‘‘Part of it’s the tree canopy, part of it’s the curvilinear streets following the topography,” said Mary Anne Hoffman of the Chevy Chase Historical Society and Chevy Chase resident. ‘‘Part of it’s the architectural diversity.”
Architecture in Chevy Chase — and the details and social trends that shaped its more than 6,000 single-family homes — is the topic of an upcoming lecture at the Chevy Chase Historical Society. Architectural historian Bill Lebovich will explain ‘‘How to look at Chevy Chase architecture,” at 8 tonight in the Leland Community Center, 4301 Willow Lane, Chevy Chase.
Hoffman stressed that the talk is purely historical in nature, not a sideways jab at developers or builders who take on Chevy Chase construction projects.
Lebovich said he doesn’t see 21st-century residential development ‘‘fitting in” with the historical talk. His goal is to make people look at Chevy Chase’s architecture in a different way, much like an art history lecture might focus on what makes each element of Byzantine painting important.
The topic nonetheless coincides with efforts by Chevy Chase municipalities to quantify and preserve their ‘‘Chevy Chase” character as they transform local building regulations.
‘‘Jurisdictions that are grappling with these incentives might learn something,” Hoffman said. ‘‘A useful contemporary application of history’s lessons [about architectural diversity] might be that smaller can be gorgeous.”
Land developers in Chevy Chase began promoting the hamlet in the 1900s, Hoffman said, enticing middle-class workers to buy homes in the budding suburb, Hoffman said.
‘‘The absence of sameness in architecture is one of the principal charms,” read a 1916 real estate flier advertising one of the later sections of Chevy Chase.
Since then, homes in Chevy Chase changed to accommodate social trends or an owner’s individual taste. Some were restored to their original state after previous owners made major alterations.
The Williams Farmhouse owned by Lars Hanslin on Williams Lane is one of the oldest in Chevy Chase. Its architectural details tell the story of rural, agricultural Chevy Chase’s transformation.
Built in the late 1880s, the two-and-a-half story L-shaped house with was once surrounded by a dirt farm. But the Williams land split into residential lots during the early 1900s’ residential boom, and new houses went up next door. By 1927, the farmhouse had a new entryway, a one-story garage and its porch was turned into a sunroom.
Hanslin said he has restored the original façade, hoping to recover the house’s historical character.
That kind of living structure ‘‘reflects the various owners,” Lebovich said. ‘‘Most people probably say it’s aesthetics, but really I think it’s more needs, I mean family changes.”
But why should anyone bother to learn Lebovich’s techniques of looking at Chevy Chase architecture?
‘‘I think the average answer that an artsy-fartsy person would give is, ‘Well, art is important,’ and I don’t buy that one,” Lebovich said. ‘‘In a good building — or even when there’s not a good building — you begin to appreciate things. You begin to appreciate the building next door. It informs opinion, increases your appreciation.”
