Is the town of Chevy Chase named after the actor/comedian of the same name? Is Chevy Chase the actor named after the town? Today we’re talking about Chevy Chase MD and you’re going to find out the answers to this and more!

Location

Chevy Chase MD sits on the northwest border of Washington, DC. It’s a neighborhood if you’re on the DC side, and either a town or a CDP or Census Designated Place if you’re on the Montgomery County, Maryland side. What’s a CDP? That’s outside the scope of this video, but I’m going to tell you because it makes me sound smart.

A CDP is the counterpart to an incorporated place which are self-governing like cities or towns or villages that we’re used to hearing. The boundaries of a CDP can be slightly fluid as they are not legally recognized.

Chevy Chase is comprised of a bunch of sections. There’s the CDP of Chevy Chase, the Town of CC, then there are 5 self-governed villages – the Village of Chevy Chase, Chevy Chase Section 3, Chevy Chase Section 5, Martin’s Additions and North Chevy Chase.

The villages all have their own governing boards. To give you an example of how they operate, Village revenue is made up from half income taxes, 25% property tax and 25% speeding enforcement.
Metro is over the DC line on Wisconsin Ave, at the Friendship Heights stop.

History

Chevy Chase came into existence thanks to the trolley car which now offered transportation to downtown, and is known as a streetcar suburb. the area was named Cheivy Chace, a chace being a hunting ground, that belonged to one Colonel Joseph Belt, who inherited the title to the Province of MD in 1725, when he was 15. The name ties back to a 1388 battle over a “chace” in England, which was then memorialized in “the Ballad of Chevy Chase.”

Nevada Senator Francis Newlands began acquiring land here in the late 1800’s – the height of the Gilded Age when post-Civil War reconstruction was in full force and the city was growing by leaps and bounds. Newlands formed the Chevy Chase Land Company which was a major homebuilder, building homes along Connecticut Avenue from where it intersects with Florida Ave just north of Dupont, to where Chevy Chase MD is now. The Chevy Chase Land Co also built the manmade Chevy Chase Lake for not only recreational activities but also for power. The lake no longer exists, but you can see pictures of it on Chevy Chase Historical Society’s website. The trolley stop was across from the lake, which was where the 8100 Connecticut Avenue building now stands.

Did You Know

Chevy Chase is one of the wealthiest and most highly educated places in the country and for sure in the DC Area, Chevy Chase is home to many prominent DC Politicians.

Also the 4-H HQ is here as well as the Geico HQ. I really love that gecko. They do too, I have a client who worked there and she said, “that gecko is all over the place, they really overdo it.”

Real Estate

When people set out to live in Chevy Chase, you don’t really hear them saying they need to live in one village over another or the town or the CDP. People go to Chevy Chase to escape DC, but still have the convenience to the city amenities. Chevy Chase is residential with retail along the major corridor of Wisconsin Ave.

There are some apartments and condos here – mostly high rise communities with many amenities and high fees. These buildings have a New York City feel to them, and only New Yorkers won’t be blown away by the high monthly fees. Chevy Chase is mostly houses though, and while you can find a few below $1M, most of the Chevy Chase housing supply is $1M and up. Current median price is $1.4M

Kids

People move here for schools. Montgomery County Schools are highly rated and sought after and Chevy Chase schools are no joke. They are all top rated, you can’t go wrong here with public education.

Close by is Glen Echo Park which is an arts/cultural center with classes and camps and there’s Great Falls National Park MD.

Food

Surrounded by good food here. Clydes, a local DC favorite is there. But there are some hidden gems to know about in Chevy Chase neighboring Chevy Chase DC, Bethesda and Silver Spring.

What Chevy Chase doesn’t have in diverse ethnic food options can be somewhat solved by the parade of food trucks that arrive at lunch time!

Martin’s Addition has a little strip of stores and lay claim to some of the gems of Chevy Chase.

La Ferme – French, and of course named “most romantic restaurant” by Bethesda Magazine in 2016. They have country farmhouse decor, a large fireplace, live piano music and a covered patio if you want to sit outside.

Brookeville Market is small grocery store, also in Martin’s Addition.

Olympia Café has salads, wraps, and sandwiches, and is also in Martin’s Addition.

Parkway Deli is the NYC deli famed for their Matzo Ball Soup, in Silver Spring.

In DC you have Parthenon on Connecticut Avenue inside DC line and they serve some awesome Greek food. You heard it here from this Greek!

Macon Bistro & Larder is well known for its southern cooking – fresh biscuits, gourmet burgers. The “larder” side supplies carry out-ready pickles, cookies, and pies.

And there’s Broad Branch Market which is a gourmet deli / grocery store.

That’s just a sample, I can’t even get into Bethesda. There are tons and tons of restaurants up the street in Bethesda. We’ll get to those in a video just for Bethesda.

Grocery Stores are everywhere! Safeway on Connecticut Avenue inside the DC line, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh, MacGruders.

Fun

If you have $50K to drop for the initiation fee, you can hob nob at the exclusive private Chevy Chase Club in Chevy Chase Village. If you don’t have $50K, and are looking for something less expensive, like, free – then Meadowbrook Park is for you! You can pick up the trails into Rock Creek Park, there are horses and stables, and there’s Candy Cane City, the playground so named in Meadowbrook park because, well….the playground looks like candy canes.

I can’t talk to you yet about the fledgling retail scene on Wisconsin Ave. It’s closing up, revamping, and starting over. But there are still high-end shops there and this is definitely a work-in-progress.

Are There Places for Dogs?

No. Google Chevy Chase Dog Park and let me know how that works out for you. Oh, right, I’m supposed to be doing the work. Okay, in Sept 2019 – Chevy Chase Village board voted 5 to 2 to dismantle the only dog park Chevy Chase had. There’s a fantastic Washington Post Article that starts out with “Everyone knows there’s a problem with Chubbs” and that is the article you must find. The Cliff’s Notes Version is that they had a dog park, dogs barked, and then it was dismantled – costing the village hundreds of thousands of dollars and many contentious meetings. It was ugly, and it was memorialized online where you can read all about it.

If you want dog parks, there are many over the line in DC. And you always have the trails in Meadowbrook and Rock Creek Park, Great Falls and trail along the river.

So, was Chevy Chase the actor named after Chevy Chase the town. Or the village. Sort of.

Chevy Chase Maryland was named after the 1388 battle and CC the actor’s last name is really Chase. First name, Cornelius. But his grandmother called him Chevy, after the same Ballad.

If you have any questions about Chevy Chase Maryland, let me know!

 

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