Silver Spring, Maryland

Silver Spring, Maryland
Census-designated place
Clockwise from top: AFI Silver, Veteran's Plaza and the civic building, Downtown Silver Spring from the Metro station, Acorn Park, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station
Clockwise from top: AFI Silver, Veteran's Plaza and the civic building, Downtown Silver Spring from the Metro station, Acorn Park, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station
Location of Silver Spring in Montgomery County, Maryland (left) and of Montgomery County in Maryland (right)
Location of Silver Spring in Montgomery County, Maryland (left) and of Montgomery County in Maryland (right)
Silver Spring is located in Maryland
Silver Spring
Silver Spring
Silver Spring is located in the United States
Silver Spring
Silver Spring
Coordinates: 38°59′46″N 77°01′41″W / 38.99611°N 77.02806°W / 38.99611; -77.02806
CountryUnited States
StateMaryland
CountyMontgomery
Area
[1]
 • Total
7.91 sq mi (20.49 km2)
 • Land7.88 sq mi (20.42 km2)
 • Water0.03 sq mi (0.08 km2)
Elevation
[2]
272 ft (83 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
81,015
 • Density10,277.18/sq mi (3,968.02/km2)
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (EDT)
ZIP Codes
  • 20901–20907
  • 20910
Area codes301, 240
FIPS code24-72450
GNIS feature ID2390301[2]
Highways

Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, it is an edge city[3] with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 census,[4] making it the fifth-most-populous place in Maryland after Baltimore, Columbia, Germantown, and Waldorf.[5][6]

Downtown Silver Spring, located next to the northern tip of Washington, D.C., is the oldest and most urbanized area of Silver Spring, surrounded by several inner suburban residential neighborhoods inside the Capital Beltway. Many mixed-use developments combining retail, residential, and office space have been built since 2004.[7]

Silver Spring takes its name from a mica-flecked spring discovered there in 1840 by Francis Preston Blair, who subsequently bought much of the area's surrounding land. Acorn Park, south of downtown, is believed to be the site of the original spring.[8][9][10]

  1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  2. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Silver Spring, Maryland
  3. ^ Garreau, Joel (1991). "Chapter 11: The List: Edge Cities Coast to Coast". Edge City: Life on the New Frontier (1st ed.). New York, NY: Doubleday. pp. 425–438. ISBN 978-0-385-26249-1. LCCN 91010548. OCLC 246864569. OL 1532880M. Archived from the original on January 7, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  4. ^ "QuickFacts: Silver Spring CDP, Maryland". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  5. ^ "Geographic Comparison Table, 2010 Census Redistricting Data Summary File, Maryland: By Place". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 27, 1996. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  6. ^ United States Census Bureau (2017). 2013–2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Silver Spring CDP, Maryland. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2019. Margin of Error ±1,785. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ "Silver Spring Regional Center – Downtown Silver Spring". Montgomerycountymd.gov. February 3, 2006. Archived from the original on March 4, 2010. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
  8. ^ "Acorn Urban Park". MontgomeryParks.org. October 30, 2018. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019. According to local history, in 1840 a newspaper publisher and friend of President Andrew Jackson, Francis Preston Blair, discovered the spring bubbling up through shiny mica sand.
  9. ^ Sheir, Rebecca (April 4, 2014). "The Man Who Discovered Silver Spring's 'Silver Spring'". Washington, D.C.: WAMU 88.5 – American University Radio. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019. Silver Spring Historical Society president Jerry McCoy at Acorn Park: the site thought to be where Preston Blair discovered the original 'silver spring'.
  10. ^ "A Brief History of Silver Spring" (PDF). MontgomerySchoolsMD.org. Cannon Road Elementary School, Montgomery County Public Schools. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019. Acorn Park, tucked away in an area of south Silver Spring away from the main downtown area, is believed to be the site of the original spring.