This site will now become my test site for new themes and plug-ins.

My wife loves to keep an eye on house prices in the area, information for the future so she says. I think the people renovating this property got to the market a little late. The previous 2 years prices were going up but as with much of the US prices have leveled off in the last 6 months or so. When she first noticed this house it was listed for 1.1 million USD. I think it was on the market for 6 months before thay decided to rent it out.

As for the crazy price. There is no land to speak of, the road is 10 feet from the front door and a railway runs behind it carrying 40 trains a day.

Kirsten’s Cafe is a local coffeehouse known for its baked goods. It has been a good few months since we last visited and so I was a little surprised when I walked past the other evening. They had taken over the shop next door and doubled in size and now had a more modern look. We stopped by last evening to checkout the new look and can report that the baked goods are still very good.

A new Fire Station was opened in Silver Spring in 2006. The building it replaced was almost 100 years old. The new building is shared with other County agencies including Montgomery County Department of Police.

Plaza Art is a long time Silver Spring business. I stopped to say hello to the two cats and noticed the sunset reflection in the window.

One of the original building at National Park Seminary. Looking at the plans it will be the middle of 2007 before they start to renovate it.

I finally went for a walk around National Park Seminary after living in the area for 5 years. I have passed by many times but never stopped. National Park Seminary has been in existence in one form or another since the 1880’s and most of its buildings have a European or Asian influence. After many years of neglect the historic buildings are being renovated and new home construction is taking place.

Click image for a larger version

In my first post I said that today would be the day that I started to post consistently. So to start with here is a general view of Downtown Silver Spring as you would see it as you enter from Washington DC.

Happy New Year.

I was just walking around this afternoon and came across this piece of redevelopment on Fenton Ave. There were also signs for Fenton Village on the other side of the road. It looks like redevelopment is not that far into the future.

The view towards Fenton Ave from Wayne Ave. This is an older part of Downtown but I believe there are plans to redevelop it in the future.