Historic Takoma
History Lives Here
History Lives Here
This year’s Takoma Park July 4 parade, Celebrating the People of Takoma Park: Elders, History and the Democratic Spirit features Historic Takoma as the Grand Marshal. We are pleased to accept this honor!!
Historic Takoma was established in 1979 to preserve, protect, and share the history and culture of Takoma Park (in the District of Columbia and Maryland). For nearly 50 years we have advocated for the community – the recognition of the wonderful architecture dating to the late 19th century, the revitalization of the commercial areas, the collection of artifacts and stories, and sharing through walking tours, lectures and talks, and workshops. The annual spring Takoma Park House and Garden Tour provides an opportunity to share the many wonderful gems of Takoma Park’s neighborhoods.
Our building at 7328 Carroll Avenue, in the Takoma Junction commercial area, houses extensive archives of documents, photographs, maps, books, and objects that document Takoma Park history. These can be searched through our online collections catalog and in person by visiting our Reading Room. Throughout the year the building hosts lectures on historical topics, talks by Takoma Park authors, and workshops on topics such as house history research. Visit our storefront window for displays of Takoma Park history and community activities.
Historic Takoma is an all volunteer organization. We appreciate and depend on the support of the community to support our work. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Please consider becoming a member or making a donation. We welcome your help in organizing programs, managing our archives collections, and conducting the House and Garden Tour. To volunteer please contact us at info@historictakoma.org.
Thank you to the over 200 attendees of this year’s Takoma Park House and Garden Tour, Suburb in the City. Your ticket purchases, along with the contributions of our Sponsors, Donors, and Contributors, help make our work to preserve, protect, and share the history and culture of the Takoma Park community possible. The tour brochure is now available for viewing and downloading.
Each year John Hume of Sligo Creek Tile Works designs, produces, and contributes a commemorative tile for the tour site hosts. Thank you for you continued support, John!
Sponsors
| Broadhurst Architects, Inc. |
| Chris Brown/Takoma BevCo |
| City of Takoma Park |
| Janet & Jim Douglas |
| Judy Kogod, Perennial Real Estate |
| Jennifer Martin |
| Lorraine Pearsall and Paul Chrostowski |
| Sangfroid Distilling, LLC |
| Strawberry Fields, LLC |
| Takoma Park Silver Spring Food Co-operative |
| Elizabeth Thornhill |
| Tillerman Gardens, LLC |
Donors
| The F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Company |
| BFM Architecture, Inc. |
| B.M.C. Clower Heating & Air Conditioning |
| Busboys and Poets |
| Casey Trees |
| Heritage Building and Renovation, Inc. |
| Just That Simple |
| The Maplesden Group of Samson Properties |
| Residential Engineering Solutions |
| Sashman DC |
| Studio d Architecture and Design |
| Vitullo Architecture Studio, PC |
| W.H. Winegar & Son, Inc. Plumbing and Heating |
Contributors
| Tom Brune |
| Ashley Flory |
| Joan Francis |
| Diana Kohn |
| Loretta Neumann |
| Sam Sturgis |
| Richard and Laurie O’Connor |
| VFW Post 350 |
Special thanks to the long time support of the Tour by Larry Ravitz and Marika Partridge
On December 16, 2025, a standing room only crowd gathered at Historic Takoma to hear presentations from six graduate students from the University of Maryland Historic Preservation Program present the results of their research on the houses, people, and community of the historic African American area known as “The Bottom.” We were especially pleased to welcome a number of residents from Colby Avenue and the surrounding neighborhood.
The six presentations and the supporting research materials will be added to our research collections. We look forward to visiting and working with local residents to collect additional stories about the families and houses of Colby Avenue. This is an ongoing effort to document and understand the experiences of this and other historical African American communities in Takoma Park. Watch this space for details on access to the research materials.
If you are interested in sharing your stories of Colby Avenue and The Bottom, please let us know by sending a note to info@historictakoma.org or by leaving us a message at 301-270-2831.
Address
7328 Carroll Avenue
Takoma Park, MD 20912
301-270-2831
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