The 58 Contemporary homes were built between 1949 and 1951.
The Hammond Wood Historic District [†] is an intact, architecturally cohesive example of Charles Goodman’s merchant builder subdivisions in Montgomery County, Maryland. It is one of only two sizable developments in Montgomery County where Goodman houses were exclusively built, and where the full scope of his vision for a suburban community can be seen. Contemporary post-World War II housing by Charles M. Goodman is significant in the areas of Architecture, Community Planning and Development, and Landscape Architecture. These postwar buildings and subdivisions are significant indicators of several important patterns of events and architectural ideals. Significant under Criterion A, Hammond Wood conveys Charles Goodman’s innovation in suburban planning in the metropolitan Washington region in the post-World War II period by telling the story of how pioneering architect/builder teams were redefining the monotonous suburban cultural landscape into enclaves that were overwhelmingly naturalistic. Hammond Wood conveys the best of Goodman’s architectural legacy, showcasing his insistence on experimentation, adaptation of European and American modem ideas, and close collaboration with builders. The neighborhood reflects Goodman’s contribution to Contemporary architecture through his ever-evolving floor plans; the use of new and used materials in combination; an abundance of technical innovations; an exuberance in the employment of the window wall; and a spare, yet elegant structural expressionism.
The neighborhood of Hammond Wood is one of the best examples of a Contemporary project in Montgomery County by an architect-builder team, with Charles M. Goodman Associates representing the architect. The developers of Hammond Wood were Paul Burman and Paul Hammond, who were cousins. Paul Hammond was an actor who left the theater because he was interested in design. He knew of Goodman’s work through his pioneering design in Hollin Hills in northern Virginia but wanted to build a community in Montgomery County. By the late 1940s, Goodman’s architectural firm was beginning to focus on postwar affordable residential design. Burman succeeded in hiring Goodman’s firm to do both land planning and architecture for two projects on either side of Veirs Mill Road. Hammond Wood adjoins an earlier project developed by the same architect-builder team — Hammond Hill - across Veirs Mill Road, the planning of which began in 1949.
The Silver Spring/Wheaton developments of Hammond Hill and Hammond Wood were enormously popular, with houses selling out immediately in the early 1950s. An aerial photograph of the Wheaton area from 1948 compared with one from 1968 is barely recognizable. The 1950 census count for the Wheaton district was 77,413 people. By 1960, the number had doubled. Hammond Wood attracted buyers interested in the features prevalent in Goodman houses, including the innovative open floor plans that emphasized incorporation of the houses into the natural wooded settings. Many original owners were familiar with Hollin Hills in Virginia but did not want to live in that state (due to its more conservative politics). Hammond Wood provided the perfect opportunity for these buyers to have the same Contemporary type of house in Montgomery County. For example. Lane Kirkland, former president of the AFL-CIO, was a resident of Hammond Wood in its early days. At least three architects purchased houses in Hammond Wood; two of those architects, Harold Esten and David Condon, worked with Goodman at his firm. Mr. Esten continues to reside in the neighborhood today and is still a practicing architect. Besides always being home to people of artistic and liberal inclinations, the neighborhood has always included people of many religious faiths. One African-American family still residing in Hammond Wood says that when they were looking for housing in the 1950s, they faced discrimination elsewhere, but that Hammond Wood was open to them through the Fair Housing Act. The children of the original owners were in the first graduating class at Einstein High School on nearby Newport Mill Road. The neighborhood included (and still does) teachers, businessmen, and government employees at the federal and county levels who worked in social services and health care.
In the post-World War II surge of suburban building across Montgomery County, the Hammond Wood development stands out for the innovation of its design and the uniqueness of its naturalistic siting. The Hammond Wood neighborhood is associated with the pattern of postwar housing in the Contemporary idiom. These houses far surpass the FHA minimum design standards that prevailed in houses being built in surrounding areas. Although nearby developments also were built with curving streets, none sited their houses with such great attention to topography or provided the privacy and window-wall connections with nature that characterize Goodman’s houses. The Goodman houses also were early pioneers of the use of south facing glass exposures with wide overhangs for passive solar energy, shade in summer, and sun in winter. Hammond Wood is a notable example of teamwork between an architect and developers, proving that even merchant builders inexperienced in modem construction methods could successfully build creative and affordable housing in the difficult Contemporary idiom. Goodman’s vision produced a subdivision that has always had a strong sense of community, where residents love their houses for the sense of harmony with the outdoors, glass walls, and natural light and are part of a strong social network.
Hammond Wood meets National Register Criterion C for its association with the architecture of the American Contemporary movement, especially as developed in the mid-Atlantic region. Then as now. Contemporary houses were rare in Montgomery County. The exteriors of the Hammond Wood houses exemplify all the features that make Goodman residences so distinctive: extensive use of glass, modular design, exposed window frames as structure, sculptural chimneys, expanses of warm-toned brick, and lack of decorative trim. Inside, the houses feature open and flexible floor plans, handled in a subtle way to expand the sense of space and volume. The houses are premier examples of postwar affordable housing in the Contemporary idiom.
† Adapted from: Dorothea Musgrave, Hammond Wood Neighbors, Hammond Wood Historic District, nomination document, 2003, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C.
Street Names
College View Drive • Highview Avenue • Pendleton Drive • Veirs Mill Road • Woodridge Avenue