Montgomery County
Planning Department
2425 Reedie Drive, 14th Floor
Wheaton, MD 20902
Planning Department
2425 Reedie Drive, 14th Floor
Wheaton, MD 20902
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Caderock Springs (1962-1966)
Keyes, Lethbridge, and Condon, architects; Edmund Bennett, developer
National Register of Historic Places, Historic District
1965 Atrium Model
Like Potomac Overlook, Carderock Springs was developed by Edmund J. Bennett, with houses designed by Keyes, Lethbridge & Condon. The community uses the same principles of natural setting, modern architecture and banked architecture, here incorporated into a large-scale community. In Carderock Springs, a range of house models was designed for a variety of site conditions, unified by a design aesthetic consistent with Bennett’s vision of a visual community. Curvilinear, secluded streets serve wooded, sloping lots.
Historic District Boundary
With the exception of Carderock Springs' seven atrium houses, all Bennett- Keyes, Lethbridge & Condon houses had a two-slope roof, the low pitch of which precluded attics but made possible space-enhancing cathedral ceilings, as well as glazed transoms. The "traditional" roof also reassured both lenders and buyers as to resale values. Room configuration and fenestration were flexible enough to adapt to the topography of each site. By digging into the hillside, Bennett and Keyes, Lethbridge & Condon added usable space at relatively low cost per square foot. With very few exceptions, houses adopted a two-story layout. In Washington's close suburbs, where lots were relatively small, this cost-saving, stacked configuration was more prevalent than that of "ramblers." In a recent interview, Mr. Bennett stressed his concern for proper solar orientation, favoring south or southeast exposures for the major living spaces and minimizing western exposures.
Bennett preserved trees whenever possible. The sales brochure for the third section of Carderock Springs claimed: "We agree with Frank Lloyd Wright that the house should be 'of the site and not on it'." While most mass builders tried to erase accidents in the natural terrain if they were in the way of fast and cheap construction, Bennett did not hesitate to purchase heavily wooded and rugged sites abundant in Western Montgomery County. He used sections that were impossible or difficult to build upon for open or recreational space.
Careful attention was paid to streetscape design. Cars were not allowed to be parked permanently in driveways and visitors could not park at street curbs. Carderock Springs was the first subdivision in the county where electrical lines were buried underground. The Carderock Springs subdivision takes its name from a land tract that comprised much of the community, which formerly belonged to Lilly Moore Stone (1862-1960), who operated a stone quarry and was a local historian and civic leader. Bennett named a street in the subdivision in her honor.
Carderock Springs Clubhouse has an elegant shed-style design that brings light into an airy open meeting space. Built in 1962, it was an original community feature of the subdivision.
Model homes had clean lines inside and out, and avoided showiness. Their modified open plans, large expanses of glass in Mondrian-like rectangular patterns, and indoor-outdoor living features made them clearly modern but in an effortless, unassuming way. Balconies and terraces bring living space into the outdoors, while window walls bring the outdoors in.
Woodside model, floorplanCarderock Springs brochure, c 1962
More Resources and Information
Learn more about the architects who designed Caderock Springs.
Learn more about the Caderock Springs National Register of Historic Places listing and other modern subdivisons in Montgomery County.
Modern Architecture Tour
Last updated: February 12, 2014