Silver Spring

The community of Indian Spring is a charming neighborhood within the greater Silver Spring area. “Indian Spring is known for its location, it’s inside the Beltway, which means you’re slightly closer to downtown Silver Spring and DC, which increases the value for buyers,” explains Tamara Kucik, Realtor with RLAH @properties. Surrounded by Colesville Road to the west, University Boulevard to the east and the Capital Beltway to the north, this small tight-knit community is comprised of nearly 785 single-family homes well-spaced out along the neighborhood’s blocks. Interspersed with plenty of mature trees, housing styles here consist primarily of charming 1940s and ‘50s style ramblers and Cape Cods, as well as some modest colonials too. The average sales price here is $680,000 with price points varying depending on the age, size and condition of the property. Another perk of living here? “Indian Springs also has a strong citizens association,” adds Kucik, which sponsors a series of annual events like the Indian Springs Block Party, an Independence Day celebration, Fall Fest and come winter, a Mr. and Mrs. Clause parade complete with tree lighting. The community also sponsors scavenger hunts and food truck visits, in addition to holding several neighborhood board and membership meetings throughout the year. Students here attend Montgomery County Public Schools like Highland View Elementary, Silver Spring International (Middle) and Montgomery Blair High School. Ranking as Maryland’s second-best school district in the state, it should come as no surprise that all three schools received a rating of B+ or higher from Niche.com. For all your daily essentials, The Woodmoor Shopping Center is a half mile from Indian Spring and features an assortment of casual eateries, like The Woodmoor Pastry Shop and The 4 Corners Pub, as well as a Safeway grocery store, a Shell gas station and plenty of local retail shops too. And for all of your health needs, residents have direct proximity to neighboring Holy Cross Hospital. Founded in 1963, Holy Cross is a 449-bed, not-for-profit teaching hospital that attends to more than 36,000 patients each year. The local Silver Spring YMCA is less than a half mile from Indian Springs and features fitness equipment and a variety of programs, camps and courses at affordable rates. Or for the golfers in your household, pop over to the Sligo Golf Course for a round of nine holes. For those just getting started the club also offers lessons too. Right next door, Sligo Creek Park offers residents direct access to the Sligo Creek Trail, which offers a 10 mile paved route perfect for hiking biking or jogging. The Indian Spring Terrace Park also offers athletic fields, open green spaces basketball courts and a playground. And of course, when you’re in need of a change of pace, residents of Indian Spring can hop onto the Metro’s red line to get where they need to be. Head into downtown Silver Spring, Bethesda, or DC and enjoy a wide array of entertainment, dining and cultural events year round. This is Indian Spring, a quaint community in Montgomery County.

The neighborhood of Oakview was designed with a series of long, arching streets and crisscrossing roadways with only a few entry points. Here, sidewalks measure the evenly spaced lawns, driveways and lots of this development, located only 5 miles from Downtown Silver Spring and 12 miles from Washington, D.C. “The neighborhood is really a sectioned off area perfect for commuters,” says Realtor Cole Butterfield with RE/MAX Realty Services. Butterfield lives in Montgomery County where he’s been selling real estate for the past six years. “Oakview is very convenient to the Beltway and New Hampshire Avenue. Homes tend to cost less here than in other Montgomery County neighborhoods.” Add quality schools to the mix, and Oakview stands out as a popular choice for many working families. Housing options in Oakview include moderately sized single-family ranches, split-levels, Cape Cods and colonials. Many homes in this community were built in the ’50s and ’60s and feature simple red-brick facades with beautiful hardwood floors, screened porches, brick patios and fenced backyards. Some homes contain fully finished basements, a bonus on space and bedrooms. “The neighborhood attracts a lot of contractors and landscapers, people who are in the home services business,” Butterfield says. With such convenient access to most of Metro D.C., this observation makes sense. Plus, the average home price is $472,000, less than areas closer to Silver Spring, or neighborhoods next door like Hillandale. For daily essentials, residents head to the Safeway at Hillandale Shopping Center. There, they’ll find the Value Village thrift store, a One Stop Urgent Care Center and several eateries, such as Jewel of India, an upscale North Indian restaurant featuring an Indochinese menu and Indian-themed cocktails. Also nearby is Viet Pho & Grill – Silver Spring, a small Vietnamese place that serves pho, banh mi, vermicelli bowls and other favorites. The menu at Cheesesteak Mike’s features classic American subs and burgers as well as Korean dumplings, short ribs and fried chicken — “Mike’s Touch of Seoul.” The Downtown Silver Spring FreshFarm Market operates year-round at Veterans Plaza, where locals can find seasonal fruits and vegetables, honey, eggs, meat, preserves, fresh-cut flowers and baked goods. In nearby Tacoma Park, the locality holds a number of festivals throughout the year, most notably the Tacoma Park Street Festival in October, with live music, vendors, food trucks and unique shops, restaurants and cafes to explore. The schools that serve Oakview are part of the Montgomery County School System and include Roscoe Nix Elementary, which received an A-minus from Niche. Roscoe Nix participates in the Innovative School Year program, an initiative that extends the year an extra 30 days. Francis Scott Key Middle, which scored a B, offers the IB Middle Years Programme, proven to produce more critical thinkers, lifelong learners and responsible global citizens. Springbrook High School, too, an A-minus school, features the IB Diploma Programme with advanced coursework in a range of disciplines. A sunny playground, basketball courts and a softball field can be found at Brookside Park next to Roscoe Nix Elementary. Broadacres Park near another elementary features a circular courtyard surrounded by benches and a pergola. Children can swing or climb the nearby jungle gyms. The park also features two softball fields, walking paths and an open field for soccer. Broadacres adjoins Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park, a natural area that runs the length of the neighborhood, with roughly 8 miles of trails that attract hikers, bikers and equestrians. Oakview residents have direct access to Interstate 495/The Beltway. Interstate 95 North is only 5 miles east. The D.C. Metro Red Line stops in Downtown Silver Spring, and the Maryland Area Rail Commuter Brunswick-Washington Line runs between D.C. and Martinsburg with a stop in Silver Spring. Residents can also utilize the local bus service, with a route that crosses the heart of Oakview on its way to Downtown Silver Spring and other local destinations.

It’s fitting that the word ‘park’ is in the name of the Silver Spring Park neighborhood. With manicured gardens in spacious lawns, fully grown trees and porches to enjoy the view, this neighborhood feels like a woodland getaway. Silver Spring Park preserves the lifestyle of the classic suburb with its midcentury houses, where kids can bike down the street, neighbors fly flags out front to show off their favorite sports teams and seasonal decorations festoon porches on every block. Adding to the picturesque feel of this DC suburb is the diversity of its residents and its strong community spirit. “Everyone is welcome,” says Natalie Perez, a real estate agent with The Phoenix Group of Compass. Community events are always going on, especially in any one of the neighborhood’s numerous parks, she notes. Residents of Silver Spring Park prefer to live here because the homes are not “cookie cutter,” Perez says. The houses are quaint and charming, and people who move intend to stay in the neighborhood, she emphasizes. Older homes in the area, often renovated, date to the mid-20th Century, with Cape Cods, Colonials, Tudors and spacious split-level styles. The median price for a single-family home runs around $665,000, but new contemporary-style homes, especially with multiple bedrooms, can run north of $1 million. For an economical choice, there are also numerous town house complexes in Silver Spring Park; the median price for this style sits around $400,000. Condos provide another option. Two-bedroom condos can start at $150,000, while three-bedrooms can range from $200,000 to $375,000. The price of the condo can depend on its proximity to the city. Students attend well-rated schools that match the well-tended atmosphere of the neighborhood. Sligo Creek Elementary features a French language immersion program, student newspaper club, and fiction writing for fourth and fifth graders. Silver Spring International Middle School places an emphasis on a global perspective in the curriculum, with options for a French or Spanish immersive language program or Model U.N. practice in global diplomacy. Montgomery Blair High School boasts an overall grade of A-plus from Niche.com, and it ranks at No. 11 among public high schools in Maryland. It also ranks as the No. 1 the most diverse public high school in the state. Sligo Creek serves as an anchor for outdoor recreation in Silver Spring Park. Sligo-Bennington Neighborhood Park runs along Sligo Creek and the Sligo Creek Trail, which offers routes for hiking and biking. The park also features walkable routes through its picturesque woods and picnic grounds, playgrounds and tennis courts. Dale Drive Neighborhood Park, one of the oldest parks in Montgomery County, sprouts off the Sligo Creek Trail and offers the perfect paths for running and walking. The Nolte Community Garden, which features 19 accessible gardening tables for community members, is a highlight of Nolte Local Park. For those who enjoy the arts, Silver Spring Park offers a superlative choice of creative activities and experiences. Bookworms can revel in the catalog of titles at the Long Branch Library, where events for children include bilingual pajama story time and the chance to read to therapy dogs. Carpe Diem Arts Center offers community song and dance events, after school and summer camps for kids, and many chances to volunteer. Or, get creative with free art supplies from the Takoma Art Free Library. Live music lovers have their pick of concerts at The Fillmore, a well-known music venue in downtown Silver Spring, only a 5-minute drive from the neighborhood. Dining out in this neighborhood means enjoying a plethora of Salvadoran, Mexican and Latin restaurants located here. La Casita Pupuseria and Market offers traditional Salvadoran pupusas; Chicken Loco cooks up pollo a la brasa (charcoal broiled Peruvian chicken). What’s great about the cuisine here isn’t just its diversity, but the fact that these eateries are owned by people who live in the neighborhood, Perez says. A short distance to DC, Silver Spring Park gives its residents a historic feel, welcoming spirit and chances to retreat into nature.

Welcome to South Four Corners, a small community within the greater Silver Spring area. Located at the intersection of University Boulevard and Colesville Road, this community’s name is derived from this very same intersection, often referred to as “Four Corners.” “The main draw for buyers here is that South Four Corners is commuter-friendly,” says Tamara Kucik, Realtor with RLAH @properties. “You’re less than a mile from the Red Line at Forest Glen and residents can walk there.” The other attraction? “It’s a great place for starter homes, I bought my very first home here too.” Considered a post-World War II neighborhood, “A lot of the homes here were built between the 1930s and ‘50s,” explains Kucik. “And it offers a very traditional neighborhood feel. You have a couple of entry points, lots of little streets tucked away. It’s the type of place where you feel connected to your neighbors. It’s a bedroom community.” Comprised of over 1200 homes, prospective buyers can choose from a variety of minimalist designs, like ramblers and Cape Cods, or opt for modestly sized colonial and Tudor styles. The average sales price here is $610,000 with price points varying depending on the age, size and condition of the property. Students here attend Montgomery County Public Schools like Pine Crest Elementary, Sligo Middle and Montgomery Blair High School. Ranking as Maryland’s second-best school district in the state, it should come as no surprise that all three schools received a rating of B+ or higher from Niche.com. Another thing residents love about their community is the area’s mature tree canopy and the area’s many local parks. Pocket parks like the South Four Corners Park and the Argyle Park offer open green spaces surrounded by lots of trees, while the North Four Corners Park features a playground, picnic pavilion and athletic fields. Neighboring Sligo Creek Park, is one of the area’s most popular outdoor spots, and its not uncommon to see folks walking, jogging or biking along the Sligo Creek Trail. For all your daily essentials, The Woodmoor Shopping Center is a half mile from the South Four Corners community and features an assortment of casual eateries, like The Woodmoor Pastry Shop and The 4 Corners Pub, where you can dine on pizza and brews. Right next door you’ll also find a Safeway grocery store, a Shell gas station and plenty of local retail shops to boot. For all of your health needs, residents have direct proximity to neighboring Holy Cross Hospital. Founded in 1963, Holy Cross is a 449-bed, not-for-profit teaching hospital that attends to more than 36,000 patients each year. Residents here also benefit from an active citizen’s association, which sponsors local events like the South Four Corners Porch Music Fest, community yard sales, block parties, ice cream socials and more. And when you’re in need of a change of pace, your proximity to downtown Silver Spring, Bethesda, and DC means easy access to a wide assortment of entertainment, dining and cultural events throughout the year. Offering all this and more, South Four Corners is a bustling place to put down roots.

With its glowing red “Woodmoor” sign and family-run businesses, the Woodmoor Shopping Center has been part of Silver Spring since the 1930s. The small shopping plaza faces a busy intersection and gets enough traffic that a few tenants have operated there for more than half a century. Behind it are the homes of the Woodmoor neighborhood where, similar to the shopping center, residents often stay in the neighborhood for decades, explains Cari Jordan, a Realtor with Go Brent and a Woodmoor resident for 25 years. Those who grow up there and move away often come back to the peaceful residential community. “It’s backed by woods and a river, so it’s a bit of an enclave, and there isn’t much through traffic,” Jordan says. While the Washington, D.C., metro grows at a fast pace, this Maryland neighborhood 3 miles from the district remains home to many familiar faces. Some of the names over the storefronts at Woodmoor Shopping Center haven’t changed in more than 50 years. Those include The Woodmoor Pastry Shop and The Watch Pocket, a watch repair shop that opened in 1970. Matt Stohlman runs the store that his father opened 54 years ago. When The Watch Pocket relocated to a bigger space in 1999, the store decided to move to a storefront in the same shopping center so it could stay in the Woodmoor community. Other businesses have moved in more recently, such as Bento Express Japanese restaurant and Starbucks. Wednesday-night trivia and pizzas draw people to The 4 Corners Pub, a local hangout since 1967. The pub is an anchor for the 4 Corners area, a cluster of shops and eateries across the street from Woodmoor. It’s also where residents can pick up groceries at Safeway. Saint Bernadette Catholic Church was established in Woodmoor in the 1940s, and it still celebrates Mass throughout the week. It’s a long-established neighborhood, but one of its marquee events started in 2022. In June, singers, guitarists and drummers play from front porches around the neighborhood in celebration of WOODMOORstock. Homeowners volunteer their porches and driveways as stages for 50 bands that perform for 2,000-plus attendees. Food and drink trucks also set up around the neighborhood, which has its streets blocked to traffic. Every home is within a mile of Pinecrest Local Park, home to a soccer field, playground and tennis courts. Just east of the neighborhood, trails at Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park follow an offshoot of the Anacostia River. There are 9 miles of loops and paths, varying from gravel trails suitable for hikers to hard-surface trails for bikers and bladers. Even snow doesn’t stop people from using the trails, Jordan says. When locals aren’t outside, they may be catching a performance at Silver Spring Stage, founded in 1968. Woodmoor's development started in the 1930s, and its Cape Cods and Colonial Revivals were primarily built before 1960. Since then, neighborhood trees have matured into leafy timbers, shading many of the small lawns. Sidewalks are uncommon, but joggers and dog walkers still traverse the neighborhood, which is rarely used by cars as a cut-through. Home prices start around $515,000, while one of Woodmoor’s rare new builds can cost as much as $1.1 million. Students are zoned to Montgomery County Public Schools, which Niche ranks as the second-best school district in Maryland. Children who attend the district go to a pair of elementary schools: Montgomery Knolls Elementary School until second grade and Pine Crest Elementary School, located in Woodmoor, between third and fifth grade. Niche gives Montgomery Knolls Elementary a grade of A-minus and Pine Crest Elementary an A. Eastern Middle School receives an A-minus, while Montgomery Blair High School is graded an A-plus. Montgomery Blair High runs five academies, programs students can join to take career-focused electives on topics such as law, media or engineering. A-rated Catholic school Saint Bernadette offers a private education in the neighborhood for prekindergartners through eighth graders. From the neighborhood, drivers can merge onto Interstate 495, the Beltway that surrounds Washington, D.C. It’s a 9-mile drive to the heart of the nation’s capital, but the trip can take an hour during peak traffic times. Woodmoor borders Colesville Road, which leads 2 miles south to Downtown Silver Spring. Locals can also get downtown using Montgomery County’s RideOn bus service, which stops along Colesville Road. Residents would likely need to drive to reach the Forest Glen Metro station that’s 3 miles away.

Downtown Silver Spring is a hip destination for nightlife, shopping and dining within commuting distance of Washington, D.C. The streets bloom with art and opportunities for entertainment, all connected by streets designed for pedestrians. “You walk to the metro, you walk to Whole Foods, and you can walk to all kinds of great restaurants,” says Heather Foley, a Realtor with Go Brent Realty who works out of downtown Silver Spring. The area is a hub of businesses, from hospitality destinations like bars and restaurants, as well as major corporate employers whose sleek office buildings define the skyline. Caroline Merdick, a five-year resident of Silver Spring who works as a bartender downtown, says that she chooses to walk to work regardless of the weather. “Even when it rains, I just grab an umbrella because it’s a part of my routine.” The neighborhood gets its name from a mica-flecked natural spring discovered in 1840, when the area was originally used as a summer home for the family of Francis Preston Blair. The early 20th century saw tremendous growth as the Washington trolley service provided easy access to the area. By the 1950s, Silver Spring was home to large companies including J.C. Penney and Sears, Roebuck and Company, making it the second busiest retail market between Baltimore and Richmond by the 1950s. Public art projects and street musicians make for an engaging stroll down central streets like Wayne Avenue. Merdick particularly enjoys the Blumen Lumen art installation at the corner of Georgia Ave and Colesville Road. The display, a bouquet of folded steel flowers between 18 and 25 feet tall, opens and closes with the weather while the flowers change color when people speak to them. Other art projects are built for function, like stone Art Deco benches for weary commuters. At the southern edge of downtown, Acorn Park marks the site of the original mica-tinged spring that gives the neighborhood its name with an acorn-shaped gazebo. Right down the street, the Arts Alley is a pocket park-like setting with a colorful tower of steel and colored resin. Passers-by can stop with an ice cream from nearby Moorenkos and enjoy the sight. Even the local library serves as a focal point. The Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Library is a testament to glass architecture with its sheer façade of windows and overhanging portico entrance. The library hosts yoga classes, basic computer classes, movie nights and more. Across the street from Ellsworth Place, The Fillmore Silver Spring is a prolific event venue hosting live music across genres like pop, rap, R&B, rock and metal. For a different kind of performance, the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center recalls the glamour of Hollywood’s golden days in a restored and renovated 1938 movie theater. The center hosts film festivals, retrospectives and conferences. Residents who wish to see the latest blockbusters can head to the Regal Majestic movie theater about a block away. During the winter months, residents can hit the ice at the Silver Spring Outdoor Ice Skating Rink located at Veterans Plaza. Visitors can rent skates to skip the headache of lugging around gear, and kids can use penguin-styled supports while they get the hang of the step-and-glide motion. Outdoor festivals and similar events bring residents together. The Spring Maker’s Market along Ellsworth Drive allows visitors to shop for handmade items from more than 40 artisans. The annual Chalk Fest by DC-based all-women mural art collective CHALK R!OT allows artists to reserve a five-square-foot space along the street to contribute to the public art exhibition. There’s also a year-round farmer’s market hosted at Veterans Plaza every Saturday where visitors can sample artisanal gelato, shop for locally grown produce, or try a flavor of farmstead-raised goat cheese. Trendy condos offer all the latest in décor trends, such as open floor plans, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Many buildings feature Art Deco or midcentury architectural details, balconies, and large windows with skyline views. Prices run from $350,000 for a one-bedroom unit to around $800,000. The area is quickly growing, with lots of new condominium buildings sprouting up along Georgia Avenue in particular. “The new developments have really transformed the landscape, and everyone’s pretty pleased with it,” Foley says. The area is a destination for people who work in Washington, D.C., which Foley says makes for interesting conversations when the community comes together. “It’s an incredibly diverse community, which makes it really fun and interesting. It’s a highly educated area where people have really fascinating jobs.” The 350,000 square foot shopping complex Ellsworth Place is a primary shopping destination. The restaurant-arcade-combo Dave and Busters lets visitors grab a burger and cocktail before hitting the games, while discount retailers like Marshalls and TJ Maxx are a hit for bargain hunters. Music collectors can flip through wooden bins at Joe’s Record Paradise, in its newest Georgia Avenue location, for used and vintage vinyl. When it comes time to run errands, residents can head to Blair Park Shopping Center, which includes a Giant Food, CVS and chain restaurants like Mamma Lucia. The location is convenient, tucked between apartment buildings across from the Silver Spring Metro station. Home chefs looking for more upscale offerings can head to the Whole Foods Market located on Wayne Avenue. Merdick says that she discovered Ethiopian food living in downtown Silver Spring. She first went to Beteseb, a casual and cozy restaurant that is friendly to newbies because it includes descriptions of all dishes in English. “The land tibs are my favorite, I probably get them two or three times a month,” she says. But beyond the Ethiopian outlets, residents and visitors can find a dish to suit any craving. Thai at Silver Spring on Ellsworth Drive merges an elegant venue with a rotating menu of specials and cocktails. A local favorite is McGinty’s Public House, an Irish pub that serves authentic dishes like Guinness stew and shepherd’s pie along with a vast selection of whiskey. “It’s amazing, and it’s been there for at least 20 years,” Foley says. “It has a really cozy first floor, plus a really big bar upstairs that has live music and comedy shows.” One primary driver for residents to move to Silver Spring rather than downtown Washington, D.C. is to attend Montgomery County Public Schools. Sligo Creek Elementary School has an A grade from Niche and is a four-minute drive from downtown. Silver Spring International Middle School, located in the same facility as the elementary school, offers a full Spanish immersion program and has an A-minus grade. Montgomery Blair High School maintains an enviable A-plus grade and offers a gifted program for students. Downtown Silver Spring also includes private schools within walking distance, including the Nora School, which holds seminar classes and a social justice program that emphasizes the history of the civil rights movement. Any time the condo-dwelling residents miss having yard space, they can visit one of the nearby urban parks for a green retreat. Woodside Urban Park includes a playground, tennis court and skate park, while Ellsworth Urban Park includes a dog park for Fido to expel some energy. Silgo Creek runs along the northern end of the neighborhood and is ringed with green space and trails for running and hiking. The Silver Spring Aquatic Center offers indoor and outdoor pools as well as a full fitness center and indoor basketball courts. Residents have access to the fitness center for free and can choose to pay a daily rate - $7 for adults, $5 for kids, and $6 for seniors – or buy a three-month, six-month or one-year membership that allows them access to all public pools in Montogomery county.