Bethesda

Bethesda is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849) The National Institutes of Health's main campus and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center are in Bethesda. According to the 2020 U.S. census, the community had a total population of 68,056. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. and is on the Potomac River, which was once home to the Piscataway and Nacotchtank tribes. The city avoided seeing action during the Revolutionary War, although it became a supply region for the fledgling Continental Navy. It has become the most used rail-trail in the United States, averaging over one million users per year. In 1930, Dr. Armistead Peter's pioneering manor house "Winona" was built on land that is now part of the National Institute of Health (NI) campus. In the 1960s, the city became the home of the famous Brainard Rock Pike, famous for its famous brainard. These famous landmarks include Brainard Pike, Edgemoor, and Battery Park, which is now known as the Rock Pike Country Club, and Stone Ridge School, now the Stone Ridge High School. The town's name is derived from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda, which in turn came from the Bethesda meeting house. It was named after a Presbyterian church built in 1820, which burned in 1849.

History

Bethesda is the primary city name, but also Westlake are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is Bethesda, Maryland. Bethesda is located in a region that was populated by the Piscataway and Nacotchtank tribes at the time of European colonization. Fur trader Henry Fleet became the first European to visit the area, reaching it by sailing up the Potomac River. Most settlers in colonial Maryland were tenant farmers who paid their rent in tobacco, and colonists continued to expand farther north in search of fertile land. Bethesda did not develop beyond a small crossroads village through the 19th century. In recent years, Bethesda has become the major urban core and employment center of southwestern Montgomery County. The National Naval Center (1940) and the NIH complex (1948) were built just north of the city. Bethesda is home to the Merle Pook Hill Country Club, which is now part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) The city is also the home of Metrorail, which was built in 1984 and has a Red Line station over the Red River. The Bethesda Meeting House, a Presbyterian church built in 1820, is located about 100 yards (91 m) south of the current city center. It burned in 1849 and was rebuilt the same year. In 1852, the postmaster general established a post office in Bethesda and appointed Rev. A. R. Smith its first postmaster. A streetcar line was established in 1890 and suburbanization increased in the early 1900s, and Bethesda grew in population. In 1930, Dr Armistead Peter's pioneering manor house "Winona" (1873) became the clubhouse of Woodmont Country Club.

Geography

Downtown Bethesda is centered at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue, Old Georgetown Road and East-West Highway. This intersection is approximately two and one-half miles from Washington, DC's western boundary, making Bethesda a close-in suburb of Washington. The main commercial corridor that passes through Bethesda is Maryland Route 355 (known as Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda and as Rockville Pike and Hungerford Drive in more northern communities) The Medical Center Metro stop lies approximately 0.7 miles north of the Bethesda stop, Medical Center, which serves the NIH Campus, the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 13.2 square miles (34 km²), of which 13.1 square miles of land and 0.1 sq miles (0.26 km²) of water. It is located in the Maryland suburbs of Bethesda, D.C., Rockville, and Frederick. The city is home to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), both of which are located in Bethesda. It also has the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, as well as the suicide prevention Lifeline for women and children at http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/Bethesda-Maryland-County-CDP-1-8-9-9.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 55,277 people, 23,659 households, and 14,455 families residing in the CDP. The average price of a four-bedroom, two-bath home in Bethesda in 2010 was $806,817 (which ranks it as the twentieth most expensive community in America) According to the 2000 Census, Bethesda was the best-educated city in the United States of America, with a population of 50,000 or more. 79% of residents 25 or older have bachelor's degrees, and 49% have graduate or professional degrees. According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in Bethesda was $117,723, and the median incomes for a family was $168,385. Bethesda is often associated with its neighboring communities, Potomac, Chevy Chase, Great Falls, Virginia and McLean, Virginia, for their similar demographics. Many commute to Washington, D.C. for work. The median age of Bethesda is 41 years, with 21.8% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 17. 2% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 84.0 males. The per capita income was $58,479. About 1.7% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line.

Landmarks

The headquarters of defense conglomerate Lockheed Martin, managed health care company Coventry Health Care and hotel and resort chains Marriott International and Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. are located in Bethesda. The Discovery Channel also had its headquarters in Bethesda before relocating to Silver Spring in 2004. In the summer of 2021, Fox Television Stations will relocate the broadcast facilities of its Washington-area television stations, WTTG and WDCA, to Bethesda. Bethesda has two farmers markets, the Montgomery Farm Woman's Cooperative Market and the Bethesda Central Farmer's Market. Also located in downtown Bethesda is one of the Madonna of the Trail monuments, erected by the National Old Trails Association working in concert with the Daughters of the American Revolution; President Harry S Truman presided over the dedication of the Bethesda monument, on April 19, 1929. Walter Reed Medical Center and The Bethesda Theater are two important Art Deco architectural structures in the suburbs surrounding Washington, D.C. Bethesda Row has developed much of the west side of downtown Bethesda into an area called Bethesda Row, incorporating principles of new urbanism and a mixed-use district. The Capital Crescent Trail which follows the old tracks of the B&O Railroad stretching from Georgetown, Washington, DC., to Silver Springs, MD. Bethesda is also home of the exclusive Burning Tree Club, Bethesda Country Club, and Bethesda Big Train, a summer collegiate baseball team. A number of ambassador residences are in Bethesda, including Bangladesh, Haiti, Cape Verde, Guyana, Honduras, Lesotho, Morocco, Nicaragua, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe.

Education

Bethesda is home to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The Writer's Center in Bethesda publishes Poet Lore, the longest continuously running poetry journal in the United States. The Washington Japanese Language School (WJLS, Washington Nihongo Gakk), a supplementary weekend Japanese school, holds its classes at the Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda. The institution, giving supplemental education to Japanese-speaking children in the Washington, D.C. area, was founded in 1958, making it the oldest Japanese government-sponsored supplementary school in the U.S. Bethesda is also home to National Intelligence University, a federally funded and operated health science university. It is within Montgomery County Public Schools.Private schools located in Bethesda include:Feynman School, St. Andrew's Episcopal School, and St. Bartholomew (Blue Ribbon elementary school PK8) The Harbor School is a private school in Bethesda, as is Washington Waldorf School. The Woods Academy is also located in the Bethesda area. The school plans to open a new preschool, and elementary campus in Bethesda by 2022. The secondary campus/administrative headquarters (Forest Road Campus) and the preschool campus (Bradley Campus) of Rochambeau French International School is in Bethesda; the primary mission of USU is to prepare graduates for service in the Medical Corps of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Public Health Service. The university consists of the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Nursing, a nursing school.

Economy

notable companies based in Bethesda include: Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda SoftWorks, and Bethesda Soft Works. Bethesda is also home to the "World of Warcraft" virtual reality game series. Bethesda has its own version of the Internet called the World of Warcraft. The game is based on the world's largest computer network, the World of Warcraft. Bethesda Softlanders is based in the town of Bethesda, Maryland. The town has a population of around 100,000 people. The city is home to several major sports teams, including the Washington Wizards and the Washington Redskins. It is also the home of the NFL's Washington Redskins and the NBA's Washington Mystics. It has a reputation for being a great place to play football and other sports. It also hosts a number of other sports leagues, such as the NFL, NBA, and Major League Soccer. It was the birthplace of the NBA in the 1980s and 1990s, and the NHL in the late 1990s. It's also known as the "Winter Olympics" in the U.S. and "The Winter Games" in Europe. It hosted the Winter Olympics from 1998 to 2002. In 2010, the city hosted the first Winter Olympics in the United States. The games were held in the Winter Games, which were held at the Mall of America. The Winter Games were held from January 28 to February 7. The first Winter Games took place in the city's Millennium Park, which is located on the outskirts of the city. The tournament was the first to be held in a major U.N. city.

Management

Downtown Bethesda is managed by the Bethesda Urban Partnership, a non-profit organization established in 1994 by Montgomery County. The city's downtown area is one of the oldest in Washington, D.C. and is home to the National Mall and the Mall of America. The Bethesda River runs through the center of the city. The river is a major tourist attraction, drawing thousands of visitors each year. The River is also home to a number of restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues. The area is also the home of the Bethesda Symphony Orchestra, which has been performing for more than 50 years in the city's historic core. The Symphony Orchestra is based in Bethesda, Maryland, and has performed at the Symphony Orchestra Hall of Fame for the past 20 years. It also plays a major role in the Bethesda River Festival, which takes place every year in the summer in the heart of the downtown Bethesda area. It is also known as the "Summer of Bethesda" because of its summertime activities. The Summer of Bethesda is the largest music festival in the area, with more than 1,000 concerts and events taking place every summer. The summer of 2013 was the first year the Bethesda Summer Symphony Orchestra performed in the downtown area. The Spring of 2014 will mark the 50th anniversary of the summer of Bethesda's founding. The spring of 2015 will be the 100th anniversary, with a series of events planned for downtown Bethesda, including the opening of a new park. The first Summer of 2015 is the Summer of 2016, with events planned to celebrate.

Transportation

Washington Metro's Red Line services two primary locations in Bethesda: the downtown area at the Bethesda station, and the area near the National Institutes of Health. The Maryland Transit Administration's Purple Line, a light rail line currently under construction, will provide a direct connection from Bethesda to Silver Spring, the University of Maryland, College Park, and New Carrollton. Long-distance buses include Vamoose Bus and Tripper Bus, both of which provide service from downtown Bethesda to the proximity of Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Local buses include: WMATA's Metrobus, the Bethesda Circulator, and Ride On. The Montgomery County Ride On bus system also has several routes through Bethesda, including a free loop bus that operates Monday-Saturday and covers most of downtown Bethesda. A privately owned company provides service from Bethesda 4681 Willow Ln, Bethesda, MD 20814 at the corner of Wisconsin Ave., opposite side of Panera Bread, to the same side of Bethesda's Farm Women's Market near Penn Station, in close to proximity to Port Authority Bus Terminal. A private company also provides service between Bethesda and New York, between 8th and 9th Ave near Penn station and on the opposite end of the street from Panera. The company is based in Bethesda, Maryland, and has offices in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. It is not known if the company has any plans to expand its service to New York or to other cities in the U.S.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Bethesda, Montgomery County, Maryland = 42.6. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 50. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 98. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Bethesda = 4.1 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 68,056 individuals with a median age of 43.5 age the population grows by 1.88% in Bethesda, Montgomery County, Maryland population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 5,131.65 residents per square mile of area (1,981.30/km²). There are average 2.29 people per household in the 24,217 households with an average household income of $127,634 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 5.40% of the available work force and has dropped -2.42% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 29.76%. The number of physicians in Bethesda per 100,000 population = 563.6.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Bethesda = 43.8 inches and the annual snowfall = 21.4 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 115. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 197. 89 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 24.3 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 43, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Bethesda, Montgomery County, Maryland which are owned by the occupant = 65.64%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 48 years with median home cost = $692,110 and home appreciation of -9.19%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $12.02 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $8,183 per student. There are 14.9 students for each teacher in the school, 340 students for each Librarian and 308 students for each Counselor. 2.50% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 30.36% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 48.40% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).