Editing Takoma Park, Maryland (section)

==History==
===19th century===
Takoma Park was founded by [[Benjamin Franklin Gilbert]] in 1883.<ref name="proctor-1949">{{Cite book |last=Proctor |first=John Clagett |title=Proctor's Washington and Environs |publisher=John Clagett Proctor, LL.D. |year=1949 |author-link=John Clagett Proctor}}</ref>{{rp|331}} It was one of the first planned [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] [[commuter]] [[suburb]]s,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Anne. |first=O'Boyle, Mary |title=Takoma Park : portrait of a Victorian suburb, 1883-1983 |date=1984-01-01 |publisher=Historic Takoma |isbn=978-0961352707 |oclc=11274182}}</ref> centered on the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad|B&O]] railroad station in [[Takoma, Washington, D.C.|Takoma, D.C.]], and bore aspects of a [[thermal bath|spa]] and [[trolley park]].

''Takoma'' was originally the name of [[Mount Rainier]], from [[Lushootseed language|Lushootseed]] {{IPA|sal|təqʷúbəʔ|}} (earlier {{IPA|*təqʷúməʔ}}), 'snow-covered mountain'.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bright |first=William |title=Native American Placenames of the United States |date=2004 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=978-0806135762 |location=Norman |page=469 |author-link=William Bright}}</ref> In response to a wish of Gilbert, the name ''Takoma'' was chosen in 1883 by DC resident Ida Summy, who believed it to mean 'high up' or 'near heaven'.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kohn |first=Diana |date=November 2008 |title=Takoma Park at 125 |pages=14–15 |work=Takoma Voice |url=http://www.historictakoma.org/voice/TakomaParkAt1251108.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=May 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140802143743/http://www.historictakoma.org/voice/TakomaParkAt1251108.pdf |archive-date=August 2, 2014 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> The city of [[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] in [[Washington (state)|Washington state]] is also named after Mount Takhoma ([[Mount Rainier]]).

Gilbert's first purchase of land was in spring 1884 when he bought {{convert|100|acre|km2}} of land from G.C. Grammar, which was known as Robert's Choice.<ref name="proctor-1949" />{{rp|331}}<ref name="history1889">{{Cite news |date=June 15, 1889 |title=The History of Takoma Park |page=11 |work=Washington Evening Star |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/HistArchive/?p_product=EANX-NB&p_theme=ahnp&p_nbid=M69F61LUMTQxOTA5Njg2MC4yODM0NzoxOjE1OjEzMi4xNzQuMjU0LjE0NQ&p_action=doc&s_lastnonissuequeryname=3&d_viewref=search&p_queryname=3&p_docnum=31&p_docref=v2:13D5DA85AE05A305@EANX-NB-13EA564E0E14E390@2411169-13E9066A29875CE8@10-13EDE6AFCA4E2348@}}</ref> This plot of land was located on both sides of the railroad station, roughly bounded by today's Sixth Street on the west, Aspen Street on the south, Willow Avenue on the east, and Takoma Avenue on the north.<ref name="proctor-1949" />{{rp|331}} At the time, much of the land was covered by thick forest, some of which was cleared away in order to lay out and grade streets and housing lots.<ref name="along">{{Cite news |date=August 22, 1885 |title=Along the Railroads |page=2 |work=Washington Evening Star |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/HistArchive/?p_product=EANX-NB&p_theme=ahnp&p_nbid=M69F61LUMTQxOTA5Njg2MC4yODM0NzoxOjE1OjEzMi4xNzQuMjU0LjE0NQ&p_action=doc&s_lastnonissuequeryname=3&d_viewref=search&p_queryname=3&p_docnum=5&p_docref=v2:13D5DA85AE05A305@EANX-NB-13E84DF2F0E132E8@2409776-13E84314D5ABAF08@1-13EAB4CF178A7D40@}}</ref> At its founding, most lots measured {{convert|50|by|200|ft|m|round=5}}<ref name= along/> and were sold for $327 to $653 per acre.<ref name="newtowns">{{Cite news |date=August 23, 1888 |title=New Towns in Montgomery |work=The Baltimore Sun |id={{ProQuest|535089946}}}}</ref> By August 1885, there were about 100 people living in Takoma Park, including temporary summer residents and year-round permanent residents.<ref name= along/> Gilbert himself lived in a wooden house on a stone foundation, with 20 rooms and a {{convert|65|ft|m|adj=on}} tower.<ref name= along/>

Gilbert purchased another plot of land in 1886. The land was roughly bounded by Carroll Avenue to the Big Spring (now Takoma Junction) and what is now Woodland Avenue. Gilbert named this land New Takoma. Gilbert later purchased the Jones farm and the Naughton farm, which together he named North Takoma.<ref name="proctor-1949" />{{rp|335}} He also purchased land from [[Francis P. Blair]], [[Richard L. T. Beale]], and the Riggs family.<ref name= history1889/>

Gilbert hired contractor Fred E. Dudley to build many of the homes in Takoma Park. One of the homes built by Dudley was the [[Cady-Lee|home of Cady Lee]]{{clarify|date=December 2021|reason=this home is not in TP, it is just across the border in DC}}, which was designed by [[Leon E. Dessez]] and still stands today at Piney Branch Road and Eastern Avenue. Dudley's son Wentworth was the first child born in Takoma Park.<ref name="proctor-1949" />{{rp|331}}
 
By 1888, there were 75 houses built in the community,<ref name=newtowns/> and the number increased to 235 homes by 1889.<ref name="proctor-1949" />{{rp|335}} In 1889, Gilbert purchased several acres of land along [[Sligo Creek]] from a physician in Boston named Dr. R.C. Flower, in order to build a sanitarium on the land.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 9, 1889 |title=Improvements along the Metropolitan Branch |page=6 |work=Washington Evening Star |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/HistArchive/?p_product=EANX-NB&p_theme=ahnp&p_nbid=M69F61LUMTQxOTA5Njg2MC4yODM0NzoxOjE1OjEzMi4xNzQuMjU0LjE0NQ&p_action=doc&s_lastnonissuequeryname=3&d_viewref=search&p_queryname=3&p_docnum=22&p_docref=v2:13D5DA85AE05A305@EANX-NB-13E8A30F62F3F7B0@2411043-13E842F60164AC98@5-13EDA11E56DB7C78@}}</ref> By this point, Takoma Park stretched {{convert|1,500|acres|km2|round=5}}.<ref name= history1889/>

The deed of each of the original houses prohibited alcohol from being made or sold on the property,<ref name= history1889/><ref name=newtowns/><ref name="proctor-1949" />{{rp|335}} a prohibition that continued in the city until 1983.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Horwitz |first=Sari |date=November 22, 1986 |title=Takoma Park Boasts Fast-Growing Values: From 'Tacky Park' to 'Chevy Chase East' |newspaper=The Washington Post |id={{ProQuest|138891796}}}}</ref> Takoma Park incorporated as a town on April 3, 1890.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kaiman |first=Beth |date=June 29, 1989 |title=Takoma Park to Rally Round the Oak Leaf |newspaper=The Washington Post |id={{ProQuest|139976356}}}}</ref> The first town election was held on May 5, 1890, and Gilbert was elected mayor and J. Vance Lewis, George H. Bailey, Daniel Smith, and Frederick J. Lung were elected to the town council.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 6, 1890 |title=The Takoma Park Election |page=8 |work=Washington Evening Star |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/HistArchive/?p_product=EANX-NB&p_theme=ahnp&p_nbid=M69F61LUMTQxOTA5Njg2MC4yODM0NzoxOjE1OjEzMi4xNzQuMjU0LjE0NQ&p_action=doc&s_lastnonissuequeryname=3&d_viewref=search&p_queryname=3&p_docnum=41&p_docref=v2:13D5DA85AE05A305@EANX-NB-13EAA4FA8F00DDB8@2411494-13EA407731749560@7-13F1520083F81148@}}</ref>

The Watkins Hotel was built in 1892.<ref name="centuries">Sween, Jane C.; Offutt, William. ''Montgomery County: Centuries of Change''.  American Historical Press, 1999.  {{ISBN|1-892724-05-7}}.</ref> A fire destroyed the town's recently built commercial district and the Watkins Hotel in 1893.<ref name= centuries/> Gilbert's North Takoma Hotel was built later that year, advertising the pure spring water nearby its 160 rooms.<ref name= centuries/>

Many of the streets were originally known as avenues. When the Commissioners of the District of Columbia mandated a District-wide street-naming system, those on the District side were renamed streets but retained their names otherwise.<ref name="proctor-1949" />{{rp|335}} Other streets in [[Takoma, Washington, D.C.|Takoma, D.C.]], were renamed entirely. Susquehanna Avenue became Whittier Street. Tahoe Street was renamed Aspen Street. Umatilla Street became Aspen Street. Vermilion Street became Cedar Street. Wabash Street was renamed Dahlia Street. Aspin became Elder Street. Magnolia Street became Eastern Avenue.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baist |first=G. William |title=Baist's Real Estate Atlas Surveys of Washington, D.C., Volume 3, Plate 24 |year=1903}}</ref>
[[File:Takoma Park Seventh-day Adventist Church.JPG|thumb|right|Takoma Park Seventh-day Adventist Church]]

===Early 20th century===
In 1904, the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]] purchased five acres of land in Takoma Park along Carroll Avenue, Laurel Avenue, and Willow Avenue.<ref name="largely">{{Cite news |date=May 15, 1904 |title=Seventh Day Adventists: Colonizing Largely in Takoma Park, Montgomery County |page=11 |work=The Baltimore Sun |id={{ProQuest|536847192}}}}</ref> The land was located on both sides of the Maryland-District of Columbia border.<ref name=largely/> The land was intended for a church, office building, printer, and residences for prominent members of the church.<ref name=largely/> In 1903, the Seventh-day Adventist Church decided to move their headquarters to the Washington area after its headquarters' publishing house in [[Battle Creek, Michigan]], had burned to the ground.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 9, 1904 |title=Deem Fire a Blessing: Why Seventh-day Adventists Moved to Washington |page=10 |newspaper=The Washington Post |id={{ProQuest|144498698}}}}</ref> The church decided that moving to a more urban setting would be a more appropriate place from which to increase the church's presence in the southern states.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 10, 1905 |title=Work of Adventists: Denomination Makes Washington Its Headquarters |newspaper=The Washington Post |id={{ProQuest|144552432}}}}</ref> The church purchased fifty acres of land along [[Sligo Creek]] in Takoma Park to build the new headquarters.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 8, 1903 |title=Home for Adventists: Church Executives Perfecting Plans to Build Here |newspaper=The Washington Post |id={{ProQuest|144391958}}}}</ref> The land was away from downtown Washington and had clean water available from a natural spring located at present-day Spring Park.<ref name="marksend">{{Cite news |last=Pressley |first=Sue Anne |date=May 5, 1989 |title=Adventists' Move Marks End of Era: Takoma Park Losing 80-Year Neighbor |page=C7 |newspaper=The Washington Post |id={{ProQuest|140016506}}}}</ref> For many decades Takoma Park served as the world headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hyer |first=Marjorie |date=August 29, 1981 |title=Seventh-Day Adventists Reeling From Financial, Theological Crises |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VicxAAAAIBAJ&pg=6786,4993830&dq=takoma+seventh-day-adventist+headquarters&hl=en |url-status=live |access-date=October 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016081112/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VicxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pAIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6786,4993830&dq=takoma+seventh-day-adventist+headquarters&hl=en |archive-date=October 16, 2015 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> until it moved to northern Silver Spring in 1989.<ref name=marksend/>

In 1908, North Takoma Hotel was bought by Louis Denton Bliss, who turned it into Bliss Electrical School.<ref name= centuries/> Months later, a fire destroyed the building, and Bliss rebuilt the school at another site.<ref name= centuries/> The school was eventually bought by Montgomery County where it became the site of [[Montgomery College]]'s Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus.<ref name= centuries/>

===Mid 20th century===
[[File:The Takoma Blue Devils, 1963.jpg|thumb|upright|The Takoma Blue Devils in 1963.]]
In 1964, an inside-the-Capital-Beltway extension of [[Interstate 270 (Maryland)|Interstate 70S]], also known as the [[North Central Freeway]], was proposed via a route known as "Option #11 Railroad Sligo East," up to {{frac|1|4}} mile parallel to the B&O railroad upon a swath of land displacing 471 houses, that would have cut the city in two. In the mid-to-late 1960s, the future mayor and [[civil rights]] activist [[Sammie Abbott]] led a campaign to halt freeway construction and replace it with a [[Takoma (Washington Metro)|Metrorail line]] to the site of the former train station, and worked with other neighborhood groups to halt plans for a wider system of freeways going into and out of DC.<ref name="weta">{{Cite web |last=Jordan |first=Jamila |date=2015-12-17 |title=The Roads Not Traveled: D.C. Pushes Back Against Freeway Plans |url=https://blogs.weta.org/boundarystones/2015/12/17/roads-not-traveled-dc-pushes-back-against-freeway-plans |website=Boundary Stones |publisher=WETA}}</ref>

This controversy also raised the profile of Takoma Park at a time in the late 1960s and 1970s when it was becoming noted regionally and nationally for political activism outside the Nation's capital, with newspaper commentators describing it as "The People's Republic of Takoma Park" or "The Berkeley of the East".<ref name="common knowledge needs a better cite">{{Cite web |website=[[WAMU|DCist.com]] |title=Takoma Park Votes to Impeach President Bush |url=https://dcist.com/story/07/07/24/takoma-park-vot/ |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320053853/http://dcist.com/2007/07/24/takoma_park_vot.php |archive-date=March 20, 2012 |quote=Commonly referred to as 'The People's Republic of Takoma Park' or 'The Berkeley of the East' |df=mdy-all}}{{void|Fabrickator|comment|setting url-status to deviated because the archive link includes additional content}}{{cbignore}}</ref> This era of activism extended into the 1980s, when Takoma Park declared itself a [[Nuclear-free zone]] and a sanctuary for Salvadoran and Guatemalan refugees.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 5, 1985 |title=Takoma Park and Democracy |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/05/us/takoma-park-and-democracy.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221151927/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/05/us/takoma-park-and-democracy.html |archive-date=December 21, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Prior to the passage of the [[Fair Housing Act of 1968]], restrictive covenants were used in Takoma Park to exclude African Americans, Jews, and others. Many Takoma Park subdivisions used anti-Black covenants and at least one subdivision used antisemitic covenants. A 1939 deed for the New Hampshire Avenue Highlands subdivision of Takoma Park reads: "No lot shall be leased, transferred, sold, occupied or conveyed to or for the use of any person or persons not wholly of Caucasian Race or blood, excluding Semites; but this covenant shall not prevent casual occupancy by domestic servants of a different race, employed by an owner or tenant."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mcplanning.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0d26456118d34a14b2d27aec8d6f2b1a |title=New Hampshire Avenue Highlands |publisher=[[Montgomery Planning]] |accessdate=2024-06-08}}</ref> The first known restrictive covenant in Takoma Park was for a property in the Hillcrest subdivision in 1911. Subdivisions with restrictive covenants included Bonnie View, Carroll Farm, Carroll Manor, Fletcher's Addition, Flower Avenue Park, Green Hill Farms, Hampshire Knolls, Hillwood Manor, Wildwood and others.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://historictakoma.org/covenant/ |title=Takoma Parks Covenants Project |publisher=HistoricTakoma.org |accessdate=2024-06-08}}</ref>

Much of the old town Takoma Park was incorporated into the [[Takoma Park Historic District (Takoma Park, Maryland)|Takoma Park Historic District]]; listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1976.<ref name="Lefrak">{{Cite news |last=Lefrak |first=Mikaela |date=2019-04-24 |title=How Takoma Park Became 'The Berkeley Of The East' |work=WHAT'S WITH WASHINGTON |publisher=WAMU - FM |url=https://wamu.org/story/19/04/24/how-takoma-park-became-the-berkeley-of-the-east |access-date=2019-04-24}}</ref>

===Late 20th and early 21st century===
Before 1995, the eastern boundary of the city of Takoma Park was in [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George's County]], Maryland, causing the community to be divided across two counties and the [[Takoma, Washington, D.C.|Maryland/D.C. line]] (where the original downtown area is located). For several years, Takoma Park lobbied the State of Maryland for legislation allowing county boundaries to be adjusted. The State finally agreed to this change, with the stipulation that cross-county municipalities would no longer be allowed; the new municipal boundary would forever remain within the county of its choosing. In August 1995, after passage of the law, the city held a public referendum asking registered voters living in three Prince George's County neighborhoods north of [[Maryland Route 650|New Hampshire Avenue]] whether they wanted to be annexed to the city of Takoma Park. There was a majority of votes, 219 out of 313, in favor of annexation to the city.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://takomaparkmd.gov/news/city-election-information/results-of-past-elections/|title = Results of Past Elections &#124; City of Takoma Park}}</ref>

In November 1995, the state-sponsored referendum was held asking whether the portions of the city in Prince George's County should be annexed to Montgomery County, or vice versa. The majority of votes in the referendum were in favor of unification of the entire city in Montgomery County.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Montgomery |first=David |date=November 8, 1995 |title=In a Montgomery State of Mind, Takoma Park Votes to Unify |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1995/11/08/in-a-montgomery-state-of-mind-takoma-park-votes-to-unify/bd270af4-661b-43ef-b0d5-6b4c51dfe4ae/ |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226235545/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1995/11/08/in-a-montgomery-state-of-mind-takoma-park-votes-to-unify/bd270af4-661b-43ef-b0d5-6b4c51dfe4ae/ |archive-date=February 26, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Following subsequent approval by both counties' councils and the [[Maryland General Assembly]], the county line was moved to include the entire city into Montgomery County (including territory in Prince George's County newly annexed by the city) on July 1, 1997.<ref name="census">{{Cite web |title=Substantial Changes to Counties and County Equivalent Entities: 1970-Present |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/ctychng.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506234535/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/ctychng.html |archive-date=May 6, 2009 |access-date=August 8, 2009 |publisher=Census Bureau |df=mdy-all}}</ref> This process became known as Unification.<ref>{{Cite web |title=10-year retrospective on Unification |url=http://www.historictakoma.org/voice/Unification0707.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803070919/http://www.historictakoma.org/voice/Unification0707.pdf |archive-date=August 3, 2014 |access-date=February 23, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In 1981, Takoma Park passed the [[Rent stabilization]] Law, which limits the rent increase to a percentage set by the city and applies to all individual condominium units and multi-family rental facilities. This led to Takoma Park featuring some of the lowest rents in the D.C. region while similarly discouraging new multi-family housing construction, as evidenced by the lack of any new development in the city after the law passed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pagnucco, Adam |date=2024-09-04 |title=City Report Reveals Devastating Toll of Takoma Park Rent Control |url=https://montgomeryperspective.com/2023/03/24/city-report-reveals-devastating-toll-of-takoma-park-rent-control/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20230404145854/https://montgomeryperspective.com/2023/03/24/city-report-reveals-devastating-toll-of-takoma-park-rent-control// |archive-date=April 4, 2023 |access-date=September 4, 2024 |website=Montgomery Perspective|language=en-US}}</ref>

The city experienced substantial [[gentrification]] in the 1990s and early 2000s (decade), with many houses containing apartments converted back into single-family homes. This process was encouraged by an [[M-NCPPC]] "phase back", effectively eliminating scattered-site multifamily housing and implementing [[single-use zoning]] in a majority of city neighborhoods. Nearly half of the city's population are tenants, 47.2% according to the [[Census Bureau]]'s 2019 population estimate,<ref>{{Cite web |title=QuickFacts, Takoma Park city, Maryland|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/takomaparkcitymaryland}}</ref> many of whom live in a cluster of high-rise and mid-rise apartment buildings surrounding [[Sligo Creek]], which cuts a deep valley through the community.

The City Council adopted the Takoma Park Safe Grow Act of 2013,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-08-12 |title=Safe Grow Act of 2013 |url=https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/ordinances/2013/ordinance-2013-28.pdf |access-date=2021-05-04 |language=en-US}}</ref> which went into effect March 1, 2014,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Safe Grow |url=https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/police/neighborhood-services/safegrow/ |access-date=2021-05-04 |language=en-US}}</ref> and bans synthetic pesticides and requires [[organic lawn management]] on all city lands.

In 2018, the City of Takoma Park proposed renaming streets that were named after [[general officer|general]]s who fought on either side in the [[United States Civil War]], namely [[Ulysses S. Grant|Grant]] Avenue, [[Robert E. Lee|Lee]] Avenue, [[William Tecumseh Sherman|Sherman]] Avenue, [[Philip Sheridan|Sheridan]] Avenue, and [[Stonewall Jackson|Jackson]] Avenue, though by 2024, no action had been taken.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Uliano, Dick |date=2018-01-30 |title=Takoma Park residents debate renaming of streets named after Civil War generals |url=https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2018/01/takoma-park-streets-civil-war-generals |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202015601/https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2018/01/takoma-park-streets-civil-war-generals/ |archive-date=February 2, 2018 |access-date=February 1, 2018 |website=WTOP-FM |df=mdy-all}}</ref>