molded cornice and narrow frieze that abuts the second-story openings. The main entry is located at the center of the facade within a slightly projecting entry bay clad in cut stone. The rest of the concrete block structure is veneered in stretcher-bond brick. The wide entry bay is pierced on the first story by the single-leaf door, which is modestly framed by a square-edge surround and stone lintel. The second story opening is semicircular, with a six-over-six, double-hung window topped by a transom. The first-story windows of the flanking bays are standard size, visually elongated by the paneled spandrels located below the sills.
Another example of this kind of individualized expression is the house at 6903 Forest Hill Drive, constructed in 1953. The house is composed of three parts—a two-bay main block, a one-bay wing, and a one-story garage wing. The two-story main block is covered by a front-gable roof, one of the few such examples in College Heights Estates. The building is completely clad in weatherboard siding, also a rarity in this neighborhood where brick veneer dominates. Four structural bays deep, the main block has a side entry opening sheltered by a louvered storm door. The expansive opening on the first story holds an eight-over-twelve, double-hung, wood-sash window with shutters that extend from the lintel to the base of the plain spandrel. Both the entry and window openings are crowned by high-style wood lintels with narrow friezes, ogee-molded lintel caps, and projecting keystones. The entry is further adorned with fluted Tuscan pilasters. The second-story openings are symmetrically placed above, each holding eight-over-twelve, double-hung windows with operable shutters. The wide frieze that encircles the main block acts as a lintel for the openings. The enclosed tympanum, which is finished with a narrow raking cornice, is pierced by an oculus window with diamond panes and square-edged surround with four keystones. The one-bay-wide wing on the east side elevation has the same fenestration on the first story as the main block, save the spandrel. The upper half story is illuminated by a large wall dormer with a front-gabled roof and eight-over-twelve, double-hung, wood-sash window. The main block and side wing are reminiscent of eighteenth-century colonial architecture; however the one-story garage on the west side elevation quickly destroys the illusion, returning the viewer to the mid-twentieth century when housing the automobile was primary to residential architectural design. The large side-gable garage wing houses two cars.
More typical of the mid-twentieth century, although substantially larger than its neighbors, is the house at 3909 Forest Hill Drive, which dates from 1956. This house was designed by architect V.T.H. Bien. Recalling the Italian Renaissance style, the house is rectangular in form with a recessed central bay on the facade that shelters the main entry and second-story porch. The concrete-block structure is veneered in stretcher-bond brick, which has been painted. Typical of the period, the first-story openings hold large landscape windows composed of thirty-five lights. The slightly recessed openings are devoid of applied ornamentation. The main entry is centrally located, holding a wide sixteen light and cross-panel wood door framed by wide louvered shutters. A similar door is symmetrically located on the second story, providing access to the porch, which is enclosed with ornately scrolled balusters of wrought iron. The smaller second-story openings, as well as those on the secondary elevations, have eight-over-eight, double-hung sash windows with operable louvered shuttered and projecting wood sills. The shallow-pitched, hip roof is covered with square-butt slate shingles. The wide overhanging eaves have a plain soffit, narrow frieze, and ogee bed molding. A one-story wing projects from the side elevation. This original feature serves as a garage, accessible from the rear of the dwelling.
The house at 7112 Eversfield Drive, also constructed in 1956, is thought to be another architect designed house. Rectangular in form, the building follows the form of a split level house by providing a full two-story section at the southern end of the main block, although the northern end is one story with a one-story wing. Constructed of concrete blocks, the building is covered on the lower story with stretcher-bond brick; the upper story (which reads as a half story) is covered in stucco, which was not a typical cladding material in College Heights Estates. The roof, which has an extremely shallow pitch, is covered in asphalt shingles and has expansive overhanging eaves. Like the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright and H.H. Richardson, the building has a deeply recessed entry opening that is hidden behind a semicircular arch and the banded window openings are narrow, located just below the eaves of the roof. Thus, the most dominating feature of the facade is the two garage door openings in the two-story section at the southern end of the main block. A one-story wing on the north side elevation has a band of elongated openings that act as landscape windows. A large stone-clad chimney rises from the north elevation of the wing, evoking its use as a formal living area.
Final Subdivisions, 1960-1976
The 1960s Houses of College Heights Estates
By 1960, College Heights Estates was largely developed with single-family dwellings, which followed the architectural precedents of the previous decade with regard to style, form, fenestration, and materials. The ranch house and split-level house continued to be the form of choice, although larger than traditionally constructed nationwide and often with Colonial Revival-style and Modern Movement elements such as classically inspired surrounds and expansive picture windows. Large examples of the minimal traditional include 4015 Van Buren Street (1960), 3923 Commander Drive (1961), and 3921 Commander Drive (1962). Illustrations of the Cape Cod form are located at 7004 Windsor Lane (1960), 3916 Commander Drive (1961), 3925 Commander Drive (1961), 3907 Commander Drive (1965), and 4002 Van Buren Street (1967). The traditional two-and-one-half story rectangular box form was erected during this period, although only minimally. Examples include 3920 Commander Drive (1960) and the two notably large models at 4001 Van Buren Street (1966) and 3920 Calverton Drive (1967). The split-level house was the most popular form built in College Heights Estates in the 1960s. Continuing many of the elements embraced during the 1950s, examples can been found at 3804 Calverton Drive (1960), 3902 Calverton Drive (1960), 7019 Adelphi Road (1960), 7102 Wells Parkway (1960), 6912 40th Street (1962), and 7101 Adelphi Road (1965). Straightforward examples of the ranch house, lying low to the ground with a strong horizontal emphasis, are located at 7201 Adelphi Road (1965), 7000 Southwark Terrace (1965), and 7110 Wells Parkway (1967).
The Houses of the 1970s and Beyond
Beginning in 1970s, the forms and styles commonly illustrated in the neighborhood were abandoned in favor of what several architectural historians refer to as "re-revivals" or "neocolonial." 7 These houses pay homage to the Colonial Revival-style Cape Cod and two-and-one-half-story rectangular box forms but employ new synthetic materials designed to simulate natural and historic materials.
Additionally, no longer reviewed by College Heights Estates, Inc., the designs incorporate materials not traditionally used in the neighborhood in previous decades. This includes stucco cladding, mansard roofs, one-over-one double-hung windows with false muntins, aluminum siding, and vinyl siding. Often, brick or stone is applied to just the facade, while the secondary elevations are clad in a synthetic material.
Alterations and Additions
Alterations and additions in College Heights Estates are remarkably minimal. This is due in large part to the expansive size and scale of the dwellings, which comfortably accommodate large families and their twenty-first-century needs. Minor alterations have occurred, such as the replacement of wood sash or metal casement windows with vinyl windows, but this is not commonplace. Asphalt shingles have replaced the original slate shingles on slightly more than half of the houses, but the pattern and texture created by the replacement shingles often evokes those original details. Very few of the houses have been enlarged, and those additions are generally located on rear elevations and are not fully visible from the street. In general, these changes do not diminish the integrity of the vast majority of the individual buildings or College Heights Estates. Typically, the additions and alterations are sensitive to the original design, workmanship, materials, and feeling of the contemporaneous buildings, while often ensuring the integrity of the main block. When additions have substantially altered the original form, scale, and fenestration of a building, it is identified as a non-contributing resource. Outbuildings College Heights Estates was developed during a period when the automobile dominated the American landscape and the more affluent residents to whom this neighborhood was marketed required a garage in which to house their car(s). Many of the houses have garages attached by hyphens or located within the main block. Thirteen of the properties include freestanding garages, many of which were constructed at the same time as the dwelling or soon thereafter. Garages are predominantly constructed of concrete blocks veneered in brick to mimic the dwelling in material and style. Two examples are constructed of wood frame with weatherboard siding, and one is constructed of exposed concrete blocks. The roofs are gabled, typically side-gabled and covered with slate shingles. Eighteen properties have freestanding sheds, all of which are prefabricated and non-historic. Other ancillary outbuildings include a home office, a large garden structure with fountain, and a few refabricated playhouses.
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Footnotes
1 College Heights Estates, Inc., "College Heights Estates, College Heights: Where Home Values Endure," undated (in possession of Ronald Blunck at 7100 Eversfield Drive).
2"Builders, Attention," Advertisement, Washington Post, 23 May 1943.
3 Rachel Carley, Visual Dictionary of American Domestic Architecture (New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 1994), 63.
4 "Description of Materials," dated August 1955 (in possession of the current property owner, Ronald Blunck at 7100 Eversfield Drive).
5 Ibid.
6 In 1957, the typical house cost $12,220 to $20,000. See http://www.fiftiesweb.com/pop/prices-1957.htm.
7 Jeffery Howe, editor, The Houses We Live In (London, England: PRC Publishing, Ltd., 2002), 379; Virginia and Lee McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses (New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985), 489.
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
College Heights Estates is an excellent illustration of a residential automobile suburb in Prince George's County that documents the evolution of mid-twentieth-century architectural trends. In 1938, the first of the twenty subdivision plats making up this cohesive neighborhood, which was formerly part of Eversfield farm, was recorded in response to the housing needs of an expanding suburban population. Drawing on the successes and failures of the planned community of Radburn, New Jersey, the suburban plan of College Heights Estates was intended to accommodate the automobile, which directly affected the designs of streets, houses, garages, and yards, and the neighborhood's location along highly traveled arterial roads. The houses of College Heights Estates were predominately speculatively built by College Heights Estates, Inc., on expansive landscaped lots and with the newest modern amenities and conveniences to accommodate the discriminating tastes of more affluent homebuyers. A number of property owners employed regionally prominent architects to design their houses, thus deviating from the common styles and forms promoted for the neighborhood by the development company. Although development was initially slow and, ceased altogether during World War Il because of the shortage of building materials, new construction in the late 1940s through to the early 1960s ultimately created an automobile suburb composed of impressive mid twentieth-century dwellings notably larger than most contemporaneous suburban neighborhoods. All designs, whether the work of the development company or hired architects collaborating With property owners, were approved by Arthur Seidenspinner, who made certain each house conformed to the standards and covenants adopted by his development company. As a result, whether constructed within the first platted area in 1938 or in one of the last sections in 1960, the houses of College Heights Estates display a compatibility of style, massing, scale, materials, and siting that allows for a comprehensive study of the evolution of pre- and post-World War Il residential architecture in a local context.
Consequently, College Heights Estates has achieved significance as the product of the mid-twentieth century, with individual components combined to create a distinguishable automobile suburb with high artistic value. The district meets National Register criteria A and C, and is significant under the themes of architecture and community planning/development with the period of significance extending from 1938, when the first of the twenty plats was filed, to 1960, which is the fifty-year mark and a time after which residential architectural influences begin to notably change. The neighborhood consists of 200 properties, which include 200 single-family dwellings and 35 secondary resources such as garages and sheds. There are 177 contributing properties and 23 non-contributing properties (185 contributing resources and 50 non-contributing resources).
Criterion A: Association with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history.
College Heights Estates meets criterion A of the National Register of Historic Places as a distinguished automobile suburb, designed specifically for more affluent residents of Prince George's County. Accommodation of the automobile in the suburban plan affected the designs of the streets, houses, and yards, and the neighborhood's location along newly improved, highly traveled arterial roads, such as the historic Baltimore Avenue (Route l) that was widened and repaved in the second quarter of the twentieth century. The overall plan of the neighborhood, as well as the design of individual houses and yards, reflected the residents' love for and dependence on the automobile. As Prince George's County's premier automobile su liege Heights Estates incorporates paved driveways, freestanding or attached garage, sidewalks, d houses with side entrances that lead directly from the garage/driveway to the kitchen areas. Further, the street configuration intentionally discouraged drivers who did not reside within the neighborhood from passing through, thus protecting the residents from through traffic. Flanked by the wider, arterial roadways of Baltimore Avenue and Adelphi Road, the neighborhood incorporates curvilinear elements that contrast sharply with the formality and geometric precision of the earlier radial and axial plans of surrounding neighborhoods that quickly proved to be easily accessible to commuter traffic. Rather, the curvilinear streets of College Heights Estates follow the natural topography of the landscape to provide undulating vistas. Cul-de-sacs, an element studied by the real estate development company at Radburn, New Jersey (1928-1929), ensured privacy and decreased traffic within the neighborhood. Unlike many automobile suburbs, College Heights Estates does not incorporate a neighborhood shopping center; rather residents are obliged to use their automobiles to reach the commercial establishments along Baltimore Avenue and in the nearby communities of College Park, Riverdale Park and Hyattsville.
The houses of College Heights Estates were predominately constructed as speculative ventures by College Heights Estates, Inc., and were designed to include the newest of modern amenities to appeal to the discriminating tastes of the more affluent buyer. Although development was initially slow and ceased altogether during World War Il because of the shortage of building materials, new construction in the late 1940s through to the early 1960s ultimately created an automobile suburb composed of impressive mid-twentieth-century dwellings that were notably larger than most contemporaneous suburban neighborhoods. The houses from this period typically provided for an attached garage, commonly within a one-story wing that reads as informal living space from the street rather than as covered parking for the family car. The few examples of freestanding garages, the majority dating from the late 1930s and early 1940s, mimicked the architectural expressions of the main house both in style and materials. By the 1950s, in College Heights Estates, the garage became an essential part of the single-family dwelling and was often prominently displayed on the facade or side elevation. The landscaping of the spacious yards also accommodated the automobile by providing a paved driveway and easy access to the service areas of the house. All of the properties in College Heights Estates include paved drives, many wrapping around to the rear or curving in front of the dwelling.
The automobile was integral to the design of the suburb of College Heights Estates, both in neighborhood planning and architecture. The lack of non-residential buildings and the modern accommodations that these dwellings provide, especially for the automobile, has preserved the vision of Arthur Seidenspinner, who was president of the real estate development company, College Heights Estates, Inc. This allows for an untainted examination of neighborhood planning that has proved successful since the first of the twenty plats was established in 1938, and the study of imposing mid-twentieth-century architecture that embraced the automobile in its design.
Criterion C: Distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction.
The suburban neighborhood of College Heights Estates meets criterion C of the National Register of Historic Places for its significant concentration of imposing mid-twentieth-century residential architecture. Fashionable stylistic interpretations include the Colonial Revival and Modern Movement with select examples of and influences from the Italian Renaissance, Tudor Revival, Dutch Colonial Revival, and Streamline Modern styles. College Heights Estates provides a significant sample of the wide variety of domestic forms popular in the mid-twentieth century including the Cape Cod, rectangular box, ranch house, split level, and minimal traditional forms. Unlike contemporaneous forms erected in neighboring suburbs, those in College Heights Estates were notably larger in scale, massing, and incorporated landscape and/or picture windows that enhanced the spaciousness of the house by providing views of expansive yards and mature trees. The majority of the single-family dwellings were designed by staff architects of the real estate development company, which established fourteen detailed covenants related to the siting of houses and garages, fencing and walls, grading and slopes, building uses, and nativity of residents. One of the more significant covenants was the requirement for design review of new construction or changes to designs with regard to cost, type, size, materials, color scheme, site plans, and all exterior details and specifications by College Heights Estates, Inc. Therefore, whether constructed within the first area platted in 1938, or in one of the last sections from 1960, the houses of College Heights Estates display a compatibility of style, massing, scale, materials, setback, and setting. Further, the imposing size of the dwellings, which were targeted toward the more affluent residents of Prince George's County and often required space for entertaining and staff quarters, has notably reduced the need for additions and alterations.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
EVERSFIELD AND SMITH'S FOLLY
The land encompassed by the residential neighborhood of College Heights Estates was part of the Stier/Calvert family's large and prosperous Riversdale plantation, which included a grand Georgian style dwelling dating from the beginning of the nineteenth century. The area where College Heights Estates is located was known historically as Smith 's Folly, which was owned in the mid-eighteenth century by the Eversfield family.9 Histories written about the family in The Sunday Star declared "the early Eversfields were people of wealth, education and influence. Some of the male members of the family were clergymen and others were physicians. In August 1873, Dr. William Octavus Eversfield (1839-1908) received Smith 's Folly from his mother, Ann R. Eversfield. ll Educated as a physician at the University of Virginia and the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Eversfield served as a field surgeon (acting assistant surgeon) in the U.S. Army during the Civil War (1861-1865). Following the war, he was surgeon for the Panama Railroad from 1866 to 1867 and later for the Pacific Mail Steamship (S.S.) Company. 12 In 1878, returning to Prince George's County, Dr. Eversfield established a practice in a one-story, log building located a short distance from his house.13 The exact location of the house, which burned in 1926, has not been positively determined; however oral histories and the Atlas of Fifteen Miles around Washington, including Prince George's County, Maryland-1878, by G.M. Hopkins, document the c. 1873 home of Dr. Eversfield was located to the west of the Baltimore-Washington Turnpike (now Baltimore Avenue, U.S. Route I), east of Colesville Road (now Adelphi Road), north of William Deakins's Bloomfield, and south of the Maryland Agricultural College (now the University of Maryland). The site of the dwelling, touted as "one of the show places of Prince Georges county [sic]," was subdivided in 1973 as the fifth plat of the Partridge Hill Section of College Heights Estates. 15 This property is located to the immediate east of College Heights Estates.16
Beginning in 1876, Dr. Eversfield started to subdivide his property, selling a tract to William F. Deakins that included Edmonson 's Pasture, the resurvey of Jackson 's Necessity, and part of Smith 's Folly. This property, together with Deakins's larger Bloomfield farm, was subdivided • in 1920 as University Park. Portions of Smith 's Folly were conveyed by the heirs of Deakins to the Riverdale Realty Company in 1920, and by 1923 were owned by the University Park Company. Constituting what would become Plats 6 through 8 and the Martz's Addition of College Heights Estate, this property was purchased by College Heights Estate, Inc., in 1940.
Nearly thirty years after the death of Dr. Eversfield, in 1937, the widowed Lillie Eversfield conveyed the first of several tracts that would become College Heights Estates to the real estate development company of the same name. She sold a second tract in 1940. These 43 acres included within two deeds encompassed what was subdivided as Plats I through 5, which were platted between 1938 and 1946. Additional portions of the suburb were sold in sections to the real estate development company by the children of Lillian and William O. Eversfield—Lillie Eversfield, Catherine E. Eversfield, and William Octavus Eversfield, Jr.17
COLLEGE HEIGHTS ESTATES
The Real Estate Development Company and Associated Ensemble
College Heights Estates was predominately developed by the real estate development company known as College Heights Estates, Inc. The Maryland-based company was founded by Arthur H. Seidenspinner and Clara S. Shepherd about 1937. Born in Washington, D.C., Seidenspinner (18991972) began his career as a real estate developer in 1919 following an eight-year stint at the Washington Nav Yard. 18 He initially worked for the real estate companies of Shannon & Luchs and L.W. Groomes. l In 1924, Seidenspinner formed his own real estate company, focusing his efforts on Prince George's County.20 His interest in real estate development led him to serve as president of Shepherd & Gilbert, Co., Inc.21 Seidenspinner was a community leader, serving as president of the Prince George's County Chamber of Commerce in 1959.22 He was an active member of the Riverdale Presbyterian Church and Prince George's County Real Estate Board.23 Additionally, Seidenspinner was on the advisory board of the Suburban Trust Company and the board of directors of the Prince George's Chapter of the American Red Cross. 24 His notable philanthropic efforts included the establishment of "numerous scholarships at University of Maryland, and [aid to] many youth, educational and religious organizations." 5
Seidenspinner's efforts to develop and promote College Heights Estates were greatly aided by Clara S. Shepherd, who acted as secretary/treasurer for College Heights Estates, Inc. Shepherd was the widow of Harry W. Shepherd (1870-1924), who collaborated with Claude Gilbert to form the real estate development company of Shepherd & Gilbert. The company was responsible for the platting of College Heights in 1920. The five-block subdivision, now part of the larger University Park, is located to the immediate southeast of College Heights Estates. Harry Shepherd also served as director and treasurer of the University Park Company, Inc., which developed William Deakins's Bloomfield into a picturesque, middle-class automobile suburb in the 1920s. Following his 1924 death, Harry Shepherd's widow became active in real estate, taking over her husband's position as treasurer of University Park Company, Inc., by 1928. 26
Like Seidenspinner and Shepherd, many of those associated with the development of College Heights Estates were actively working in real estate and development in Prince George's County, typically living within or adjacent to College Heights Estates. Albert E. Pohmer, for example, served as the civil engineer and surveyor for College Heights Estates as well as College Heights, Hyattsville, Riverdale Park, Mount Rainier, and University Park. 27 Pohmer maintained houses in both Baltimore and Riverdale Park, where he also served as the town engineer.28
Architect John M. Walton (1912-2000), "who has designed many residences in the two sections" of College Heights Estates and neighboring College Heights, oversaw construction of his own house in the College Heights section (now University Park) in 1940.29 Walton was a regionally prominent architect, educated at the Catholic University of America. Seidenspinner retained Walton to design houses for the College Heights Estates development not long after he had graduated in 1936 and thus helped to launch his career. 30 Walton's own firm expanded to become Ross, Walton & Madden (later Walton & Madden) in 1946. Relocating from their office in Mount Rainer, the renamed firm known as Walton, Madden, Cooper & Auerbach subsequently moved to Riverdale Park.31 He also maintained the architecture firm, John M. Walton & Associates, in Arlington County.32 Walton's architectural expertise included the designs of the Prince George's County Service Building in Hyattsville, several buildings at the University of Maryland, College Park including Fraternity Row, trotting horse racing tracks at Laurel and Rosecroft raceways, Iverson Mall in Marlow Heights, and Marymount College in Arlington. Additionally, Walton designed several churches, schools, and rectories, including the church, convent, rectory, and school at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Clinton. One of his greatest appointments was the redesigning of the staff dining room at the White House during the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.33 Walton's residential work included a 95-unit section of a larger subdivision in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Arlington County in 1950.34 John Walton was the architect for College Heights Estates' "House of Magic," a General Electric-sponsored dwelling located at 3917 Calverton Drive.
V.T.H. Bien (1887-1960) was also a regionally prominent architect who designed houses in College Heights Estates. Van Tuyl Hart Bien designed speculative houses for local builder Fred S. Lippert, who purchased lots from College Heights Estates Inc. Bien also worked in a collaborative effort with individual property owners. Graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1910, Bien worked at the Fore River Shipbuilding Company in Quincy, Massachusetts, from 1911 to 1914. His building career began in 1914 when he started working as a contractor. Over the next decade he gradually shifted to architecture.35 Returning to his native Washington, D.C., Bien established his own architectural firm in 1928 in Bethesda, Maryland. He specialized in suburban residential architecture but also designed educational, commercial, and health facilities.36 At least six of Bien's designs in College Heights Estates have been positively identified, including 3904 Calverton Drive (1952), 6904 Forest Hill Drive (1953), 6905 Forest Hill Drive (1953), 6907 Forest Hill Drive (1955), 6909 Forest Hill Drive (1956), and 4013 Van Buren Street (1957).37
The architects of College Heights Estates often worked with the same builders, who were well versed in the covenants that were strictly enforced by the real estate development company. Michael Bosma (1878-1966), founder of M. Bosma & Sons, is known to have worked directly with Arthur Seidenspinner and College Heights Estates, Inc., especially during the initial period of development prior to World War Il (1941-1945). Bosma emigrated with his family from his native Netherlands to New Jersey, in 1907. Eventually relocating to Branchville, Maryland, he became an American citizen in 1922.38 Bosma, who referred to himself as a carpenter, worked with his sons, Harry F., Theodore A., Frank B., and John J. Bosma. Advertisements in the Washington Post document that M. Bosma & Sons was responsible for construction of the "House of Magic" in College Heights Estates.39
Frederick S. Lippert (1900-1967) was another important local builder working in College Heights Estates. Born in Canada, Lippert immigrated to the United States during the Great Depression. He opened his own construction company and built single-family dwellings in Riverdale Park in the late 1930s. Lippert recognized the investment potential of the newly established College Heights Estates, where he constructed speculative housing on lots purchased from Seidenspinner in the 1950s. Lippert and architect Bien often collaborated on housing built as speculative development in College Heights Estates. He was also prolific in the construction of houses for clients who supplied architect-designed plans. Lippert constructed his own home at 4113 Clagett Road (1947) and later moved to a speculative house designed by Bien that he built in 1954 at 6907 Forest Hill Drive.40
Other builders constructing speculative housing, as well as those hired by individual property owners, did work in College Heights Estates. Builder John P. Williams, who lived at 7103 Wells Parkway, was noted in neighborhood advertisements as "usually busy filling the demand for high quality custom-built homes in this area. 'Al This same real estate notice described the house as "built by the same craftsmen who have pleased so many business and professional men in this exclusive subdivision.'42 Williams often worked with George Lovell, who independently built houses in University Park.
Subdivision Ideals of College Heights Estates
Arthur Seidenspinner's dictum for the ideal modern subdivision required it be "so planned that it affords the maximum of privacy and repose to home owners, the greatest safety to playing children, and a minimum of through traffic.' 43 Many of these fundamentals, which have been essential to the success and preservation of College Heights Estates, can be attributed to the residential suburb of Radburn, New Jersey. Often referred to as "the town for the motor age," Radburn was conceived by planner-architects Clarence S. Stein and Henry Wright in 1928-1929. 44 The community was intentionally designed with a distinct separation between pedestrian and vehicular traffic, with walking paths segregated from major roads. Radburn has been touted as the first residential neighborhood in the United States to incorporate "superblocks," which are larger than traditional city blocks. The success of the superblock required deep setbacks for buildings, with wide arterial roads bounding the community. Additionally, the interior roads of Radburn did not follow the commonly accepted grid pattern, but rather meandered through the neighborhood often ending with cul-de-sacs; this was the first use of cul-de-sacs in the United States. 45 The National Historic Landmark application for Radburn recognizes its significant design principles, which have influenced "generations of community planning, including the three Greenbelt towns of the New Deal, many Federal Housing Administration-insured large-scale rental communities of the 1930s to 1950s, and new towns of the 1960s. Radburn was the product of the Regional Planning Association of America (RPAA) with the goal to promote social reform and improvement in the housing of moderate income Americans based on the principles of English Garden City planning. '46
A student of "modern development" and suburban planning, Seidenspinner is known to have visited Radburn in 1937.47 Successful elements of the New Jersey neighborhood adopted by Seidenspinner and College Heights Estates, Inc. include the winding interior streets with cul-de-sacs, the highly traveled arterial roads, the separation of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, and superblocks with deep setbacks and natural topographical features. No single street passes through the College Heights Estates development, instead, streets curve "into the farther reaches of the community and return in a semi-circle" to the primary thoroughfares flanking it.48 Advertisements and articles in the Washington Post touted that the new neighborhood's street pattern "provides greater safety for children and a more peaceful environment for their parents, because of the absence of through traffic and intersecting streets. The only vehicles entering the subdivision are those owned by the residents or visitors, and heavy traffic is limited... The unusual plan "has been an important factor in selling both homesites [sic] and homes" claimed Seidenspinner. He believed that "many of the home owners of the area, among whom are several members of the University of Maryland faculty and a number of Department of Agriculture scientists stationed at the Beltsville Experimental Farm, were influenced to locate in College Heights [Estates] partly because of the fact that its plan increased quiet and privacy and provided a more healthful and safe place for their children. "50
Marketing was essential to Seidenspinner's promotion of the ideal subdivision, avowing that College Heights Estates provided "many advantages to home buyers, as it combines easy access to the center of Washington with all advantages of suburban living. Advertisements and articles pointed out the community was "less than half a mile from the University of Maryland, 5 miles from the Government farms at Beltsville, 7 miles from Washington and only 30 minutes from Baltimore. Each new house constructed in College Heights Estates was required to "meet [the] four basic desires of all home seekers—roominess without waste; flexibility to allow for future needs and reasonable expansion; individual character in exterior design and planning; and comfort through electrical appointments. Real estate signs, which read "Key to Better Living," were posted on Baltimore Avenue, luring potential home owners to a community that "consists of a rolling wooded tract of land divided to suit the needs of purchasers. Its wooded sites range from 60 by 130 feet to fractional acres and are priced from S 1 ,200 upwards including street improvements."54
The almost ten-year span between the establishment of Radburn in 1929 and that of College Heights Estates in 1938 allowed Seidenspinner and civil engineer/surveyor Albert E. Pohmer to address those elements that were not overwhelmingly successful in the design of the renowned New Jersey suburb. For example, the extensive interior park system of Radburn was not implemented at College Heights Estates as this required the allocation of substantial acres of land that could better be used as private land. Thus, rather than having small housing plots that resulted in the construction of small houses, both of which were commonplace in Prince George's County in the mid-twentieth century, College Heights Estates devoted more acreage to individual building lots thus ensuring privacy and enhanced spaciousness with naturally landscaped vistas. The neighborhood was to be developed in "small estates" to meet the high standards of the targeted residents. 55
Americans growing dependence on the automobile required modifications be made to the Radburn design, although it was known as the "the town for the motor age." Planners had failed to recognize the popularity of the automobile and eventual ownership of multiple cars within one family. By 1929, when Radburn was completed, 23 million Americans owned cars and this number was steadily increasing. In 1939, the second year of development in College Heights Estates, three million new automobiles were sold nationwide. With more than 40% of American families owning at least one car, the design of College Heights Estates required each property have a driveway, many leading to one- or two-car garages. This reduced congestion as street parking, which became an issue in Radburn, was kept to a minimum. The expansive depth of the building lots, and the required setbacks for garages, ensured sufficient space for multiple automobiles. The location of the driveways relegated parked cars to the sides or the rears of the lots rather than in front of the dwellings. Further, the houses were designed with secondary entry openings on the side elevations, attached by connecting hyphens, or integral garages that allowed convenient access to the automobile.
Most likely aware of the economic failure Of Radburn's original development company during the Great Depression, Seidenspinner made certain of his success by limiting speculative development while the United States was engaged in World War Il. Rather than use inferior building materials to profit from the burgeoning housing demands of the Washington metropolitan area in the early 1940s, College Heights Estates, Inc. chose to suspend construction and wait until the proper materials could be purchased. Seidenspinner enticed builders and future residents by offering to pay the property taxes for undeveloped lots purchased in 1943 and 1944, in exchange obtaining only a promise that high-quality construction would commence after the war had ended. Advertisements beckoned buyers with statements such as "Be ready to build When the ban is lifted on better housing. Who knows that it won't be soon?56
The sacrifice to wait until the war was over led to greater prosperity for the real estate development company as traditional building materials were improved and new, modern materials were invented as a direct result of the war. The use of cheap materials, which found favor during the years of the Great Depression, was not acceptable in College Heights Estates. However, those elements that had achieved a lasting stylistic niche, such as concrete, glass brick, stainless steel, aluminum, and chemical preservatives and artificial resins that made the wider use of natural woods and plywood possible, were widely accepted as long at the quality met the high standards of Arthur Seidenspinner.57
The real estate sale prices and tax assessments document the delay was economically beneficial for College Heights Estates, Inc., as it was for other contemporaneous suburbs. In 1940, the Washington Post announced "the houses had an average permit value of $6,074 in Washington, $4,665 in Montgomery County, Md., while the average for Arlington and Fairfax Counties, Va., together, was $4,872. Real estate advertisements for the period indicate the typical sale price in Prince George's County was comparable to those in Virginia and elsewhere in Maryland. However, house prices in College Heights Estates, which was intended specifically for •the more affluent homebuyer, were higher than those of surrounding neighborhoods. Classified real estate advertisements in the local newspapers document that a typical house in College Heights Estates sold in 1940 for $7,950, a lofty price that offered "7 large rooms, I h baths, fireplace, electric range and refrigerator, hot-water heat, built-in garage, beautifully landscaped plot. ..on concrete street." 5 During World War Il, sale prices nationwide predictably increased because of building material shortages, as well as a lack of available contractors and builders. Thus, in 1943, a modest single-family dwelling typically sold for S8,000, which was a $2,000 increase from just two years earlier. Although limited during the four years of the war, new construction in College Heights Estates was assessed between $7,650 and $9,775, which was notably higher than single-family dwellings in surrounding suburbs. 60 By 1954, the typical house in College Heights Estates was assessed at Yet, sale prices were remarkably higher than assessed values as illustrated by the real estate advertisement for the imposing dwelling at 6911 Wells Parkway, which was representative of the houses constructed during the first years of development in College Heights Estates. In 1952, this custom-built house with its richly detailed and spacious interior was offer at $80,000: This fine English Normandy home is for the discriminating person who will appreciate its random width pegged flooring and perfectly matched butternut paneling throughout. 1st level features solarium, living room, dining room, beautifully equipped kitchen, den and bath. 2nd level contains 4 large bedrooms, and 3 baths. The master bedroom has its own bath and sun deck. 3rd level, 2 bedrooms and bath. Full dry, completely finished basement with maid's quarters and bath. Laundry room, photography room and completed equipped club room.
Covenants of College Heights Estates
One of the primary reasons for the higher sale prices and assessed values in College Heights Estates was the imposed covenants, which were outlined in each deed of sale. Many of the covenants were actually similar to or the same as those established by the University Park Company and Shepherd & Gilbert, Co., Inc. for the neighboring suburbs of University Park and College Heights. Having served as president of Shepherd & Gilbert, Arthur Seidenspinner had first-hand experience with the successes and failures of such covenants and personally oversaw their implementation. The fourteen covenants for College Heights Estates dealt primarily with building uses, setbacks, and utility right-of-ways, although a restriction related to race was included. The real estate development company stated the covenants were needed "to enhance the value of all sites and maintain a high standard of home ownership and to assure the purchasers of same of uniformity in the development of said subdivision."63 Advertisements in the Washington Post assured future homebuyers of the suburb's uniformity, proclaiming it was "a beautifully rolling, heavily wooded area controlled and protected by reasonable restrictions—Divided to suit the needs of acceptable people. "64
The covenants declared that the suburb "be used exclusively for private dwelling-house purposes." The noted exception was the three lots at the intersection of Wells Boulevard (now Wells Parkway) and Colesville Road (now Adelphi Road), which were to be dedicated to commercial use. All improvements or changes to exteriors had to be approved by College Heights Estates, Inc., which reviewed cost, type, size, materials, plans, colors, site planning, and all details related to the placement and construction of all buildings. With only one dwelling allowed per lot, the buildings were to be set back 40 feet from the front line along the street and 12 feet on the side yards. Buildings on corner lots had to maintain a 40-foot side yard. Because it was designed as an automobile suburb, the neighborhood's covenants included information related to garage placement. Freestanding, detached garages had to be 100 feet from the street line, and within two feet of side lot lines. Attached or integral garages followed the same setbacks as the primary dwellings. The real estate development company restricted fencing and closely monitored the grading and slopes of each lot to ensure it "conform[ed] to a general plan," and thus protected the utility and street right-of-ways essential to success of the modem suburb.65
Prince George 's County's "Richest Sector"
The use of high-quality building materials and the restrictive covenants proved very attractive to more affluent homebuyers. However, this also resulted in elevated property values, which were the highest in Prince George's County throughout much of the mid-twentieth century. Accordingly, in 1953, the County Commissioners were forced to review the assessment of land in College Heights Estates, which was "described as the county's richest sector."66 Commissioner W. Everett Marton objected to the ''$35 a front foot on which the assessors [sic] office figured the land value," stating it was "just too high for residential areas. The assessor's office held that "lowering the assessment rate for College Heights Estates would require that they be lowered proportionately for the next most exclusive community," and that "you just don't have properties comparable to this" everywhere in Prince George's County.68 The second highest assessment rate was applied to neighboring University Park. Yet, residents of "Prince Georges [sic] County's swanky colony of College Heights Estates" protested that the high assessment was discriminating. They claimed "their community is worth no more than that in adjacent University Park and Calvert Hills," and that "the assessors [sic] office was discriminatory in drawing 'imaginary lines,' then assessing homes and property on one side at a different rate from the other side." The assessor maintained that "recent sales of property in the area bore out his office's assessment." However, residents claimed the assessments were based solely on the "wealth of the owner." Dr. Arthur R. Buddington, one the residents in College Heights Estates, proclaimed "1 don't care whether I'm a pauper living in a mansion or a millionaire living in a hut, my property ought to be assessed according to the property itself and not according to the value of my pocket book.
The reasons for the higher assessed values and increasing sale prices were largely based on the amenities such as paved roads ($et*JpubIic utilities, as well as the intangible amenities that College Heights Estates, Inc. and Art Seidenspinner had implemented to ensure the suburb was improved by "homes of distinction, where homes values will endure. The lots, and consequently the houses, were larger than those of neighboring suburbs, including University Park and Calvert Hills. Vehicular traffic was limited by the use of winding roads and cul-de-sacs, which were naturally landscaped with mature trees. The real estate marketing, which was done personally by Seidenspinner, touted all of these assets, charming prominent citizens of Prince George's County including several members of the faculty at the nearby University of Maryland and high-ranking officials of the military and federal government, to move to College Heights Estates. Yet, the neighborhood delegation continued to declare "we can find no justification for assessing houses in College Heights Estates from S4000 to S6000 higher than identical houses a few blocks away in University Park." County Commissioner Thomas E. Latimore claimed "he didn't understand the reason for it but it was a fact that a house in College Heights Estates would sell for several thousand dollars more than a similar house elsewhere. „71 The tax rate for College Heights Estates was ultimately reduced in 1955, but still remained the highest in Prince George's County.72
The "Ultra Modern Home" of College Heights Estates
Many of the houses in College Heights Estates were erected as speculative development under the direction of College Heights Estates, Inc. and Arthur Seidenspinner, who engaged staff architects and regional builders. This resulted in a similarity of forms, with variety provided by stylistic embellishments, fenestration, and exterior materials. Yet, newspaper articles portrayed the care and personal attention given to the design of each dwelling, stating "Mr. Seidenspinner's organization can plan and build homes according to individual requirements of prospective purchasers. „73 A number of property owners employed prominent regional architects to design their homes, thus deviating from the common styles and forms of the neighborhood. All designs, whether the work of the development company or hired architects collaborating with property owners, were approved by Seidenspinner, who made certain each house conformed to the standards and covenants adopted by the real estate development company. Consequently, College Heights Estates has one of Prince George's County's most significant concentrations of imposing residential buildings that represents the stylistic fashions and model forms of the mid-twentieth century and allows for a comprehensive study of the transition of pre- and post-World War II architecture.
The first buildings constructed in the residential neighborhood were sited within the first four platted sections, which were subdivided between 1938 and 1941. The majority of these single-family houses were built by the real estate development company as speculative development, intentionally designed to attract prospective residents. Each dwelling was high style in design, imposing in form and setting, and utilized the most fashionable of materials and up-to-date modern amenities and conveniences. The earliest houses were typically located on expansive corner lots, thus providing vistas from two tree-lined streets, or were located adjacent to each other along the more highly traveled, interior roads. The primary architectural expression was the Colonial Revival style and the preferred material was brick, both of which were overwhelmingly typical in the many residential neighborhoods developing nationwide in the period between the world wars. The deliberate use of a traditional architectural expression such as the Colonial Revival style aided in the establishment of a sense of place and stability in newly platted neighborhoods by recalling stylistic elements and materials from the colonial period. Additionally, the guidelines and standards generated by the federal government through the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Small Housing Program and Low Cost Housing Act of the 1930s unofficially promoted the Colonial Revival style for these same reasons, thus ensuring the style's acceptance nationwide by the early 1940s. Yet, as much as the Colonial Revival movement aimed to inspire the nation as a whole, early reception was limited to the upper- and upper-middle classes who had access to academic magazines, attended college lectures, employed high-style architects, and owned automobiles, creating a leisure class capable of traveling to historic sites such as Mount Vernon and Colonial Williamsburg. This particular class of homebuyer, for whom College Heights Estates was designed, was also fully aware of the modern amenities and new conveniences available in the mid-twentieth century. Therefore, houses in College Heights Estates had the threefold responsibility of showing "a high achievement in present-day construction, every convenience in modern housekeeping, and practical application of every major item of mechanical home equipment.
One of the best examples of the traditional Colonial Revival style, and the most highly publicized "modern" house in College Heights Estates, was the Arthur Seidenspinner House, which was constructed in 1940. Located at 3917 Calverton Drive (originally 3915 Calverton Drive), the dwelling was designed by architect John M. Walton, with M. Bosma & Sons serving as the builders. This house, known as Calvert Manor, was intentionally designed and constructed as a preview for the public and therefore incorporated the finest of materials and the most modern amenities and conveniences. Sponsored by the Washington Post, Calvert Manor was touted as representing "many years experience in fine residential building and blends spaciousness with economy," which was a marketing slogan used commonly by the real estate development company. 75 Although not archetypal for Prince George's County in the mid-twentieth century, the house was "typical of the superb homes which ma[d]e College Heights Estates such a distinguished community...[combining] excellent architecture, spaciousness, a delightful environment and the most modern equipment the market affords in a single unit planned for gracious living. „76 The house was described as "Georgian Colonial architecture" with center entrance foyer, semi-circular staircase with well [hollow newel], large living room with fireplace and adjoining screened porch, large dining room with bay window, pine paneled den with fireplace, first floor lavatory. Upstairs are three large bright bedrooms, two completely tiled baths and many closets. There is a disappearing stairway into the attic and a semi-finished recreation room with fireplace, complete bath and maid's room in basement. The garage is attached with the lot, 130 x 150 feet.77
Calvert Manor was referred to in the newspaper advertisements as "The House of Magic," providing all of the most modern conveniences "with the flick of a switch—presto!—household drudgery disappears. Electric genii preserve the food, prepare it and clean up afterward. Housewives don't have to grow old in College Heights Estates houses—they can stay young electrically. „78 General Electric supplied the equipment, including the furnace, air-conditioning, all-electric kitchen with refrigerator, range, dishwasher, disposal, steel cabinets, and "wiring that precludes current waste.79
Although the long-established Colonial Revival embellishments and forms were overwhelmingly popular throughout the neighborhood, modernistic architecture began to emerge in College Heights Estates in the early 1940s. The forms of the houses constructed during the pre-World War Il years continued to pay homage to those traditionally embraced by the Colonial Revival, while the fenestration, massing, and stylistic detailing became purely modernistic. The few early examples are not high style, but rather illustrate several of the more character-defining features of modernistic architectural style known as Streamline Moderne. Adaptable because of its sociological and ideological diversity, the modernistic style's simplistic, yet stylized design, coupled with its inexpensive construction costs during a period of great economic and social instability, made the Streamline Moderne tremendously popular in the 1930s and early 1940s. Promoting movement and speed, the Streamline Moderne directly affected the designs of transportation machinery, such as ships, airplanes, and automobiles, and industrial and consumer products such as bicycles, toasters, radios, and vacuum cleaners. Yet, the Streamline Moderne was not overwhelming popular as the style of choice for single-family dwellings in Prince George's County, where suburban development was rampant in the first half of the twentieth century. Unlike the vast majority of single-family houses in College Heights Estates that were constructed by the real estate development company, the two Streamline Moderne-style houses identified were designed specifically for individual property owners, who personally hired local architects and builders. The collaborative effort by designer and owner guaranteed greater individuality within the confining definition of Streamline Moderne, while at the same time ensuring compatibility within the development of College Heights Estates neighborhood, which was dominated by Colonial Revival-style houses.
The greatest period of development in College Heights Estates occurred in the 1950s, well after many of the neighboring residential subdivisions had been improved. During the ten-year period between 1950 and 1960, eleven plats were added to the subdivision by College Heights Estates, Inc. and a few independent real estate developers who wished to benefit from the future development of the neighborhood. A total of 1 18 single-family dwellings were constructed in the neighborhood during this period; between eight to eighteen new houses per year. The continued success of the suburb depended upon the ability of the real estate development company and property owners to adapt to the dramatic changes that took place in building practices after World War Il, while maintaining the covenants and restrictions that elevated College Heights Estates above many contemporaneous suburbs. Unlike similar neighborhoods of Prince George's County like Forest Heights, Hillcrest Heights, and portions of Berwyn Heights and Riverdale Park, the residential buildings constructed by the real estate development company in College Heights Estates were notably larger in scale and massing, and utilized the finest of building materials in order to attract more affluent homebuyers. Further, these dwellings were sited on expansive lots, with deep setbacks from the street, rear and side yards, driveways, and garages.
After World War II, when new construction began in earnest, dwellings in College Heights Estates readily exhibited new stylistic details and materials. Again, these elements were often used in an older context or combined effects from several different popular modes. The most common domestic forms continued to pay homage to the Colonial Revival, especially the Cape Cod and two-and-a-half-story rectangular box. Yet, new, more modern "developer" forms began to emerge in the landscape of the neighborhood in the 1950s. This included the ranch house, minimal traditional, and split-level houses. One of the most distinctive new forms from this period was the ranch house, which was driven like the preceding "small house" of the 1930s and early 1940s by economic constants and signaled the physical and social mobility of the middle class and their need for spaciousness. The new minimum standards for this modern house included private outdoor space with a large glassed area overlooking it. The sense of space flowing from room to room, and from outdoor to indoor, was influential in shaping the architectural designs of the ranch house in the mid-twentieth century. Although it exuded financial prudence, which was attractive to all prospective homebuyers, the distinctive low-lying form of the ranch house was remarkably malleable and could be expanded to meet the needs of the affluent residents for which College Heights Estates was established. However, although the ranch house was one of the most popular Modern Movement forms nationwide, only a minimal number were constructed in College Heights Estates. The few examples originated with the Cape Cod form, extending it several bays in width and reinforcing a horizontality that required the removal of the character-defining dormers. Unlike examples of the Cape Cod form that were merely larger to accommodate the ideal College Heights Estates resident, these dwellings also incorporated expansive picture and landscape windows, with the main entry unceremoniously placed; these were all elements of the Modern Movement ranch house. Interior spaces are communicated by the fenestration, varying exterior cladding material, and placement of the chimney and wings.
One of the more common domestic house forms of the mid-twentieth century was the minimal traditional, so-called because it was a "composite style expressing traditional plans and the massing of volumes, but without the decorative exuberance of pre-war eclectic models."80 Examples throughout Prince George's County and the larger Washington metropolitan area tended to be small and compact, rather than expansive, with eaves confined to the plane of the elevation, a single front-facing gable, and the pitch of the roof at an intermediate level. The overall impression was an "updated cottage-type dwelling. "81 Although the examples in College Heights Estates maintained the typical one-story height of the minimal traditional house, they are notably larger in form, massing, scale, and often took advantage of the sloping landscape to incorporate additional living space and garages like the ranch house.
The split-level house was an expression of the prosperity experienced in the 1950s after the devastating effects of the Great Depression and World War II. The distinctive form modified the modest ranch house by adding a lateral wing that was two stories, often with an integral garage and family activity room on the lower-ground level and bedrooms above. The formal or public living area, as well as the kitchen, entry, and utility rooms remained on the main floor at the mid-level, which better accommodated the quiet interior areas as opposed to the noisier rooms and service areas dedicated to family activities and the new technology of television.82 Sleeping areas were located on a separate level to ensure privacy. The modernisms of the split-level, like the ranch house, were "softened by 'traditional' decorative effects" or colonial inspirations. 83 It maintained the horizontality of the ranch house, with its low-lying roof and overhanging eaves, while adding a two-story wing. Thus, the split-level house, which has come to dominate late-twentieth-century suburbs nationwide, was exceedingly popular in College Heights Estates from the 1950s into the early 1960s. Examples constructed after 1965 reflect late-twentieth-century architectural trends, which tended to exaggerate the traditional and modernistic forms prominent in the mid-century.
By 1960, College Heights Estates was largely developed with single-family dwellings. Although lots had been designated within the covenants for commercial development, only residential buildings improved the neighborhood. Three additional plats were created between 1960 and 1976 at the northern (center) point of the subdivision, resulting in the creation of just six additional building lots. Forty-three new houses were constructed in the years between 1960 and 1998, with the greatest number of buildings erected by 1965. The architectural forms continued those of the previous decade, in particular the ranch house and split level. The forms continued to be larger than traditionally constructed nationwide, often with Colonial Revival-style and Modern Movement elements such as classically inspired surrounds and expansive picture windows.
Beginning in the 1970s, the forms and styles commonly illustrated in the neighborhood were abandoned in favor of what several authors of architectural history books refer to as "re-revivals" or "neocolonial."84 These houses pay homage to the Colonial Revival-style Cape Cod and two-and-a-half-story rectangular box, but employ new synthetic materials designed to simulate natural and historic materials. The stylistic elements were often oversized and exaggerated. Additionally, no longer reviewed by College Heights Estates, Inc., the designs incorporate materials not traditionally used in the neighborhood in previous decades. Yet, because of the covenants and zoning regulations, the lot sizes and siting of the few houses and garages constructed in the late twentieth century respected the design plan established in 1938 by Arthur Seidenspinner and College Heights Estates, Inc., thus creating a cohesive neighborhood with buildings dating from the late 1930s through to the late 1990s. Another reason for the success of the neighborhood has been the existence of the College Heights Estates Association, which was formed in 1995 to ensure the preservation of this automobile suburb's planned design that intentionally addressed streets, houses, garages, and yards.
9 J. Harry Shannon, "The Rambler Writes of Prince Georges [sic] County," The Sunday Star, 17 August 1919; Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., "The Correspondence of Charles Eversfield of Denne Park, and the Rev. John Eversfield of Maryland," www.denneparkhouse.co.uk. Accessed 2 March 2009.
10 J. Harry Shannon, "The Rambler Writes of the Eversfield Home," The Sunday Star, 9 November 1919.
11 Prince George's County Land Records, Ann R. Eversfield to W .0. Eversfield, Liber HB 7, Folio 559, 6 August 1873,
12 History of the Medical Society of the District efColumbia, 1817-1909 (Washington, D.C.: Medical Society of the District of Columbia, 1909), 310.
13 J. Harry Shannon, photographer, "Dr. Octavus Eversfield Office (in old log building) in College Park, Maryland," The Historical Society of Washington, D.C., (RA 0649-2, Rambler Photograph Collection), circa 1915; "The Rambler Writes of Prince Georges [sic] County," The Sunday Star, 17 August 1919.
14 Grifflth Morgan Hopkins, Atlas ofFifteen Miles around Washington, including Prince George's County, Maryland1878 (Philadelphia, PA: G.M. Hopkins, 1878). The property is incorrectly noted as belonging to "Dr. E.O. Eversfield."
15 "Eversfield Mansion is Destroyed by Fire," Washington Post, 18 April 1926, I.
16 The house was destroyed by fire in 1926, leaving only the log building to mark its approximate location.
17 Their son Donald Eversfield died in 1907.
18 Seidenspinner Named to Head County C. of Washington Post, 28 January 1959, Al 6.
19 Seidenspinner Left U.S. Job for Realty Post," Washington Post,
20 May 1937, RI I. 20 Ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 Seidenspinner Named to Head County C. Ofc.," Washington Post, 28 January 1959, Al 6.
23 Thomas M. Cahill, 'The Week in Real Estate,' Washington Post, 16 April 1939, RI.
24 "Arthur Seidenspinner, Maryland Developer," Washington Post, 31 May 1972, C5. 25 Ibid.
26 "Extensions Started at University Park," Washington Post, 8 April 1928, R3,
27 "Pohmer Moves Office," Washington Post, 9 January 1938, R4.
28 "Prince George's Grants Permit for Cemetery," Washington Post, 29 March 1944, 2; "Record Paving Project Slated for Riverdale," Washington Post, 8 June 1938, X21.
29 Magic House' Is on View In Maryland," Washington Post, 27 October 1940, 51.
30 Elizabeth Ann [Walton] Ruppert, telephone interview by EHT Traceries, 4 March 2009.
31 "Obituaries: John M. Walton Sr. Dies; Prominent Area Architect," Washington Post, 28 April 2000, B6.
32 American Institute of Architects, American Architects Directory (New York, NY: R.R. Bowker co., 1955), s.V.
"Walton, John M."
33 "Obituaries: John M. Walton Sr. Dies; Prominent Area Architect," Washington Post, 28 April 2000, B6.
34 "Sub-Bids South for 95 Houses," Washington Post, 9 July 1950, RI I.
35 Board of Examiners and Registrars of Architects, Application, s.v. V.T.H. Bien, 6 June 1940. On file at Office of Public Records, D.C. Archives.
36 American Institute of Architects, American Architects Directory, 1956 (New York, NY: R.R. Bowker Co., 1955), s.v.,
Bien, V(an) T(uyl) H(art); "V.T.H. Bien, Architect, Dies at 73," Washington Post, 21 August 1960.
37 John Lippert, telephone interview by EHT Traceries, 4 March 2009.
38 Michael Bosma, U.S. Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 to March 31, 1925," (M1490), Roll 2365, certificate 340349 (18 September 1923), accessed through Ancestry.com in March 2009.
39 Advertisement, Washington Post, 13 October 1940, 47.
40 Fred Lippert's son, John, continues to reside in the dwelling; John Lippert, telephone interview by EHT Traceries, 4
March 2009.
41 "Located in Exclusive College Heights Estates," advertisement, Washington Post, 14 July 1954.
42 "Located in Exclusive College Heights Estates," advertisement, Washington Post, 14 July 1954.
43 "Privacy, Safety are Important in Subdivision," Washington Post, 28 March 1937, R8.
44 'Radburn," National Historic Landmark Application, Statement of Significance, accessed at http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detaiI.cfm?ResourceId=862450687&ResourceType=District in March 2009.
45 "Planned Communities, Part I: Garden Cities," University of Maryland, National Trust Library, accessed at http://www, lib.umd.edWNTL/gardencities.html in March 2009.
46 "Radburn," National Historic Landmark Application, Statement of Significance, accessed at http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=862450687&ResourceType=District in March 2009.
47 Thomas M. Cahill, "The Week in Real Estate," Washington Post, 7 March 1937, RI.
48 "Privacy, Safety are Important in Subdivision," Washington Post, 28 March 1937, R8.
49 Ibid.
Ibid
51 College Heights Exhibit Home Opens Today," Washington Post, 13 October 1940, 47.
52 Ibid.
53 Ibid.
54 Ibid; "Calvert Manor Offers a Plan for Comfort: College Heights House of Magic Has All Modern Abracadabra," Washington Post, 3 November 1940, R5.
55 "Estates Planned at College Heights," Washington Post, 17 October 1937, R2.
56 "Builders, Attention," advertisement, Washington Post, 23 May 1943.
57 Donald Albrecht, editor, World War [I and the American Dream, (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press in conjunction with the National Building Museum, 1995), 47.
58 "Home Erection Near Record, Lusk Reports," Washington Post, 20 October 1940, RI.
59 "A True Suburban Home in Nearby MD.," Washington Post, 22 May 1938, RI 7.
60 Classified Real Estate Advertisements, Washington Post, 1938-1947.
61 Prince George's County, Supervisor of Assessments (Property Assessments for Election Districts 19 & 21), 1940-1944, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1954, MSA Cl 1-89, MSA Cl 1-172, MSA Cl 1-186, MSA 1-200, MSA Cl 1-293, MdHR 50,264103, MdHR 50,264-185, MdHR 50,264-199, MdHR 50,264-213, MdHR 50,264-307.
62 Advertisement "Exclusive College Heights Estates," Washington Post, 24 February 1952, R3, and 5 October 1952.
63 Prince George' s County Land Records, "Declaration of Restrictions in College Heights Estates," Liber 498, Folio I , 2
March 1938.
64 Advertisement, Washington Post, 13 October 1940, 47.
65 Ibid.
66 "Owners of 'Better' Homes in County Lose Tax Fight," Washington Post, I I July 1953, 10.
67 Ibid.
68 Ibid.
69 'Residents of Swanky Prince Georges Area Charge Tax Bias on Basis of 'Pocketbook,"' Washington Post, 15 July 1953, 6.
70 " House of Magic" on Display at College Heights Estates," Washington Post, 28 July 1940.
71 "Tax Rate Cut for Exclusive County Group," Washington Post, 9 December 1955, 19.
72 Ibid.
73 "Calvert Manor Offers a Plan for Comfort: College Heights House of Magic Has All Modern Abracadabra," Washington Post, 3 November 1940, R5.
74 "College Heights Exhibit Home Opens Today," Washington Post, 13 October 1940, 47.
75 Ibid .
76 Advertisement, Washington Post, 13 October 1940, 47.
77 "College Heights Exhibit Home Opens Today," Washington Post, 1 3 October 1940, 47.
78 Advertisement, Washington Post, 13 October 1940, 47.
79 "College Heights Exhibit Home Opens Today," Washington Post, 13 October 1940, 47.
80 Howe, 372.
81 Ibid.
82 Howe, 373.
83 James C. Massey and Shirley Maxwell, House Styles in America, (New York, NY: Penguin Studio, 1996), 249;
McAlester, 481.
84 Howe, 379; McAlester, 489.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Albrecht, Donald, editor. World War Il and the American Dream, Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press in conjunction with the National Building Museum, 1995.
American Institute of Architects, American Architects Directory, New York, NY: R.R. Bowker Co., 1955, s.v. "Walton, John M."
Board of Examiners and Registrars of Architects, Application, s.v. V.T.H. Bien, 6 June 1940. On file at Office of Public Records, D.C. Archives.
Carley, Rachel. Visual Dictionary of American Domestic Architecture, New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 1994.
College Heights Estates, Inc., "College Heights Estates, College Heights: Where Home Values Endure," undated, in possession of Ronald Blunck at 7100 Eversfield Drive.
"Description of Materials," dated August 1955, in possession of the current property owner, Ronald Blunck at 7100 Eversfield Drive.
Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., "The Correspondence of Charles Eversfield of Denne Park, and the Rev. John Eversfield of Maryland," www.denneparkhouse.co.uk.Accessed 2 March 2009.
History of the Medical Society of the District of Columbia, 1817-1909, Washington, D.C.: Medical Society of the District of Columbia, 1909.
Hopkins, G.M. Prince George's County, from Atlas of Fifteen Miles Around Washington. Philadelphia:
G.M. Hopkins, C.E., 1878.
Howe, Jeffery, editor. The Houses We Live In, London, England: PRC Publishing, Ltd., 2002.
Lippert, John. Telephone interview by EHT Traceries, 4 March 2009.
Massey James C. and Shirley Maxwell, House Styles in America, New York, NY: Penguin Studio, 1996.
McAlester, Virginia and Lee, A Field Guide to American Houses, New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985.
"Michael Bosma, U.S. Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 to March 31, 1925," (M 1490), Roll 2365, certificate 340349 (18 September 1923). Accessed through Ancestry.com in March 2009.
"Planned Communities, Part I: Garden Cities," University of Maryland, National Trust Library, accessed at http://www.Iib.umd.edu/NTL/gardencities.html in March 2009.
Prince George's County Land Records, "Declaration of Restrictions in College Heights Estates," Liber 498, Folio 1, 2 March 1938.
Prince George's County Land Records, Ann R. Eversfield to W.O. Eversfield, Liber HB 7, Folio 559, 6 August 1873.
Prince George's County, Supervisor of Assessments (Property Assessments for Election Districts 19 & 1946, 1947, 1948, 1954, MSA Cl 1-89, MSA Cll-172, MSA Cl 1-186, MSA Cl 1200, MSA Cl 1- 293, MdHR 50,264-103, MdHR 50,264-185, MdHR 50,264-199, MdHR 50,264213, MdHR 50,264-307.
"Radburn," National Historic Landmark Application, Statement of Significance, accessed at http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhI/detaiI.cfm?ResourceId=862450687&ResourceType=District in March 2009.
Ruppert, Elizabeth Ann [Walton]. Telephone interview by EHT Traceries, 4 March 2009
Shannon, J. Harry, photographer. "Dr. Octavus Eversfield Office (in old log building) in College Park, Maryland," The Historical Society of Washington, D.C., (RA 0649-2, Rambler Photograph Collection), circa 1915.
The Sunday Star.
The Washington Post.
VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION
The College Heights Estates Historic District is located in northern Prince George's County, Maryland. It is immediately north of the incorporated Town of University Park and south of the University of Maryland. College Park. The neighborhood is nestled between Baltimore Avenue (U.S. Route I) to the east and Adelphi Road on the west. The University Park Historic District is located to the immediate south of College Heights Estates, east of Wells Parkway. Those properties to the north of Wells Parkway are located in City of Hyattsville, while those properties to the south of Wells Parkway are located in the Town of University Park. The College Heights Estates s Historic District encompasses approximately 120 acres.
BOUNDARY JUSTIFICATION
The boundaries of the College Heights Estates Historic District recognize the twenty plats created as College Heights Estates between 1938 and 1976. This property was formerly part of the Eversfield farm, which was conveyed by the heirs to the real estate development company and a few individual developers.
The western border is roughly defined by Adelphi Road, which is high traveled arterial roadway that runs northwest/southeast. This street, historically known as Colesville Road, predates the establishment of College Heights Estates.
To the south is the Town of University Park, with the University Park Historic District abutting College Heights Estates to the southeast of Wells Parkway. University Park, which incorporates part of College Heights (1920), predates the platting of College Heights Estates. It was developed separately, although members of the real estate development team of University Park created College Heights Estates.
The irregular northwestern boundary is defined by the plats created as part of College Heights Estates by the real estate development company of the same name as well as independent developers. This property abuts the University of Maryland, College Park, property deeded by Charles Calvert specifically as the campus of the agricultural college.
The Partridge Hill Section of College Heights Estates is located along the northeastern boarder. This area, although part of Eversfield farm, was not subdivided until after College Heights Estates had been platted and largely developed. It was created between 1965 and 1985 by the platting of several adjoining building lots. Although an addition to College Heights Estates, this area lacks the same character-defining elements for which College Heights Estates is significant, including the street plan and building design. The single-family dwellings in the Partridge Hill Section reflect the architectural trends of the late twentieth century.
College Heights Estates is a discontinuous historic district, capturing the two properties at 4318 and 4319 Clagett Pineway. These properties were platted as four lots in 1920 as part of College Heights, but replatted as two lots in Plat One of College Heights Estates in 1938. These lots were not improved as part of College Heights, but rather reflect the residential construction of College Heights Estates.
College Heights Estates is an excellent illustration of a residential automobile suburb in Prince George's County that documents the evolution of mid-twentieth-century architectural trends. In 1938, the first of the twenty subdivision plats making up this cohesive neighborhood, which was formerly part of Eversfield farm, was recorded in response to the housing needs of an expanding suburban population. Drawing on the successes and failures of the planned community of Radburn, New Jersey, the suburban plan of College Heights Estates was intended to accommodate the automobile, which directly affected the designs of streets, houses, garages, and yards, and the neighborhood's location along highly traveled arterial roads. The houses of College Heights Estates were predominately speculatively built by College Heights Estates, Inc., on expansive landscaped lots and with the newest modern amenities and conveniences to accommodate the discriminating tastes of more affluent homebuyers. A number of property owners employed regionally prominent architects to design their houses, thus deviating from the common styles and forms promoted for the neighborhood by the development company. Although development was initially slow and, ceased altogether during World War Il because of the shortage of building materials, new construction in the late 1940s through to the early 1960s ultimately created an automobile suburb composed of impressive mid twentieth-century dwellings notably larger than most contemporaneous suburban neighborhoods. All designs, whether the work of the development company or hired architects collaborating With property owners, were approved by Arthur Seidenspinner, who made certain each house conformed to the standards and covenants adopted by his development company. As a result, whether constructed within the first platted area in 1938 or in one of the last sections in 1960, the houses of College Heights Estates display a compatibility of style, massing, scale, materials, and siting that allows for a comprehensive study of the evolution of pre- and post-World War Il residential architecture in a local context.
Consequently, College Heights Estates has achieved significance as the product of the mid-twentieth century, with individual components combined to create a distinguishable automobile suburb with high artistic value. The district meets National Register criteria A and C, and is significant under the themes of architecture and community planning/development with the period of significance extending from 1938, when the first of the twenty plats was filed, to 1960, which is the fifty-year mark and a time after which residential architectural influences begin to notably change. The neighborhood consists of 200 properties, which include 200 single-family dwellings and 35 secondary resources such as garages and sheds. There are 177 contributing properties and 23 non-contributing properties (185 contributing resources and 50 non-contributing resources).
Criterion A: Association with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history.
College Heights Estates meets criterion A of the National Register of Historic Places as a distinguished automobile suburb, designed specifically for more affluent residents of Prince George's County. Accommodation of the automobile in the suburban plan affected the designs of the streets, houses, and yards, and the neighborhood's location along newly improved, highly traveled arterial roads, such as the historic Baltimore Avenue (Route l) that was widened and repaved in the second quarter of the twentieth century. The overall plan of the neighborhood, as well as the design of individual houses and yards, reflected the residents' love for and dependence on the automobile. As Prince George's County's premier automobile su liege Heights Estates incorporates paved driveways, freestanding or attached garage, sidewalks, d houses with side entrances that lead directly from the garage/driveway to the kitchen areas. Further, the street configuration intentionally discouraged drivers who did not reside within the neighborhood from passing through, thus protecting the residents from through traffic. Flanked by the wider, arterial roadways of Baltimore Avenue and Adelphi Road, the neighborhood incorporates curvilinear elements that contrast sharply with the formality and geometric precision of the earlier radial and axial plans of surrounding neighborhoods that quickly proved to be easily accessible to commuter traffic. Rather, the curvilinear streets of College Heights Estates follow the natural topography of the landscape to provide undulating vistas. Cul-de-sacs, an element studied by the real estate development company at Radburn, New Jersey (1928-1929), ensured privacy and decreased traffic within the neighborhood. Unlike many automobile suburbs, College Heights Estates does not incorporate a neighborhood shopping center; rather residents are obliged to use their automobiles to reach the commercial establishments along Baltimore Avenue and in the nearby communities of College Park, Riverdale Park and Hyattsville.
The houses of College Heights Estates were predominately constructed as speculative ventures by College Heights Estates, Inc., and were designed to include the newest of modern amenities to appeal to the discriminating tastes of the more affluent buyer. Although development was initially slow and ceased altogether during World War Il because of the shortage of building materials, new construction in the late 1940s through to the early 1960s ultimately created an automobile suburb composed of impressive mid-twentieth-century dwellings that were notably larger than most contemporaneous suburban neighborhoods. The houses from this period typically provided for an attached garage, commonly within a one-story wing that reads as informal living space from the street rather than as covered parking for the family car. The few examples of freestanding garages, the majority dating from the late 1930s and early 1940s, mimicked the architectural expressions of the main house both in style and materials. By the 1950s, in College Heights Estates, the garage became an essential part of the single-family dwelling and was often prominently displayed on the facade or side elevation. The landscaping of the spacious yards also accommodated the automobile by providing a paved driveway and easy access to the service areas of the house. All of the properties in College Heights Estates include paved drives, many wrapping around to the rear or curving in front of the dwelling.
The automobile was integral to the design of the suburb of College Heights Estates, both in neighborhood planning and architecture. The lack of non-residential buildings and the modern accommodations that these dwellings provide, especially for the automobile, has preserved the vision of Arthur Seidenspinner, who was president of the real estate development company, College Heights Estates, Inc. This allows for an untainted examination of neighborhood planning that has proved successful since the first of the twenty plats was established in 1938, and the study of imposing mid-twentieth-century architecture that embraced the automobile in its design.
Criterion C: Distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction.
The suburban neighborhood of College Heights Estates meets criterion C of the National Register of Historic Places for its significant concentration of imposing mid-twentieth-century residential architecture. Fashionable stylistic interpretations include the Colonial Revival and Modern Movement with select examples of and influences from the Italian Renaissance, Tudor Revival, Dutch Colonial Revival, and Streamline Modern styles. College Heights Estates provides a significant sample of the wide variety of domestic forms popular in the mid-twentieth century including the Cape Cod, rectangular box, ranch house, split level, and minimal traditional forms. Unlike contemporaneous forms erected in neighboring suburbs, those in College Heights Estates were notably larger in scale, massing, and incorporated landscape and/or picture windows that enhanced the spaciousness of the house by providing views of expansive yards and mature trees. The majority of the single-family dwellings were designed by staff architects of the real estate development company, which established fourteen detailed covenants related to the siting of houses and garages, fencing and walls, grading and slopes, building uses, and nativity of residents. One of the more significant covenants was the requirement for design review of new construction or changes to designs with regard to cost, type, size, materials, color scheme, site plans, and all exterior details and specifications by College Heights Estates, Inc. Therefore, whether constructed within the first area platted in 1938, or in one of the last sections from 1960, the houses of College Heights Estates display a compatibility of style, massing, scale, materials, setback, and setting. Further, the imposing size of the dwellings, which were targeted toward the more affluent residents of Prince George's County and often required space for entertaining and staff quarters, has notably reduced the need for additions and alterations.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
EVERSFIELD AND SMITH'S FOLLY
The land encompassed by the residential neighborhood of College Heights Estates was part of the Stier/Calvert family's large and prosperous Riversdale plantation, which included a grand Georgian style dwelling dating from the beginning of the nineteenth century. The area where College Heights Estates is located was known historically as Smith 's Folly, which was owned in the mid-eighteenth century by the Eversfield family.9 Histories written about the family in The Sunday Star declared "the early Eversfields were people of wealth, education and influence. Some of the male members of the family were clergymen and others were physicians. In August 1873, Dr. William Octavus Eversfield (1839-1908) received Smith 's Folly from his mother, Ann R. Eversfield. ll Educated as a physician at the University of Virginia and the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Eversfield served as a field surgeon (acting assistant surgeon) in the U.S. Army during the Civil War (1861-1865). Following the war, he was surgeon for the Panama Railroad from 1866 to 1867 and later for the Pacific Mail Steamship (S.S.) Company. 12 In 1878, returning to Prince George's County, Dr. Eversfield established a practice in a one-story, log building located a short distance from his house.13 The exact location of the house, which burned in 1926, has not been positively determined; however oral histories and the Atlas of Fifteen Miles around Washington, including Prince George's County, Maryland-1878, by G.M. Hopkins, document the c. 1873 home of Dr. Eversfield was located to the west of the Baltimore-Washington Turnpike (now Baltimore Avenue, U.S. Route I), east of Colesville Road (now Adelphi Road), north of William Deakins's Bloomfield, and south of the Maryland Agricultural College (now the University of Maryland). The site of the dwelling, touted as "one of the show places of Prince Georges county [sic]," was subdivided in 1973 as the fifth plat of the Partridge Hill Section of College Heights Estates. 15 This property is located to the immediate east of College Heights Estates.16
Beginning in 1876, Dr. Eversfield started to subdivide his property, selling a tract to William F. Deakins that included Edmonson 's Pasture, the resurvey of Jackson 's Necessity, and part of Smith 's Folly. This property, together with Deakins's larger Bloomfield farm, was subdivided • in 1920 as University Park. Portions of Smith 's Folly were conveyed by the heirs of Deakins to the Riverdale Realty Company in 1920, and by 1923 were owned by the University Park Company. Constituting what would become Plats 6 through 8 and the Martz's Addition of College Heights Estate, this property was purchased by College Heights Estate, Inc., in 1940.
Nearly thirty years after the death of Dr. Eversfield, in 1937, the widowed Lillie Eversfield conveyed the first of several tracts that would become College Heights Estates to the real estate development company of the same name. She sold a second tract in 1940. These 43 acres included within two deeds encompassed what was subdivided as Plats I through 5, which were platted between 1938 and 1946. Additional portions of the suburb were sold in sections to the real estate development company by the children of Lillian and William O. Eversfield—Lillie Eversfield, Catherine E. Eversfield, and William Octavus Eversfield, Jr.17
COLLEGE HEIGHTS ESTATES
The Real Estate Development Company and Associated Ensemble
College Heights Estates was predominately developed by the real estate development company known as College Heights Estates, Inc. The Maryland-based company was founded by Arthur H. Seidenspinner and Clara S. Shepherd about 1937. Born in Washington, D.C., Seidenspinner (18991972) began his career as a real estate developer in 1919 following an eight-year stint at the Washington Nav Yard. 18 He initially worked for the real estate companies of Shannon & Luchs and L.W. Groomes. l In 1924, Seidenspinner formed his own real estate company, focusing his efforts on Prince George's County.20 His interest in real estate development led him to serve as president of Shepherd & Gilbert, Co., Inc.21 Seidenspinner was a community leader, serving as president of the Prince George's County Chamber of Commerce in 1959.22 He was an active member of the Riverdale Presbyterian Church and Prince George's County Real Estate Board.23 Additionally, Seidenspinner was on the advisory board of the Suburban Trust Company and the board of directors of the Prince George's Chapter of the American Red Cross. 24 His notable philanthropic efforts included the establishment of "numerous scholarships at University of Maryland, and [aid to] many youth, educational and religious organizations." 5
Seidenspinner's efforts to develop and promote College Heights Estates were greatly aided by Clara S. Shepherd, who acted as secretary/treasurer for College Heights Estates, Inc. Shepherd was the widow of Harry W. Shepherd (1870-1924), who collaborated with Claude Gilbert to form the real estate development company of Shepherd & Gilbert. The company was responsible for the platting of College Heights in 1920. The five-block subdivision, now part of the larger University Park, is located to the immediate southeast of College Heights Estates. Harry Shepherd also served as director and treasurer of the University Park Company, Inc., which developed William Deakins's Bloomfield into a picturesque, middle-class automobile suburb in the 1920s. Following his 1924 death, Harry Shepherd's widow became active in real estate, taking over her husband's position as treasurer of University Park Company, Inc., by 1928. 26
Like Seidenspinner and Shepherd, many of those associated with the development of College Heights Estates were actively working in real estate and development in Prince George's County, typically living within or adjacent to College Heights Estates. Albert E. Pohmer, for example, served as the civil engineer and surveyor for College Heights Estates as well as College Heights, Hyattsville, Riverdale Park, Mount Rainier, and University Park. 27 Pohmer maintained houses in both Baltimore and Riverdale Park, where he also served as the town engineer.28
Architect John M. Walton (1912-2000), "who has designed many residences in the two sections" of College Heights Estates and neighboring College Heights, oversaw construction of his own house in the College Heights section (now University Park) in 1940.29 Walton was a regionally prominent architect, educated at the Catholic University of America. Seidenspinner retained Walton to design houses for the College Heights Estates development not long after he had graduated in 1936 and thus helped to launch his career. 30 Walton's own firm expanded to become Ross, Walton & Madden (later Walton & Madden) in 1946. Relocating from their office in Mount Rainer, the renamed firm known as Walton, Madden, Cooper & Auerbach subsequently moved to Riverdale Park.31 He also maintained the architecture firm, John M. Walton & Associates, in Arlington County.32 Walton's architectural expertise included the designs of the Prince George's County Service Building in Hyattsville, several buildings at the University of Maryland, College Park including Fraternity Row, trotting horse racing tracks at Laurel and Rosecroft raceways, Iverson Mall in Marlow Heights, and Marymount College in Arlington. Additionally, Walton designed several churches, schools, and rectories, including the church, convent, rectory, and school at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Clinton. One of his greatest appointments was the redesigning of the staff dining room at the White House during the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.33 Walton's residential work included a 95-unit section of a larger subdivision in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Arlington County in 1950.34 John Walton was the architect for College Heights Estates' "House of Magic," a General Electric-sponsored dwelling located at 3917 Calverton Drive.
V.T.H. Bien (1887-1960) was also a regionally prominent architect who designed houses in College Heights Estates. Van Tuyl Hart Bien designed speculative houses for local builder Fred S. Lippert, who purchased lots from College Heights Estates Inc. Bien also worked in a collaborative effort with individual property owners. Graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1910, Bien worked at the Fore River Shipbuilding Company in Quincy, Massachusetts, from 1911 to 1914. His building career began in 1914 when he started working as a contractor. Over the next decade he gradually shifted to architecture.35 Returning to his native Washington, D.C., Bien established his own architectural firm in 1928 in Bethesda, Maryland. He specialized in suburban residential architecture but also designed educational, commercial, and health facilities.36 At least six of Bien's designs in College Heights Estates have been positively identified, including 3904 Calverton Drive (1952), 6904 Forest Hill Drive (1953), 6905 Forest Hill Drive (1953), 6907 Forest Hill Drive (1955), 6909 Forest Hill Drive (1956), and 4013 Van Buren Street (1957).37
The architects of College Heights Estates often worked with the same builders, who were well versed in the covenants that were strictly enforced by the real estate development company. Michael Bosma (1878-1966), founder of M. Bosma & Sons, is known to have worked directly with Arthur Seidenspinner and College Heights Estates, Inc., especially during the initial period of development prior to World War Il (1941-1945). Bosma emigrated with his family from his native Netherlands to New Jersey, in 1907. Eventually relocating to Branchville, Maryland, he became an American citizen in 1922.38 Bosma, who referred to himself as a carpenter, worked with his sons, Harry F., Theodore A., Frank B., and John J. Bosma. Advertisements in the Washington Post document that M. Bosma & Sons was responsible for construction of the "House of Magic" in College Heights Estates.39
Frederick S. Lippert (1900-1967) was another important local builder working in College Heights Estates. Born in Canada, Lippert immigrated to the United States during the Great Depression. He opened his own construction company and built single-family dwellings in Riverdale Park in the late 1930s. Lippert recognized the investment potential of the newly established College Heights Estates, where he constructed speculative housing on lots purchased from Seidenspinner in the 1950s. Lippert and architect Bien often collaborated on housing built as speculative development in College Heights Estates. He was also prolific in the construction of houses for clients who supplied architect-designed plans. Lippert constructed his own home at 4113 Clagett Road (1947) and later moved to a speculative house designed by Bien that he built in 1954 at 6907 Forest Hill Drive.40
Other builders constructing speculative housing, as well as those hired by individual property owners, did work in College Heights Estates. Builder John P. Williams, who lived at 7103 Wells Parkway, was noted in neighborhood advertisements as "usually busy filling the demand for high quality custom-built homes in this area. 'Al This same real estate notice described the house as "built by the same craftsmen who have pleased so many business and professional men in this exclusive subdivision.'42 Williams often worked with George Lovell, who independently built houses in University Park.
Subdivision Ideals of College Heights Estates
Arthur Seidenspinner's dictum for the ideal modern subdivision required it be "so planned that it affords the maximum of privacy and repose to home owners, the greatest safety to playing children, and a minimum of through traffic.' 43 Many of these fundamentals, which have been essential to the success and preservation of College Heights Estates, can be attributed to the residential suburb of Radburn, New Jersey. Often referred to as "the town for the motor age," Radburn was conceived by planner-architects Clarence S. Stein and Henry Wright in 1928-1929. 44 The community was intentionally designed with a distinct separation between pedestrian and vehicular traffic, with walking paths segregated from major roads. Radburn has been touted as the first residential neighborhood in the United States to incorporate "superblocks," which are larger than traditional city blocks. The success of the superblock required deep setbacks for buildings, with wide arterial roads bounding the community. Additionally, the interior roads of Radburn did not follow the commonly accepted grid pattern, but rather meandered through the neighborhood often ending with cul-de-sacs; this was the first use of cul-de-sacs in the United States. 45 The National Historic Landmark application for Radburn recognizes its significant design principles, which have influenced "generations of community planning, including the three Greenbelt towns of the New Deal, many Federal Housing Administration-insured large-scale rental communities of the 1930s to 1950s, and new towns of the 1960s. Radburn was the product of the Regional Planning Association of America (RPAA) with the goal to promote social reform and improvement in the housing of moderate income Americans based on the principles of English Garden City planning. '46
A student of "modern development" and suburban planning, Seidenspinner is known to have visited Radburn in 1937.47 Successful elements of the New Jersey neighborhood adopted by Seidenspinner and College Heights Estates, Inc. include the winding interior streets with cul-de-sacs, the highly traveled arterial roads, the separation of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, and superblocks with deep setbacks and natural topographical features. No single street passes through the College Heights Estates development, instead, streets curve "into the farther reaches of the community and return in a semi-circle" to the primary thoroughfares flanking it.48 Advertisements and articles in the Washington Post touted that the new neighborhood's street pattern "provides greater safety for children and a more peaceful environment for their parents, because of the absence of through traffic and intersecting streets. The only vehicles entering the subdivision are those owned by the residents or visitors, and heavy traffic is limited... The unusual plan "has been an important factor in selling both homesites [sic] and homes" claimed Seidenspinner. He believed that "many of the home owners of the area, among whom are several members of the University of Maryland faculty and a number of Department of Agriculture scientists stationed at the Beltsville Experimental Farm, were influenced to locate in College Heights [Estates] partly because of the fact that its plan increased quiet and privacy and provided a more healthful and safe place for their children. "50
Marketing was essential to Seidenspinner's promotion of the ideal subdivision, avowing that College Heights Estates provided "many advantages to home buyers, as it combines easy access to the center of Washington with all advantages of suburban living. Advertisements and articles pointed out the community was "less than half a mile from the University of Maryland, 5 miles from the Government farms at Beltsville, 7 miles from Washington and only 30 minutes from Baltimore. Each new house constructed in College Heights Estates was required to "meet [the] four basic desires of all home seekers—roominess without waste; flexibility to allow for future needs and reasonable expansion; individual character in exterior design and planning; and comfort through electrical appointments. Real estate signs, which read "Key to Better Living," were posted on Baltimore Avenue, luring potential home owners to a community that "consists of a rolling wooded tract of land divided to suit the needs of purchasers. Its wooded sites range from 60 by 130 feet to fractional acres and are priced from S 1 ,200 upwards including street improvements."54
The almost ten-year span between the establishment of Radburn in 1929 and that of College Heights Estates in 1938 allowed Seidenspinner and civil engineer/surveyor Albert E. Pohmer to address those elements that were not overwhelmingly successful in the design of the renowned New Jersey suburb. For example, the extensive interior park system of Radburn was not implemented at College Heights Estates as this required the allocation of substantial acres of land that could better be used as private land. Thus, rather than having small housing plots that resulted in the construction of small houses, both of which were commonplace in Prince George's County in the mid-twentieth century, College Heights Estates devoted more acreage to individual building lots thus ensuring privacy and enhanced spaciousness with naturally landscaped vistas. The neighborhood was to be developed in "small estates" to meet the high standards of the targeted residents. 55
Americans growing dependence on the automobile required modifications be made to the Radburn design, although it was known as the "the town for the motor age." Planners had failed to recognize the popularity of the automobile and eventual ownership of multiple cars within one family. By 1929, when Radburn was completed, 23 million Americans owned cars and this number was steadily increasing. In 1939, the second year of development in College Heights Estates, three million new automobiles were sold nationwide. With more than 40% of American families owning at least one car, the design of College Heights Estates required each property have a driveway, many leading to one- or two-car garages. This reduced congestion as street parking, which became an issue in Radburn, was kept to a minimum. The expansive depth of the building lots, and the required setbacks for garages, ensured sufficient space for multiple automobiles. The location of the driveways relegated parked cars to the sides or the rears of the lots rather than in front of the dwellings. Further, the houses were designed with secondary entry openings on the side elevations, attached by connecting hyphens, or integral garages that allowed convenient access to the automobile.
Most likely aware of the economic failure Of Radburn's original development company during the Great Depression, Seidenspinner made certain of his success by limiting speculative development while the United States was engaged in World War Il. Rather than use inferior building materials to profit from the burgeoning housing demands of the Washington metropolitan area in the early 1940s, College Heights Estates, Inc. chose to suspend construction and wait until the proper materials could be purchased. Seidenspinner enticed builders and future residents by offering to pay the property taxes for undeveloped lots purchased in 1943 and 1944, in exchange obtaining only a promise that high-quality construction would commence after the war had ended. Advertisements beckoned buyers with statements such as "Be ready to build When the ban is lifted on better housing. Who knows that it won't be soon?56
The sacrifice to wait until the war was over led to greater prosperity for the real estate development company as traditional building materials were improved and new, modern materials were invented as a direct result of the war. The use of cheap materials, which found favor during the years of the Great Depression, was not acceptable in College Heights Estates. However, those elements that had achieved a lasting stylistic niche, such as concrete, glass brick, stainless steel, aluminum, and chemical preservatives and artificial resins that made the wider use of natural woods and plywood possible, were widely accepted as long at the quality met the high standards of Arthur Seidenspinner.57
The real estate sale prices and tax assessments document the delay was economically beneficial for College Heights Estates, Inc., as it was for other contemporaneous suburbs. In 1940, the Washington Post announced "the houses had an average permit value of $6,074 in Washington, $4,665 in Montgomery County, Md., while the average for Arlington and Fairfax Counties, Va., together, was $4,872. Real estate advertisements for the period indicate the typical sale price in Prince George's County was comparable to those in Virginia and elsewhere in Maryland. However, house prices in College Heights Estates, which was intended specifically for •the more affluent homebuyer, were higher than those of surrounding neighborhoods. Classified real estate advertisements in the local newspapers document that a typical house in College Heights Estates sold in 1940 for $7,950, a lofty price that offered "7 large rooms, I h baths, fireplace, electric range and refrigerator, hot-water heat, built-in garage, beautifully landscaped plot. ..on concrete street." 5 During World War Il, sale prices nationwide predictably increased because of building material shortages, as well as a lack of available contractors and builders. Thus, in 1943, a modest single-family dwelling typically sold for S8,000, which was a $2,000 increase from just two years earlier. Although limited during the four years of the war, new construction in College Heights Estates was assessed between $7,650 and $9,775, which was notably higher than single-family dwellings in surrounding suburbs. 60 By 1954, the typical house in College Heights Estates was assessed at Yet, sale prices were remarkably higher than assessed values as illustrated by the real estate advertisement for the imposing dwelling at 6911 Wells Parkway, which was representative of the houses constructed during the first years of development in College Heights Estates. In 1952, this custom-built house with its richly detailed and spacious interior was offer at $80,000: This fine English Normandy home is for the discriminating person who will appreciate its random width pegged flooring and perfectly matched butternut paneling throughout. 1st level features solarium, living room, dining room, beautifully equipped kitchen, den and bath. 2nd level contains 4 large bedrooms, and 3 baths. The master bedroom has its own bath and sun deck. 3rd level, 2 bedrooms and bath. Full dry, completely finished basement with maid's quarters and bath. Laundry room, photography room and completed equipped club room.
Covenants of College Heights Estates
One of the primary reasons for the higher sale prices and assessed values in College Heights Estates was the imposed covenants, which were outlined in each deed of sale. Many of the covenants were actually similar to or the same as those established by the University Park Company and Shepherd & Gilbert, Co., Inc. for the neighboring suburbs of University Park and College Heights. Having served as president of Shepherd & Gilbert, Arthur Seidenspinner had first-hand experience with the successes and failures of such covenants and personally oversaw their implementation. The fourteen covenants for College Heights Estates dealt primarily with building uses, setbacks, and utility right-of-ways, although a restriction related to race was included. The real estate development company stated the covenants were needed "to enhance the value of all sites and maintain a high standard of home ownership and to assure the purchasers of same of uniformity in the development of said subdivision."63 Advertisements in the Washington Post assured future homebuyers of the suburb's uniformity, proclaiming it was "a beautifully rolling, heavily wooded area controlled and protected by reasonable restrictions—Divided to suit the needs of acceptable people. "64
The covenants declared that the suburb "be used exclusively for private dwelling-house purposes." The noted exception was the three lots at the intersection of Wells Boulevard (now Wells Parkway) and Colesville Road (now Adelphi Road), which were to be dedicated to commercial use. All improvements or changes to exteriors had to be approved by College Heights Estates, Inc., which reviewed cost, type, size, materials, plans, colors, site planning, and all details related to the placement and construction of all buildings. With only one dwelling allowed per lot, the buildings were to be set back 40 feet from the front line along the street and 12 feet on the side yards. Buildings on corner lots had to maintain a 40-foot side yard. Because it was designed as an automobile suburb, the neighborhood's covenants included information related to garage placement. Freestanding, detached garages had to be 100 feet from the street line, and within two feet of side lot lines. Attached or integral garages followed the same setbacks as the primary dwellings. The real estate development company restricted fencing and closely monitored the grading and slopes of each lot to ensure it "conform[ed] to a general plan," and thus protected the utility and street right-of-ways essential to success of the modem suburb.65
Prince George 's County's "Richest Sector"
The use of high-quality building materials and the restrictive covenants proved very attractive to more affluent homebuyers. However, this also resulted in elevated property values, which were the highest in Prince George's County throughout much of the mid-twentieth century. Accordingly, in 1953, the County Commissioners were forced to review the assessment of land in College Heights Estates, which was "described as the county's richest sector."66 Commissioner W. Everett Marton objected to the ''$35 a front foot on which the assessors [sic] office figured the land value," stating it was "just too high for residential areas. The assessor's office held that "lowering the assessment rate for College Heights Estates would require that they be lowered proportionately for the next most exclusive community," and that "you just don't have properties comparable to this" everywhere in Prince George's County.68 The second highest assessment rate was applied to neighboring University Park. Yet, residents of "Prince Georges [sic] County's swanky colony of College Heights Estates" protested that the high assessment was discriminating. They claimed "their community is worth no more than that in adjacent University Park and Calvert Hills," and that "the assessors [sic] office was discriminatory in drawing 'imaginary lines,' then assessing homes and property on one side at a different rate from the other side." The assessor maintained that "recent sales of property in the area bore out his office's assessment." However, residents claimed the assessments were based solely on the "wealth of the owner." Dr. Arthur R. Buddington, one the residents in College Heights Estates, proclaimed "1 don't care whether I'm a pauper living in a mansion or a millionaire living in a hut, my property ought to be assessed according to the property itself and not according to the value of my pocket book.
The reasons for the higher assessed values and increasing sale prices were largely based on the amenities such as paved roads ($et*JpubIic utilities, as well as the intangible amenities that College Heights Estates, Inc. and Art Seidenspinner had implemented to ensure the suburb was improved by "homes of distinction, where homes values will endure. The lots, and consequently the houses, were larger than those of neighboring suburbs, including University Park and Calvert Hills. Vehicular traffic was limited by the use of winding roads and cul-de-sacs, which were naturally landscaped with mature trees. The real estate marketing, which was done personally by Seidenspinner, touted all of these assets, charming prominent citizens of Prince George's County including several members of the faculty at the nearby University of Maryland and high-ranking officials of the military and federal government, to move to College Heights Estates. Yet, the neighborhood delegation continued to declare "we can find no justification for assessing houses in College Heights Estates from S4000 to S6000 higher than identical houses a few blocks away in University Park." County Commissioner Thomas E. Latimore claimed "he didn't understand the reason for it but it was a fact that a house in College Heights Estates would sell for several thousand dollars more than a similar house elsewhere. „71 The tax rate for College Heights Estates was ultimately reduced in 1955, but still remained the highest in Prince George's County.72
The "Ultra Modern Home" of College Heights Estates
Many of the houses in College Heights Estates were erected as speculative development under the direction of College Heights Estates, Inc. and Arthur Seidenspinner, who engaged staff architects and regional builders. This resulted in a similarity of forms, with variety provided by stylistic embellishments, fenestration, and exterior materials. Yet, newspaper articles portrayed the care and personal attention given to the design of each dwelling, stating "Mr. Seidenspinner's organization can plan and build homes according to individual requirements of prospective purchasers. „73 A number of property owners employed prominent regional architects to design their homes, thus deviating from the common styles and forms of the neighborhood. All designs, whether the work of the development company or hired architects collaborating with property owners, were approved by Seidenspinner, who made certain each house conformed to the standards and covenants adopted by the real estate development company. Consequently, College Heights Estates has one of Prince George's County's most significant concentrations of imposing residential buildings that represents the stylistic fashions and model forms of the mid-twentieth century and allows for a comprehensive study of the transition of pre- and post-World War II architecture.
The first buildings constructed in the residential neighborhood were sited within the first four platted sections, which were subdivided between 1938 and 1941. The majority of these single-family houses were built by the real estate development company as speculative development, intentionally designed to attract prospective residents. Each dwelling was high style in design, imposing in form and setting, and utilized the most fashionable of materials and up-to-date modern amenities and conveniences. The earliest houses were typically located on expansive corner lots, thus providing vistas from two tree-lined streets, or were located adjacent to each other along the more highly traveled, interior roads. The primary architectural expression was the Colonial Revival style and the preferred material was brick, both of which were overwhelmingly typical in the many residential neighborhoods developing nationwide in the period between the world wars. The deliberate use of a traditional architectural expression such as the Colonial Revival style aided in the establishment of a sense of place and stability in newly platted neighborhoods by recalling stylistic elements and materials from the colonial period. Additionally, the guidelines and standards generated by the federal government through the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Small Housing Program and Low Cost Housing Act of the 1930s unofficially promoted the Colonial Revival style for these same reasons, thus ensuring the style's acceptance nationwide by the early 1940s. Yet, as much as the Colonial Revival movement aimed to inspire the nation as a whole, early reception was limited to the upper- and upper-middle classes who had access to academic magazines, attended college lectures, employed high-style architects, and owned automobiles, creating a leisure class capable of traveling to historic sites such as Mount Vernon and Colonial Williamsburg. This particular class of homebuyer, for whom College Heights Estates was designed, was also fully aware of the modern amenities and new conveniences available in the mid-twentieth century. Therefore, houses in College Heights Estates had the threefold responsibility of showing "a high achievement in present-day construction, every convenience in modern housekeeping, and practical application of every major item of mechanical home equipment.
One of the best examples of the traditional Colonial Revival style, and the most highly publicized "modern" house in College Heights Estates, was the Arthur Seidenspinner House, which was constructed in 1940. Located at 3917 Calverton Drive (originally 3915 Calverton Drive), the dwelling was designed by architect John M. Walton, with M. Bosma & Sons serving as the builders. This house, known as Calvert Manor, was intentionally designed and constructed as a preview for the public and therefore incorporated the finest of materials and the most modern amenities and conveniences. Sponsored by the Washington Post, Calvert Manor was touted as representing "many years experience in fine residential building and blends spaciousness with economy," which was a marketing slogan used commonly by the real estate development company. 75 Although not archetypal for Prince George's County in the mid-twentieth century, the house was "typical of the superb homes which ma[d]e College Heights Estates such a distinguished community...[combining] excellent architecture, spaciousness, a delightful environment and the most modern equipment the market affords in a single unit planned for gracious living. „76 The house was described as "Georgian Colonial architecture" with center entrance foyer, semi-circular staircase with well [hollow newel], large living room with fireplace and adjoining screened porch, large dining room with bay window, pine paneled den with fireplace, first floor lavatory. Upstairs are three large bright bedrooms, two completely tiled baths and many closets. There is a disappearing stairway into the attic and a semi-finished recreation room with fireplace, complete bath and maid's room in basement. The garage is attached with the lot, 130 x 150 feet.77
Calvert Manor was referred to in the newspaper advertisements as "The House of Magic," providing all of the most modern conveniences "with the flick of a switch—presto!—household drudgery disappears. Electric genii preserve the food, prepare it and clean up afterward. Housewives don't have to grow old in College Heights Estates houses—they can stay young electrically. „78 General Electric supplied the equipment, including the furnace, air-conditioning, all-electric kitchen with refrigerator, range, dishwasher, disposal, steel cabinets, and "wiring that precludes current waste.79
Although the long-established Colonial Revival embellishments and forms were overwhelmingly popular throughout the neighborhood, modernistic architecture began to emerge in College Heights Estates in the early 1940s. The forms of the houses constructed during the pre-World War Il years continued to pay homage to those traditionally embraced by the Colonial Revival, while the fenestration, massing, and stylistic detailing became purely modernistic. The few early examples are not high style, but rather illustrate several of the more character-defining features of modernistic architectural style known as Streamline Moderne. Adaptable because of its sociological and ideological diversity, the modernistic style's simplistic, yet stylized design, coupled with its inexpensive construction costs during a period of great economic and social instability, made the Streamline Moderne tremendously popular in the 1930s and early 1940s. Promoting movement and speed, the Streamline Moderne directly affected the designs of transportation machinery, such as ships, airplanes, and automobiles, and industrial and consumer products such as bicycles, toasters, radios, and vacuum cleaners. Yet, the Streamline Moderne was not overwhelming popular as the style of choice for single-family dwellings in Prince George's County, where suburban development was rampant in the first half of the twentieth century. Unlike the vast majority of single-family houses in College Heights Estates that were constructed by the real estate development company, the two Streamline Moderne-style houses identified were designed specifically for individual property owners, who personally hired local architects and builders. The collaborative effort by designer and owner guaranteed greater individuality within the confining definition of Streamline Moderne, while at the same time ensuring compatibility within the development of College Heights Estates neighborhood, which was dominated by Colonial Revival-style houses.
The greatest period of development in College Heights Estates occurred in the 1950s, well after many of the neighboring residential subdivisions had been improved. During the ten-year period between 1950 and 1960, eleven plats were added to the subdivision by College Heights Estates, Inc. and a few independent real estate developers who wished to benefit from the future development of the neighborhood. A total of 1 18 single-family dwellings were constructed in the neighborhood during this period; between eight to eighteen new houses per year. The continued success of the suburb depended upon the ability of the real estate development company and property owners to adapt to the dramatic changes that took place in building practices after World War Il, while maintaining the covenants and restrictions that elevated College Heights Estates above many contemporaneous suburbs. Unlike similar neighborhoods of Prince George's County like Forest Heights, Hillcrest Heights, and portions of Berwyn Heights and Riverdale Park, the residential buildings constructed by the real estate development company in College Heights Estates were notably larger in scale and massing, and utilized the finest of building materials in order to attract more affluent homebuyers. Further, these dwellings were sited on expansive lots, with deep setbacks from the street, rear and side yards, driveways, and garages.
After World War II, when new construction began in earnest, dwellings in College Heights Estates readily exhibited new stylistic details and materials. Again, these elements were often used in an older context or combined effects from several different popular modes. The most common domestic forms continued to pay homage to the Colonial Revival, especially the Cape Cod and two-and-a-half-story rectangular box. Yet, new, more modern "developer" forms began to emerge in the landscape of the neighborhood in the 1950s. This included the ranch house, minimal traditional, and split-level houses. One of the most distinctive new forms from this period was the ranch house, which was driven like the preceding "small house" of the 1930s and early 1940s by economic constants and signaled the physical and social mobility of the middle class and their need for spaciousness. The new minimum standards for this modern house included private outdoor space with a large glassed area overlooking it. The sense of space flowing from room to room, and from outdoor to indoor, was influential in shaping the architectural designs of the ranch house in the mid-twentieth century. Although it exuded financial prudence, which was attractive to all prospective homebuyers, the distinctive low-lying form of the ranch house was remarkably malleable and could be expanded to meet the needs of the affluent residents for which College Heights Estates was established. However, although the ranch house was one of the most popular Modern Movement forms nationwide, only a minimal number were constructed in College Heights Estates. The few examples originated with the Cape Cod form, extending it several bays in width and reinforcing a horizontality that required the removal of the character-defining dormers. Unlike examples of the Cape Cod form that were merely larger to accommodate the ideal College Heights Estates resident, these dwellings also incorporated expansive picture and landscape windows, with the main entry unceremoniously placed; these were all elements of the Modern Movement ranch house. Interior spaces are communicated by the fenestration, varying exterior cladding material, and placement of the chimney and wings.
One of the more common domestic house forms of the mid-twentieth century was the minimal traditional, so-called because it was a "composite style expressing traditional plans and the massing of volumes, but without the decorative exuberance of pre-war eclectic models."80 Examples throughout Prince George's County and the larger Washington metropolitan area tended to be small and compact, rather than expansive, with eaves confined to the plane of the elevation, a single front-facing gable, and the pitch of the roof at an intermediate level. The overall impression was an "updated cottage-type dwelling. "81 Although the examples in College Heights Estates maintained the typical one-story height of the minimal traditional house, they are notably larger in form, massing, scale, and often took advantage of the sloping landscape to incorporate additional living space and garages like the ranch house.
The split-level house was an expression of the prosperity experienced in the 1950s after the devastating effects of the Great Depression and World War II. The distinctive form modified the modest ranch house by adding a lateral wing that was two stories, often with an integral garage and family activity room on the lower-ground level and bedrooms above. The formal or public living area, as well as the kitchen, entry, and utility rooms remained on the main floor at the mid-level, which better accommodated the quiet interior areas as opposed to the noisier rooms and service areas dedicated to family activities and the new technology of television.82 Sleeping areas were located on a separate level to ensure privacy. The modernisms of the split-level, like the ranch house, were "softened by 'traditional' decorative effects" or colonial inspirations. 83 It maintained the horizontality of the ranch house, with its low-lying roof and overhanging eaves, while adding a two-story wing. Thus, the split-level house, which has come to dominate late-twentieth-century suburbs nationwide, was exceedingly popular in College Heights Estates from the 1950s into the early 1960s. Examples constructed after 1965 reflect late-twentieth-century architectural trends, which tended to exaggerate the traditional and modernistic forms prominent in the mid-century.
By 1960, College Heights Estates was largely developed with single-family dwellings. Although lots had been designated within the covenants for commercial development, only residential buildings improved the neighborhood. Three additional plats were created between 1960 and 1976 at the northern (center) point of the subdivision, resulting in the creation of just six additional building lots. Forty-three new houses were constructed in the years between 1960 and 1998, with the greatest number of buildings erected by 1965. The architectural forms continued those of the previous decade, in particular the ranch house and split level. The forms continued to be larger than traditionally constructed nationwide, often with Colonial Revival-style and Modern Movement elements such as classically inspired surrounds and expansive picture windows.
Beginning in the 1970s, the forms and styles commonly illustrated in the neighborhood were abandoned in favor of what several authors of architectural history books refer to as "re-revivals" or "neocolonial."84 These houses pay homage to the Colonial Revival-style Cape Cod and two-and-a-half-story rectangular box, but employ new synthetic materials designed to simulate natural and historic materials. The stylistic elements were often oversized and exaggerated. Additionally, no longer reviewed by College Heights Estates, Inc., the designs incorporate materials not traditionally used in the neighborhood in previous decades. Yet, because of the covenants and zoning regulations, the lot sizes and siting of the few houses and garages constructed in the late twentieth century respected the design plan established in 1938 by Arthur Seidenspinner and College Heights Estates, Inc., thus creating a cohesive neighborhood with buildings dating from the late 1930s through to the late 1990s. Another reason for the success of the neighborhood has been the existence of the College Heights Estates Association, which was formed in 1995 to ensure the preservation of this automobile suburb's planned design that intentionally addressed streets, houses, garages, and yards.
9 J. Harry Shannon, "The Rambler Writes of Prince Georges [sic] County," The Sunday Star, 17 August 1919; Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., "The Correspondence of Charles Eversfield of Denne Park, and the Rev. John Eversfield of Maryland," www.denneparkhouse.co.uk. Accessed 2 March 2009.
10 J. Harry Shannon, "The Rambler Writes of the Eversfield Home," The Sunday Star, 9 November 1919.
11 Prince George's County Land Records, Ann R. Eversfield to W .0. Eversfield, Liber HB 7, Folio 559, 6 August 1873,
12 History of the Medical Society of the District efColumbia, 1817-1909 (Washington, D.C.: Medical Society of the District of Columbia, 1909), 310.
13 J. Harry Shannon, photographer, "Dr. Octavus Eversfield Office (in old log building) in College Park, Maryland," The Historical Society of Washington, D.C., (RA 0649-2, Rambler Photograph Collection), circa 1915; "The Rambler Writes of Prince Georges [sic] County," The Sunday Star, 17 August 1919.
14 Grifflth Morgan Hopkins, Atlas ofFifteen Miles around Washington, including Prince George's County, Maryland1878 (Philadelphia, PA: G.M. Hopkins, 1878). The property is incorrectly noted as belonging to "Dr. E.O. Eversfield."
15 "Eversfield Mansion is Destroyed by Fire," Washington Post, 18 April 1926, I.
16 The house was destroyed by fire in 1926, leaving only the log building to mark its approximate location.
17 Their son Donald Eversfield died in 1907.
18 Seidenspinner Named to Head County C. of Washington Post, 28 January 1959, Al 6.
19 Seidenspinner Left U.S. Job for Realty Post," Washington Post,
20 May 1937, RI I. 20 Ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 Seidenspinner Named to Head County C. Ofc.," Washington Post, 28 January 1959, Al 6.
23 Thomas M. Cahill, 'The Week in Real Estate,' Washington Post, 16 April 1939, RI.
24 "Arthur Seidenspinner, Maryland Developer," Washington Post, 31 May 1972, C5. 25 Ibid.
26 "Extensions Started at University Park," Washington Post, 8 April 1928, R3,
27 "Pohmer Moves Office," Washington Post, 9 January 1938, R4.
28 "Prince George's Grants Permit for Cemetery," Washington Post, 29 March 1944, 2; "Record Paving Project Slated for Riverdale," Washington Post, 8 June 1938, X21.
29 Magic House' Is on View In Maryland," Washington Post, 27 October 1940, 51.
30 Elizabeth Ann [Walton] Ruppert, telephone interview by EHT Traceries, 4 March 2009.
31 "Obituaries: John M. Walton Sr. Dies; Prominent Area Architect," Washington Post, 28 April 2000, B6.
32 American Institute of Architects, American Architects Directory (New York, NY: R.R. Bowker co., 1955), s.V.
"Walton, John M."
33 "Obituaries: John M. Walton Sr. Dies; Prominent Area Architect," Washington Post, 28 April 2000, B6.
34 "Sub-Bids South for 95 Houses," Washington Post, 9 July 1950, RI I.
35 Board of Examiners and Registrars of Architects, Application, s.v. V.T.H. Bien, 6 June 1940. On file at Office of Public Records, D.C. Archives.
36 American Institute of Architects, American Architects Directory, 1956 (New York, NY: R.R. Bowker Co., 1955), s.v.,
Bien, V(an) T(uyl) H(art); "V.T.H. Bien, Architect, Dies at 73," Washington Post, 21 August 1960.
37 John Lippert, telephone interview by EHT Traceries, 4 March 2009.
38 Michael Bosma, U.S. Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 to March 31, 1925," (M1490), Roll 2365, certificate 340349 (18 September 1923), accessed through Ancestry.com in March 2009.
39 Advertisement, Washington Post, 13 October 1940, 47.
40 Fred Lippert's son, John, continues to reside in the dwelling; John Lippert, telephone interview by EHT Traceries, 4
March 2009.
41 "Located in Exclusive College Heights Estates," advertisement, Washington Post, 14 July 1954.
42 "Located in Exclusive College Heights Estates," advertisement, Washington Post, 14 July 1954.
43 "Privacy, Safety are Important in Subdivision," Washington Post, 28 March 1937, R8.
44 'Radburn," National Historic Landmark Application, Statement of Significance, accessed at http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detaiI.cfm?ResourceId=862450687&ResourceType=District in March 2009.
45 "Planned Communities, Part I: Garden Cities," University of Maryland, National Trust Library, accessed at http://www, lib.umd.edWNTL/gardencities.html in March 2009.
46 "Radburn," National Historic Landmark Application, Statement of Significance, accessed at http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=862450687&ResourceType=District in March 2009.
47 Thomas M. Cahill, "The Week in Real Estate," Washington Post, 7 March 1937, RI.
48 "Privacy, Safety are Important in Subdivision," Washington Post, 28 March 1937, R8.
49 Ibid.
Ibid
51 College Heights Exhibit Home Opens Today," Washington Post, 13 October 1940, 47.
52 Ibid.
53 Ibid.
54 Ibid; "Calvert Manor Offers a Plan for Comfort: College Heights House of Magic Has All Modern Abracadabra," Washington Post, 3 November 1940, R5.
55 "Estates Planned at College Heights," Washington Post, 17 October 1937, R2.
56 "Builders, Attention," advertisement, Washington Post, 23 May 1943.
57 Donald Albrecht, editor, World War [I and the American Dream, (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press in conjunction with the National Building Museum, 1995), 47.
58 "Home Erection Near Record, Lusk Reports," Washington Post, 20 October 1940, RI.
59 "A True Suburban Home in Nearby MD.," Washington Post, 22 May 1938, RI 7.
60 Classified Real Estate Advertisements, Washington Post, 1938-1947.
61 Prince George's County, Supervisor of Assessments (Property Assessments for Election Districts 19 & 21), 1940-1944, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1954, MSA Cl 1-89, MSA Cl 1-172, MSA Cl 1-186, MSA 1-200, MSA Cl 1-293, MdHR 50,264103, MdHR 50,264-185, MdHR 50,264-199, MdHR 50,264-213, MdHR 50,264-307.
62 Advertisement "Exclusive College Heights Estates," Washington Post, 24 February 1952, R3, and 5 October 1952.
63 Prince George' s County Land Records, "Declaration of Restrictions in College Heights Estates," Liber 498, Folio I , 2
March 1938.
64 Advertisement, Washington Post, 13 October 1940, 47.
65 Ibid.
66 "Owners of 'Better' Homes in County Lose Tax Fight," Washington Post, I I July 1953, 10.
67 Ibid.
68 Ibid.
69 'Residents of Swanky Prince Georges Area Charge Tax Bias on Basis of 'Pocketbook,"' Washington Post, 15 July 1953, 6.
70 " House of Magic" on Display at College Heights Estates," Washington Post, 28 July 1940.
71 "Tax Rate Cut for Exclusive County Group," Washington Post, 9 December 1955, 19.
72 Ibid.
73 "Calvert Manor Offers a Plan for Comfort: College Heights House of Magic Has All Modern Abracadabra," Washington Post, 3 November 1940, R5.
74 "College Heights Exhibit Home Opens Today," Washington Post, 13 October 1940, 47.
75 Ibid .
76 Advertisement, Washington Post, 13 October 1940, 47.
77 "College Heights Exhibit Home Opens Today," Washington Post, 1 3 October 1940, 47.
78 Advertisement, Washington Post, 13 October 1940, 47.
79 "College Heights Exhibit Home Opens Today," Washington Post, 13 October 1940, 47.
80 Howe, 372.
81 Ibid.
82 Howe, 373.
83 James C. Massey and Shirley Maxwell, House Styles in America, (New York, NY: Penguin Studio, 1996), 249;
McAlester, 481.
84 Howe, 379; McAlester, 489.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Albrecht, Donald, editor. World War Il and the American Dream, Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press in conjunction with the National Building Museum, 1995.
American Institute of Architects, American Architects Directory, New York, NY: R.R. Bowker Co., 1955, s.v. "Walton, John M."
Board of Examiners and Registrars of Architects, Application, s.v. V.T.H. Bien, 6 June 1940. On file at Office of Public Records, D.C. Archives.
Carley, Rachel. Visual Dictionary of American Domestic Architecture, New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 1994.
College Heights Estates, Inc., "College Heights Estates, College Heights: Where Home Values Endure," undated, in possession of Ronald Blunck at 7100 Eversfield Drive.
"Description of Materials," dated August 1955, in possession of the current property owner, Ronald Blunck at 7100 Eversfield Drive.
Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., "The Correspondence of Charles Eversfield of Denne Park, and the Rev. John Eversfield of Maryland," www.denneparkhouse.co.uk.Accessed 2 March 2009.
History of the Medical Society of the District of Columbia, 1817-1909, Washington, D.C.: Medical Society of the District of Columbia, 1909.
Hopkins, G.M. Prince George's County, from Atlas of Fifteen Miles Around Washington. Philadelphia:
G.M. Hopkins, C.E., 1878.
Howe, Jeffery, editor. The Houses We Live In, London, England: PRC Publishing, Ltd., 2002.
Lippert, John. Telephone interview by EHT Traceries, 4 March 2009.
Massey James C. and Shirley Maxwell, House Styles in America, New York, NY: Penguin Studio, 1996.
McAlester, Virginia and Lee, A Field Guide to American Houses, New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985.
"Michael Bosma, U.S. Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 to March 31, 1925," (M 1490), Roll 2365, certificate 340349 (18 September 1923). Accessed through Ancestry.com in March 2009.
"Planned Communities, Part I: Garden Cities," University of Maryland, National Trust Library, accessed at http://www.Iib.umd.edu/NTL/gardencities.html in March 2009.
Prince George's County Land Records, "Declaration of Restrictions in College Heights Estates," Liber 498, Folio 1, 2 March 1938.
Prince George's County Land Records, Ann R. Eversfield to W.O. Eversfield, Liber HB 7, Folio 559, 6 August 1873.
Prince George's County, Supervisor of Assessments (Property Assessments for Election Districts 19 & 1946, 1947, 1948, 1954, MSA Cl 1-89, MSA Cll-172, MSA Cl 1-186, MSA Cl 1200, MSA Cl 1- 293, MdHR 50,264-103, MdHR 50,264-185, MdHR 50,264-199, MdHR 50,264213, MdHR 50,264-307.
"Radburn," National Historic Landmark Application, Statement of Significance, accessed at http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhI/detaiI.cfm?ResourceId=862450687&ResourceType=District in March 2009.
Ruppert, Elizabeth Ann [Walton]. Telephone interview by EHT Traceries, 4 March 2009
Shannon, J. Harry, photographer. "Dr. Octavus Eversfield Office (in old log building) in College Park, Maryland," The Historical Society of Washington, D.C., (RA 0649-2, Rambler Photograph Collection), circa 1915.
The Sunday Star.
The Washington Post.
VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION
The College Heights Estates Historic District is located in northern Prince George's County, Maryland. It is immediately north of the incorporated Town of University Park and south of the University of Maryland. College Park. The neighborhood is nestled between Baltimore Avenue (U.S. Route I) to the east and Adelphi Road on the west. The University Park Historic District is located to the immediate south of College Heights Estates, east of Wells Parkway. Those properties to the north of Wells Parkway are located in City of Hyattsville, while those properties to the south of Wells Parkway are located in the Town of University Park. The College Heights Estates s Historic District encompasses approximately 120 acres.
BOUNDARY JUSTIFICATION
The boundaries of the College Heights Estates Historic District recognize the twenty plats created as College Heights Estates between 1938 and 1976. This property was formerly part of the Eversfield farm, which was conveyed by the heirs to the real estate development company and a few individual developers.
The western border is roughly defined by Adelphi Road, which is high traveled arterial roadway that runs northwest/southeast. This street, historically known as Colesville Road, predates the establishment of College Heights Estates.
To the south is the Town of University Park, with the University Park Historic District abutting College Heights Estates to the southeast of Wells Parkway. University Park, which incorporates part of College Heights (1920), predates the platting of College Heights Estates. It was developed separately, although members of the real estate development team of University Park created College Heights Estates.
The irregular northwestern boundary is defined by the plats created as part of College Heights Estates by the real estate development company of the same name as well as independent developers. This property abuts the University of Maryland, College Park, property deeded by Charles Calvert specifically as the campus of the agricultural college.
The Partridge Hill Section of College Heights Estates is located along the northeastern boarder. This area, although part of Eversfield farm, was not subdivided until after College Heights Estates had been platted and largely developed. It was created between 1965 and 1985 by the platting of several adjoining building lots. Although an addition to College Heights Estates, this area lacks the same character-defining elements for which College Heights Estates is significant, including the street plan and building design. The single-family dwellings in the Partridge Hill Section reflect the architectural trends of the late twentieth century.
College Heights Estates is a discontinuous historic district, capturing the two properties at 4318 and 4319 Clagett Pineway. These properties were platted as four lots in 1920 as part of College Heights, but replatted as two lots in Plat One of College Heights Estates in 1938. These lots were not improved as part of College Heights, but rather reflect the residential construction of College Heights Estates.
