By Mike Unger
Special to The Examiner
On an overcast and drizzly late September afternoon, Sherry Migdail decided to treat her husband, Carl, to a little birthday nosh. As Martin’s Additions residents for 40 years, there wasn’t much question where they’d go.
“It is a very pleasant neighborhood,” Sherry said while they sat in a booth at the Olympia Coffee Shop on Brookville Road. “There’s just a great community feeling.”
That spirit usually can be found inside the Olympia, owned and operated on the neighborhood’s “main street” for 27 years by Ann Yi.
“It’s almost like our own small country,” Yi said of Martin’s Additions. “I’ve had many loyal customers for over 20 years.”
With 320 households strewn over less than one square mile, Martin’s Additions is the most densely populated municipality in Maryland, according to Jean Sperling, the village manager. The community is bordered by Quincy Street to the south, Thornapple Street to the north, Summit Avenue to the east, and Brookville Road to the west.
On April 11, 1916, the state established a special taxing district known as Martin’s First, Second, Third and Fourth Additions to the village of Chevy Chase. Concerns over development and other pressures caused residents to seek incorporation during the early 1980s, according to the village Web site. In a communitywide referendum, 92 percent of Martin’s Additions residents voted to incorporate. Following approval by the Montgomery County Council, the state recorded the municipal incorporation of the village of Martin’s Additions on March 19, 1985.
Today the village contracts out for its garbage removal, recycling and snow removal, and hires additional police from the village of Chevy Chase to augment the Montgomery County police who patrol the area. It all makes for a very safe and clean community.
The enclave has a certain throwback aura to it. The Olympia still has a long counter at which children delight in spinning on their stools. There’s a pharmacy, barber shop, dry cleaner and market in town that even will deliver food to residents.
“There’s such a fabulous range of ages here,” Sperling said. “We have very old people and young families with children and even younger couples with no kids. I think one reason the older folks want to age in place here is you can walk to the market or pharmacy.”
Most of the homes are bungalow-style dwellings set on narrow but deep lots. Many have immaculately manicured lawns and gardens, and the abundance of trees throughout the neighborhood provides parklike settings almost everywhere.
It’s through those tree-lined streets that the village Halloween parade and party will wind on Oct. 25. It’s just one of the multiple events that tie the community together.
“We have the best block parties,” Carl Migdail said. “After the winter we come out and all get together. It’s a lot of fun.”
The neighborhood’s proximity to Washington has always been one of its greatest attributes. Just hop on Connecticut Avenue, and traffic be willing, you can be downtown in minutes. The bus system also is extraordinarily convenient. Sherry Migdail often takes a bus to the Bethesda or Friendship Heights Metro station.
But today, the Migdails aren’t going anywhere. They’re perfectly content to sit in their booth at the Olympia, relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. When they’re here, they’re home.
Home prices at a glance
August 2009
Average sold price for homes sold in ZIP code 20815: $979,569
Average list price for homes sold in ZIP code 20815: $1,078,852
Average days on market for homes sold: 102
August 2008
Average sold price for homes sold in ZIP code 20815: $984,456
Average list price for homes sold in ZIP code 20815: $1,054,708
Average days on market for homes sold: 90
