Introduction: A Brief History
Silver Spring’s origins date back to the 19th century Blair summer home, named after Francis Preston Blair and daughter Elizabeth’s discovery of a mica-flecked spring. The spring’s name comes from the way the silver-gray stone flecks shimmer in the water. Today’s Acorn Park in southern Downtown Silver Spring is believed to be the site of the original spring.
Railroad, trolley, and road developments in the late 19th to 20th centuries prompted population growth. However, as a retail center, Silver Spring declined in the ‘50s after Wheaton Plaza –now Westfield Wheaton –opened. People and businesses flocked to the convenience malls offered. However, it wasn’t all down for Silver Spring; this mid-century slump made affordable housing and other business opportunities possible, shaping Silver Spring to be the highly diverse and vibrant neighborhood it is today.
County and state governments have taken steps to revitalize and further develop Silver Spring. With the designation as an A&E District and additions like the Civic Center, Veteran’s Plaza, a library, the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center, and the restored Silver Theater, small business growth has taken off. (Fenton Village, anyone?).
In the following section, I will try to cover all of Silver Spring’s iconic street art, but if you don’t see your favorite here, it may be covered in another post. Here are some of the creative organizations and iconic works of art that create the art district’s spiritual fingerprint.
Landmarks
AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center
Built in 1938 and restored and reopened in 2003, the AFI Silver Theater offers three theaters and space for office, meetings, and exhibition. Throughout the year, the AFI cinema hosts many cultural events like the Latin American Film Festival and their usual showings of classics and indie films. But my favorite part is the nostalgia: walking inside is almost like stepping into the past. The building is a stunning example of art deco.
Narcissus Quagliata, A Brushstroke of Discovery, 2002, 8500 Colesville Rd Discovery Communications, SS, MD
Spanning the old Discovery Communications headquarters’ wall on Colesville Road, Brushstroke of Discovery pushes the narrative boundary in retelling scientific achievements of humans discovering scientific wonders. Discovery Communications commissioned artist Narcissus Quagliata in 2002. The artist printed the silkscreen on enamel-coated steel to achieve brilliant color on a durable medium.
The work is supremely beautiful; along the wall, amorphous cosmic shapes rise into oceanic fossils evolving into cellular biomes and a behemoth Star Wars-esq structure. Hidden within the marvelous images, human forms can be seen intertwining with the artwork’s elements. Each person is as visually spectacular as their background, but they are remarkably relatable in their reactions. One person holds up their lava-encrusted hand to study, another melds into a tree of life-figure, asleep, a shadowy figure throwing paint into a sea of blue.
Spanning 170 feet, A Brushstroke of Discovery remakes the commuter morning walk into a remarkable, if brief journey.
Ray King, East / West Beacon, 1200 East-West Hwy, SS, MD
Standing 35 feet tall in front of an apartment building on East West Highway and Blair Road, the tensile steel structure forms an almond-esq tower. Well-named by artist Ray King, East / West Beacon was commissioned by Home Properties Inc. In sunlight, holographic glass shines beautiful prismatic light, reflecting vibrant colors amidst gleaming silver. A hundred years from now, the Beacon may yet be there, telling all its residents, you have come home.
CREATE Arts Center, 914 Silver Spring Ave, SS, MD
CREATE Arts Center & Tamal Hendel Gallery
CREATE Arts Center seeks to foster holistic growth in students through art, as well as provide art therapy and community outreach. K-12 students can attend classes and workshops. Yet not all people within a community receive quality art education. CREATE offers reduced and free classes to encourage and empower everyone.
At the time of writing, the attached Tamar Hendel Gallery recently exhibited a staff and community show. Next is a local artist Maryam Bahadoritoolabi and her creative journey of self-discovery following her immigration! With the spirit of Chelsea, New York’s bustling art hub, Tamar Hendel Gallery displays dynamic exhibitions.
Becky Tai, African Girl, 2023, 8221 Georgia Ave, SS, MD
Silver Spring and the DMV are home to the largest group of Ethiopian people outside of Ethiopia. Georgia Avenue hosts a corridor of Little Ethiopia. And in the case of Abyssina Restuarant, the art is written on the wall – literally.
In February 2023, local artist Becky Tai posted on a listserv her offer to create a mural free of charge for a Silver Spring business. Abyssinia restaurant owner Solomon Abdella replied to her. Over the course of three months, Solomon and Tai collaboratively conceived the mural and its symbols, with Tai carrying out the composition.
The mural features an Ethiopian woman standing tall, resplendent in her national colors and holding a small shield and sunflowers with grass. On her skirt rests a kebero, an East African drum, a soccer ball, and a jebena, a traditional coffee pot. A kebero makes for party and festival music, and a jebena in the morning makes for a coffee ceremony to savor, or a jebena buna. In the background, water rushes and pushes to the foreground a gebeta on a moseb, or a platter of communal food on a colorful basket.
Early in the mural’s conception, the background featured the colors of the Ethiopian flag . After research, Tai included “water for wisdom and life, Coqorsa grass [for] reconciliation and blessings, rain and good luck, sunflowers for rejuvenation and new life.” The life-giving water brings food for all, and the soccer ball, flora, kebero, and jebena, symbols for many kinds of happiness, decorate the restaurant. All underlined with the meaning behind Ethiopia’s yellow, green, and red.
Did I absolutely fall in love with this mural? Yes. Is it a beautiful vision of hope, harmony, and protection? Also yes.
In Becky Tai’s words, “I originally had a vision of working with business owners of color and contributing my art services to someone, or more than i e, business just to support them in some way. I’d seen the mural outside of Kefa Cafe and thought how wonderful it would be to see more murals like that around Silver Spring. In January of 2023,I told my partner as we were walking down Fenton, “I’m gonna paint a mural for a local business owner this year!” It was kind of a ridiculous thing to say because I’d never painted a mural and I didn’t know any business owners!! But it was just a vision I had and I believed it could happen.
We have so many unique businesses and I’d love to draw attention to more of them.”
Joel Bergner & Tom Block, Global Refugee Mural, 963 Bonifant St, SS, MD
Tucked behind Kefa Cafe, three larger than life figures splash color all along the wall. Commissioned by the Public Arts Trust Program of the Montgomery County Arts and Humanities Council, the mural’s conception originates with writer-artist and founder of the International Human Rights Art Movement Tom Block. Art activist Joel Bergner carried out the painting in his richly colorful and humanist style.
Based on interviews with refugees connected to the International Rescue Committee’s Refugee Resettlement Center in Silver Spring, the mural tells three stories. In the upper left third, a former mayor from the Democratic Republic of Congo escapes rebel violence with his family. The lower third depicts a refugee from Burma who escaped government persecution for visiting a Christian church group in the United States. The upper right third portrays a woman from Iraq who lost her brother with democratic beliefs to local fundamentalist militia.
Each figure stands, arms open; a universal gesture for peace.
Sally Calmer, Penguin Rush Hour, 8400 Colesville Rd, SS MD
Under the bridge next to the Silver Spring Metro on Colesville Road, you’ll find some unlikely commuters. Artist Sally Calmer Thompson painted on wood blocks to create the 100-foot mural portraying metro penguin commuters for a 1990 public art contest by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The work is a charming vision of whimsy with innumerable penguins waddling across a metro station, interacting with fare machines and reading a penguin newspaper.
Originally intended to only be displayed for a year, WMATA ultimately decided to make the installation permanent. However, the public work faced restoration challenges. Plywood naturally degrades over time.
Community support helped preserve the original wood. In 2005, the Silver Spring Regional Center and the Arts and Humanities Council for Montgomery County (AHCMC) created the Pennies for Penguins campaign to raise restoration funds.
With the construction of the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center, the Montgomery County Government commissioned Dodge Chrome to print aluminum panels printed with image scan results from the wood panels. The metal panels are coated for weather resistance and easily replaceable if damaged.
James Bullough, Untitled Mural, 920 Ellsworth Dr, SS, MD
In the opinion of a young local in her twenties, the mural atop the Majestic Theater encapsulates Downtown Silver Spring’s spirit the best.
Larger than life, a young African American woman soars above passersby, body turned to the sky in a pose evoking Michelangelo’s infamous Creation of Adam. On the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling, Adam receives an intangible spark from God, transforming him from God’s creation to man. Animated by her colorful backdrop, the Silver Spring woman in her jean shorts and wrinkled shirt seems to have been plucked from her morning walk by mystical creative forces. Yet her eyes are closed and arms almost limp in dual surrender and liberation.
Artist James Bullough strikes a delicate balance between her apparent physical vulnerability and implied abstract mystical force to create an image of creative empowerment. Here in Silver Spring, visitors and locals can reach this state of actualization. The untitled work implies anyone can experience a similar transformation in Silver Spring, and that there is an intangible creative force working in the area.
In a community rich with diverse backgrounds and actualizing dreams, the work’s message of power and freedom within a person is in the lifeblood of the neighborhood.
Arts on the Block
A non-profit, Arts on the Block provides apprenticeship, education, and creative opportunities for youth. The small organization has created numerous mosaics around Silver Spring and regularly creates new art on Fenton Street.
Currently, the chalk work Sweet Network colors the closed off pavement in front of the Regal Majestic movie theatre. The street changes artwork a few times a year, keeping the heart of Silver Spring vibrant and true to its urban roots.
And that’s a wrap for a look into Silver Spring’s Arts and Entertainment District! There’s a lot more in Silver Spring, but we also have two more places to cover. See you in the next District: Bethesda!
LaToya D. Peoples, Give Them Their Flowers, 2021, 8380 Colesville Rd, SS, MD
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