Silverspringism

Tucked away in this wooded sylvan setting off New Hampshire Avenue near White Oak is the Neighborhood of Quaint Acres in Silver Spring, Md.  A Washington Post Article describes the setting in this neighborhood 
to a tee. 

The setting is perfect for the Mid Century Modern houses that were built there in the early to late 1950's. There are 156 Homes, most were built between 1948 and 1974 and each lot is a little over an acre. These great examples of custom built Mid-Century Modern Homes are what makes Quaint Acres a "Mid Century Modern House Lover's Paradise".

The oldest home is the original farmhouse built in 1853 where Quaint Acres Drive and Applegrove Road meet inside the Entrance to the Subdivision. The old farmhouse was the home of Altus Lacy Quaintance, the namesake for the neighborhood. 

Contemporary Mid Century Modern architects and builders such as Charles Goodman and Frank Lloyd Wright  loved to make their homes seem as if they were one with nature.  Mid Century Modern Homes have simple, clean lines without a lot of embellishments. They use natural elements like stone, wood and glass, with a lot of floor to ceiling windows and vaulted ceilings. In a lot of the Modern homes, you get the feeling that you are outdoors when you are inside them. During this time period the homes in Quaint Acres were considered the epitomy of Luxury Living, much like the New Luxury Homes are thought of today.

This is a quiet, lovely neighborhood, where you can still find homes set back from the street on gorgeous, large, wooded lots, and NO McMansions what-so-ever.

Current Statistics for the Popular Quaint Acres Neighborhood of Silver Spring, MD 20904
This report includes all market activity for Single Family Homes in the Subdivision within the last 6 months of this Year  
March 21 - August 21, 2007

Currently there is 1 Active Listing
Active Listing is priced at $549,000
Active Listing has been on the market for 71 Days

1 Listing is Under Contingent Contract
List Price is $679,000
Contract is Contingent on the Sale of the Buyers House
Days on Market for this Listing - 109 Days

1 Listing is Under Contract (Non Contingent) Pending
List Price of Pending Sale is $749,000
Days on Market for this Pending is 333 Days


4 Listings have SOLD/CLOSED in the Last 6 Months
Average List (Asking Price) of Sold Listings - $707,225
Average SOLD Price - $682,750
Average Days on the Market for
SOLD Houses - 72 Days

 Tucked away in a wooded sylvan setting off New Hampshire Avenue near White Oak is the Neighborhood of Quaint Acres in Silver Spring, Md.  A recent Washington Post Article describes the setting in this neighborhood to a tee. 

The setting is perfect for the Mid Century Modern houses that were built there in the early to late 1950's. Contemporary Mid Century Modern architects and builders such as Charles Goodman and Frank Lloyd Wright  loved to make their homes seem as if they were one with nature. 

Mid Century Modern Homes have simple, clean lines without a lot of embellishments. They use a lot natural elements like stone wood and glass with of floor to ceiling windows and vaulted ceilings. In a lot of the Modern homes, you get the feeling that you are outdoors when you are inside them. During this time period the homes in Quaint Acres were considered the epitomy of Luxury Living, much like the the New Luxury Homes are thought of today. 

 In the 1950's and early 1960's, Silver Spring subdivisions like Quiant Acres and Neighboring Springbrook were considered to be Silver Spring's "Potomac".  

If you love these types of homes, as this DC area Blogger does, a drive through Quaint Acres in Silver Spring might make your day!

Rachel Carson, this pioneer activist stirred up controversy with her book "Silent Spring" She wrote the book in her house in the Quaint Acres Neighborhood of Silver Spring, Md. This fairly modest rambler with english basement was built in 1957 and sits on a heavily wood lot of a little over an acre. A Conservation park in Brookville and an elementary school in Gaithersburg are named after Carson. Rachel Carson lived in a cape cod style home on Williamsburg Drive in the Woodmoor Subdivision of Silver Spring, Md, many years before moving to her "Quaint Acres" house. Rachel also rented the brick colonial home at 904 Highland Drive in Woodside, Silver Spring, Md, when she first moved to the the area in 1938. 

Another Controversial woman and 1st Female Senator, Margaret Chase Smith, also lived in the Quaint Acres Neighborhood, just around the corner from Carson. This home, a mid century Modern style house with lots of glass sits on 1.05 Acres and was built in 1951.  "After many years of moving, Senator Smith finally found a permanent home in the Washington suburbs. In 1952 she began renting the lower level of a house located in Quaint Acres, Silver Spring, Maryland and owned by her Executive Assistant, William C. Lewis, Jr. Senator Smith continued to live there until she left Congress in 1973. In subsequent years, she stayed at the home during travels to Washington. She inherited the house in 1982, following the death of Bill Lewis. Senator Smith donated the property to Northwood University." It has since been sold twice. 
                           The house is unaltered today and looks the same as it did in this photo.

"Back in Quaint Acres, we had the original Quaintance house that guarded the orchards in that rolling terrain and many of the fruit trees. Margaret Chase Smith was there, the first woman senator and a person of stature, kindness, grace and seemingly inexhaustible patience for the kids in the neighborhood. Another lady of the neighborhood was soft-spoken, gentle-souled Rachel Carson, who lived in the house with the terrariums and found objects from the forest. I used to play in her house with her nephew Roger. Once, catching me idly digging at an ant hill, she explained what the ants do, how, why; and, by extension, how we should behave toward all creatures, and why." From Robert Aubry Davis Robert Aubry Davis is a native of Silver Spring, Maryland, and an eighth-generation Washingtonian. He hosts WETA's arts program Around Town on TV 26 and Millennium of Music on 90.9 FM.

About the neighborhood of Quaint Acres: located off New Hampshire Avenue near White Oak the neighborhood is bordered by Northwest Branch Park. There are 156 Homes. Most were built between 1948 and 1974 and each lot is a little over an acre The oldest home is the original farmhouse built in 1853 where Quaint Acres Drive and Applegrove Rd meet inside the Entrance to the Subdivision. The homes are great examples of custom Mid-Century Modern Houses and no two are alike. So far in 2006 there were 3 closed sales.  

This is a quiet, lovely neighborhood, where you can still find homes set back from the street on gorgeous, large, wooded lots, and NO McMansions! what-so-ever.


Click here for a tour of the Quaint Acres Neighborhood, Silver Spring

For more information about Silver Spring Neigborhoods and Real Estate  Visit  Silver Spring Real Estate