Woodmoor is a neighborhood in the northern section of

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

in southeastern

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Montg ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Its borders extend from U.S. 29 to the west, Northwest Branch Park to the north, the

Capital Beltway The Capital Beltway, designated as Interstate 495 (I-495) for its entire length, is an List of auxiliary Interstate Highways, auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area. The Ring road, beltway encircles Washington, D.C., ...

(

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

) to the east, and University Boulevard to the south. It lies on one of the "

Four Corners Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. Most of the Four Corners regio ...

" at the northeastern corner of the intersection of

Colesville Road U.S. Route 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida, to the western suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland. In the U.S. state of Maryland, US 29 is a major highway that emerges ...

( U.S. 29), and University Boulevard ( Maryland 193).

History

The first houses in the neighborhood were built in the late 1930s.Reinink, Amy (February 9, 2012)
A cohesive community near D.C.
''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''Leff, Lisa (November 7, 1992)
Woodmoor: Faith in the Future
''

'' In the 1950s, a

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

deli/restaurant and bakery opened in Four Corners called "Sid Mandell's Restaurant & Deli", owned by Sidney "Sid" Mandell, the son of Jewish immigrants from Austria and Russia. The deli was a popular cultural icon and was open seven days a week. After Jewish residents began leaving Four Corners, the owner retired and the deli was closed in 1980. The building where the deli used to be is now occupied by Righttime Medical Care, an

urgent care center An urgent care center (UCC), also known as an urgent treatment centre (UTC) in the United Kingdom, is a type of walk-in clinic focused on the delivery of urgent ambulatory care in a dedicated medical facility outside of a traditional emergency depa ...

. Until the passage of the

Fair Housing Act of 1968 The Civil Rights Act of 1968 () is a landmark law in the United States signed into law by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during the King assassination riots. Titles II through VII comprise the Indian Civil Rights Act, which applie ...

, as in most American suburbs in the early 20th Century, racially restrictive covenants were used in Woodmoor to prevent African-Americans and other people of color from living in the neighborhood. In 2020, residents of Woodmoor and activists were working to remove racist language from property records "deed by deed".

Culture

Winding streets and lots of old trees distinguish this neighborhood. Pinecrest Elementary School lies in the neighborhood, and Montgomery Blair High School is just steps across University Boulevard. Highlights of the year are the community

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...

lighting and the Menorah, a local

Oktoberfest Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...

, the annual

Pride Parade A pride parade (also known as pride event, pride festival, pride march, or pride protest) is an event celebrating lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...

, and the music festival WOODMOORstock.

Transportation

Washington Metro The Washington Metro, often abbreviated as the Metro and formally the Metrorail, is a rapid transit system serving the Washington metropolitan area of the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ...

service is available on the Red Line at the nearby Wheaton and Silver Spring stations. Woodmoor is served by

Metrobus Metrobus may refer to: Transport services Bus Rapid Transit *MetroBus (Bristol), a bus rapid transit system in Bristol, England, United Kingdom *Metrobus (Buenos Aires), a bus rapid transit system in Buenos Aires, Argentina *Metrobus (Istanbul), a ...

numbers Z6, Z8, C2, and C4, as well as Ride On number 9. The Piney Branch Road station of the Purple Line will be built in nearby Long Branch at the intersection of University Boulevard and Piney Branch Road and is expected to be open to the public by 2022. The neighborhood also has the dubious distinction of being serviced by the "Sorriest Bus Stop in America", according to a survey performed by Streetsblog. The bus stop is located at the intersection of Route 29 and Crestmoor Drive.

References

Historic Jewish communities in the United States Four Corners, Maryland Jews and Judaism in Silver Spring, Maryland Neighborhoods of Silver Spring, Maryland {{coord, 39, 1, 22.98, N, 77, 0, 15.75, W, region:US-MD, display=title