Takoma Park, Maryland

Takoma Park, Maryland
The intersection of Laurel and Carroll Avenues
The intersection of Laurel and Carroll Avenues
Official seal of Takoma Park, Maryland
Nickname(s): 
TKPK, "Berkeley of the East", "Azalea City"
Location of Takoma Park in Maryland
Location of Takoma Park in Maryland
Coordinates: 38°58′48″N 77°0′8″W / 38.98000°N 77.00222°W / 38.98000; -77.00222
CountryUnited States
StateMaryland
CountyMontgomery
Founded1883
Incorporated1890
Government
 • TypeMunicipal council-manager
Area
 • Total
2.09 sq mi (5.43 km2)
 • Land2.09 sq mi (5.41 km2)
 • Water0.01 sq mi (0.01 km2)
Elevation240 ft (70 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
17,629
 • Density8,434.93/sq mi (3,256.24/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Code
20912[3]
Area code(s)301, 240
FIPS code24-76650
GNIS feature ID2390660[2]
Websitetakomaparkmd.gov

Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City", is a Tree City USA and a nuclear-free zone. A planned commuter suburb, it is situated along the Metropolitan Branch of the historic Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, just northeast of Washington, D.C., and it shares a border and history with the adjacent Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Takoma. It is governed by an elected mayor and six elected councilmembers, who form the city council, and an appointed city manager, under a council-manager style of government. The city's population was 17,629 at the 2020 census.[4]

Since 2013, residents of Takoma Park can vote in municipal elections when they turn sixteen.[5] It was the first city in the United States to extend voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds in city elections.[5] Since then, the City of Hyattsville has followed suit.[6]

  1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  2. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Takoma Park, Maryland
  3. ^ "Takoma Park MD ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com. 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  4. ^ "QuickFacts: Takoma Park city". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Powers, Lindsay A. (May 14, 2013). "Takoma Park grants 16-year-olds right to vote". The Washington Post. During its Monday meeting, the Takoma Park City Council passed a series of city charter amendments regarding its voting and election laws, including one allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in city elections. ... With Monday's vote, Takoma Park became the first city in the United States to lower its voting age — which was previously 18 — to 16.
  6. ^ Bennett, Rebecca (January 6, 2015). "Council lowers Hyattsville voting age to 16 years old". Hyattsville Life & Times. Archived from the original on March 7, 2015.