The Bethesda Historical Society’s Hank Levine, who last year led a Montgomery History presentation on the development of Bethesda from 1750-1920, will advance the story of one of the County’s most prominent communities in The Roots of Modern Bethesda—Part II. The online presentation will start at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 27.
In his original look at the evolution of Bethesda, Mr. Levine addressed the geography and advances in transportation that set the stage for the development of the community.
In his continuing look at Bethesda, Mr. Levine will tell the story of how in the century after the end of World War I Bethesda became the affluent suburb and urban center of today.
The presentation from Montgomery History will explore how the rise of the automobile brought new neighborhoods and a growing central business district. He will discuss the zoning and “planning wars” of the 1960s-1990s shaping the community. He also will talk about how Metrorail jump-started the growth of a town into a more of a city.
Mr. Levine heads up the Heritage Trail and Tour Committee of Bethesda History. For the past six years, he has been a docent at the Library of Congress, leading tours of the largest library in the world. He has lived in the Washington area for 43 years (38 in Bethesda) and has been active in community organizations ranging from the Edgemoor Civic Association to the Washington Hebrew Congregation (of which he is a past president and historian). He is a graduate of Yale (where he was a history minor and led tours for prospective students) and Harvard Law School. He retired from private practice in 2018 after 40 years as a telecommunications/technology lawyer.
Register to view the presentation on July 27 by going to Webinar Registration - Zoom.
To view Part I of the history of Bethesda, go to the Montgomery History website.
