Forest Glen is a quiet neighborhood in Silver Spring that has been defined and redefined over hundreds of years by an odd assortment of real estate developments.
In 1689, the area was known as Joseph’s Park, part of a royal manor grant to Col. William Joseph. The name Forest Glen is a reflection of the woods that form a glen surrounding a creek.
During a mid-1880s land boom, a group of investors formed the Forest Glen Improvement Co., which built the Forest Inn resort to give Washington residents a cooler alternative during the hottest months of the summer. The investor group hoped guests would like the area and buy into a nearby neighborhood it owned.
Unfortunately, the inn failed and was subsequently bought by John and Vesta Cassedy, who transformed it into a girls’ finishing school. The National Park Seminary welcomed its first 48 students and 10 faculty members in 1894. The seminary students founded sororities and built sorority clubhouses, including the pagoda that still stands on the grounds today.
In the 1940s, the U.S. Army acquired the school and made it an annex of the Walter Reed Medical Center. The Army later relinquished its ownership, and the seminary’s buildings, now joined by new townhouses, have been transformed into condominiums.
-Average sold price in the 20902 ZIP code: $349,718
-Average list price in the 20902 ZIP code: $360,965
-Average days on market for homes sold: 30
June 2009
-Average sold price in the 20902 ZIP code: $299,010
-Average list price in the 20902 ZIP code: $321,378
-Average days on market for homes sold: 103
The neighborhood plan crafted by the original Forest Inn investors finally did take hold. Forest Glen today is an “eclectic mix of beautiful, older Victorians that have been renovated, and postwar ramblers, Cape Cods and Tudors,” said Debbie Cook, a Long & Foster real estate agent.
Homebuyers are drawn by the beauty of both the homes and the green surroundings, she said, noting the neighborhood’s access to Rock Creek Park.
“The park sort of surrounds the seminary and the area where new townhouses have been built,” she said.
Access to Rock Creek’s bike trails, as well as the Sligo Creek Parkway Trail and the Capital Crescent Trail, convinced John Howley to move to Brisbane Street in 1989. “Anyone who enjoys biking on trails will find Forest Glen is centrally located for that,” he said.
The neighborhood’s commuter-friendly proximity to the city is another reason many residents choose to settle there, said Francis O’Donnell, president of the Forest Glen Station Homeowners Association. Forest Glen has easy access to the Forest Glen Metro Station, and there is an entrance to the Capital Beltway at Georgia Avenue.
O’Donnell has owned his home since 2002. Like the houses, he said, the residents of Forest Glen Station are “a mixed bag of a lot of different folks.” The community offers well-built, affordable homes, parks, schools with a good reputation and an overall attractive layout.
“It’s a great neighborhood, and I love it,” said Roberta Ciucki who paid less than $400,000 for her Colonial 10 years ago. “I kind of don’t want people to know about it. It’s a little gem.”
At a glance
Top reasons to live in Forest Glen
Location
Forest Glen is located near the Capital Beltway in Silver Spring. Access to both the Beltway and the Glen Forest Metro Station makes it convenient to downtown Washington. The area also has multiple Metrobus and RideOn bus lines.
Community
The bedroom community offers affordable housing and good schools. Although it does not offer a lot of recreational perks, those can be found close by in downtown Silver Spring.
