1970s


The Tilden Woods Incident


In 1972, the country was in a turmoil of protests and civil unrest against the Vietnam War; rock music was blaring from the bedroom windows of Luxmanor teenagers, and George McGovern and Richard Nixon were campaigning for president.  In the midst of this mayhem, the County decided that this would be the time to connect Luxmanor to Old Farm via Tilden Lane.  This was supported by the Old Farm neighborhood and by the fire department, both of which wanted easy access to the neighborhood.  [Q]

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This move was seen by many Luxmanor residents as an irrevocable thrust into modern urbanization and was strenuously opposed.  As the bulldozers arrived to take out the old bridge and build the new one to link the two pieces of Tilden Lane, a group of Luxmanor women prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice.  They laid down on the bridge and dared the bulldozers to continue. 

Shopping and Amusements


The Midpike area on Rockville Pike was a hangout for teenagers at the time, and more local teens also enjoyed the Tilden Woods Recreation Center and park, and the Tilden Woods Swimming Pool.  [S]


Rockville Pike and its sister roads held their usual bounty of amusements.  Here are a few:


  1. •Congressional Roller Rink, at Congressional Plaza, where teens enjoyed skating.


  1. •A drive-in movie theater, farther up on Hungerford Road, near Montgomery College.


  1. •The Pike Theater, a movie house located on the east side of Rockville Pike, where Cici’s Pizza is now.


  1. •A movie theater at the northwest end of Congressional Plaza, where the Ulta store is now.


  1. •A bowling alley was located on the lower level of Congressional Plaza, where bowlers could enjoy either tenpins or duckpins. 


  1. •Murphy’s 5 & 10 Cent store could be found at the southwest end of Congressional Plaza.  It housed a sit-down soda and luncheon counter.


  1. •A J.C. Penney store was in the middle of Congressional Plaza.


  1. •A Marriott “Hot Shoppes” was located in the eastern section of the Congressional Plaza parking lot, facing Rockville Pike.


  1. •The Jolly Ox Steak Restaurant, a cozy dining locale, was located on Old Georgetown Road.  This later morphed into a Japanese restaurant, and then was torn down and replaced by the new Chevy Chase Bank building, which in turn became Capital One Bank in 2009.


  1. •Across Rockville Pike and down the block near what is now 5050 Nicholson was Peaches Record Store.  All the teens loved to browse and hang out at Peaches, where the records (33 LPs and 45s) were kept in wooden crates.


  1. •Gene’s on the Pike was a restaurant and bar where great beer times were to be had.


  1. •A driving range was located at the location of the White Flint Metro.  Across the street, where McDonalds is now, was a “Burger Chef” – also a popular teen hangout.


  1. •A Putt-Putt Miniature Golf course was located across from the fire station on Rollins Avenue.  [S]


Community Life


The 1970s saw the development on Old Georgetown Road of some properties that had previously been residential.  For example, the doctors’ offices at 11404 Old Georgetown replaced a brick house that had stood empty for some time.  The Citizen’s Association opposed the development, concerned about overflow parking and traffic.  [Q]


The Citizen’s Association continued to sponsor social activities.  For example, caroling was held in the late 1960s and early 1970s around the pine tree in the cul-de-sac on Meadow Court.  [Q]

It was perhaps a scene that would remind us now of that great student in Tienanmen, China, who, in 1989, stopped a row of tanks by standing bravely in front of them.  However, just as the tanks ultimately succeeded in China, so did the bulldozers in Luxmanor.  As a result, Luxmanor was linked with the northern thoroughfare of Montrose Road by way of Old Stage Road and Tildenwood Drive.  [Q]


And sure enough, traffic through Luxmanor began to increase.  The number of cars cutting though Luxmanor Road and Sedgwick lane, for example were counted at up to 100 per hour in a survey done in the mid-1970s.  As a result, a long history of traffic “calming” measures began.  That was the origin, for example, of the “No left turn” sign on Old Georgetown Road that prevents a turn onto Sedgwick.  (Of course, this same sign permits a U-turn, so instead of turning down Sedgwick you can make a U-turn and then enter the neighborhood on Roseland Drive.  Apparently the Sedgwick political lobby was more influential than that of Roseland.)  [Q]

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