Happy days are here again

"Scene of the Battle," this photograph of the central Silver Spring Liquor Dispensary (the others were located in Bethesda and Rockville) appeared in the December 7, 1933 Washington Herald.  Courtesy Washingtoniana Division, DC Public Library.

The crowd had assembled here in anticipation of the arrival of the first legal liquor available for purchase in a long time.  Thirteen years earlier the United States had gone "dry" with the ratification of the 18th Amendment, which prohibited "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors." 

While the end of Prohibition was a big deal for the rest of the country, it was really a big deal for those who lived in Montgomery County where the sale of whiskey had been banned since 1880! 

Crowds had been gathering throughout the day around the dispensary awaiting the arrival of the delivery truck from Baltimore.  The fall of dusk only raised the crowd's anticipation level and finally, at 6:30 p.m., a converted moving van accompanied by F.S. Barnard, division manager for the Glenmore Distillery of Louisville, KY, pulled up in front of the building.   
Safely packed inside the truck was 150 cases of assorted rye, Scotch, gin, brandies, and wines valued at $6,000 (nearly $100K in 2008 dollars). 

The waiting men and women greeted the arrival of the precious cargo with "a howl heard for blocks" and neighboring men, women and children "left stores and homes and ran down the street to see the first legal whiskey sold in the county in 53 years," according to the next day's editions of the Washington Herald and the Washington Daily News. 

With scores of men wearing fedoras battling their way to the liquor dispensary counter, Silver Spring lumber dealer R.P. Leizear managed to buy the first bottle from manager (I kid you not) John Walker.  Mr. Leizear purchased a quart of Old Tom Harding blended rye, cost $3 (about $50 in 2008 dollars).  A short time later Leizear returned to announce that he was going to save his initial purchase as a "keepsake" and bought another bottle.  I wonder how long his original purchase lasted? 

More pushing and shoving followed as the crowd attempted to get into the dispensary.  A detail of Montgomery County police officers was quickly called in.  The crowd was dispersed from the dispensary's interior and police allowed five or six at a time back in to make purchases. 

By 9:00 p.m., with supplies almost exhausted, sales were halted and the door closed, leaving more than 1000 disappointed customers standing empty-handed outside.   
The Washington Post reported the next day that some customers, who managed to purchase bottles, took them down a side street and opened them up with glee in order to get a taste of the "real stuff." 
I
t was noted that the majority of the customers were Washingtonians who were guaranteed by D.C. Police Chief Ernest W. Brown to not be "molested" at the District line when they returned home (Prohibition did not end in the District of Columbia until February 28, 1934). 
From this point forward in time, the history of 8400 Georgia Avenue becomes as hazy as the weekend bender suffered by Ray Milland in 1945 film The Lost Weekend. 

By 1935 the one-story brick structure was home to the Wilson Motor Co., a Pontiac automobile dealership.  On March 29, 1947, with the addition of a second-story sheathed in limestone, the newly named Kessinger Building had been leased to seven tenants.  All of them had Bonifant Street addresses except Goodman Electric, which occupied the ground floor at 8400 Georgia. 

In 1954 Guardian Federal Savings Association replaced Goodman Electric.  Guardian proudly claimed to be the first FSA in the U.S. to establish a 25-bell carillon on the roof of its building.  The carillon not only marked each hour from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. but every day at noon it treated downtown shoppers to the Lord's Prayer.  At  6:00 p.m. those on their way home from work could also hear a classical piece of music.  Guardian's motto was that "Thrift supports Freedom, and Faith conquers Fear, and these things have made America great."   

"We Invite You - To our opening...We want you to see this new building...It promises to be a mecca of service to meet the ever increasing demands of Montgomery County's discriminating residents," this advertisement appeared in the March 28, 1947 Maryland News.  Courtesy Silver Spring Historical Society.

This circa 1954 "Eaglecolor" postcard features a photograph of the Guardian Building taken by R.F. Body.  Note the applied horizontal Guardian sign that was placed over the originally engraved Kessinger name and the loudspeaker to the left of the clock that broadcast the daily carillon musical selections.  Collection of Jerry A. McCoy.

All of the history that occurred on this corner was demolished in the late 1980s to accommodate--no surprise here--the automobile.  Construction of a nearby Metro parking garage required the widening of Bonifant Street to support the increased number of vehicles that would use the street.  With the razing of 8400 Georgia the building occupied today by Piratz Tavern at 8402 Georgia became the corner building.   

The footprint of the Silver Spring Liquor Dispensary, 8400 Georgia Avenue, occupied the red brick sidewalk and a portion of the west-bound lane of Bonifant Street.  The vertical stack of eleven complete quoins to the left of the Piratz Tavern entrance are all that remain of this building.  Photo taken December 2, 2008 by Jerry A. McCoy.

The next time you walk past the northwest corner of Bonifant and Georgia, make sure you look at the only remaining piece of 8400 Georgia Avenue.  There, to the left of the Piratz Tavern entrance, is a 15-ft. high column of eleven limestone quoins that were part of the liquor dispensary's original 1930s façade. 

If you can share with the Silver Spring Historical Society photographs, memorabilia, or memories of any of the businesses profiled in this article, please contact SSHS at PO Box 1160, Silver Spring, MD 20910-1160 or email  sshistory@yahoo.com.  The society's web site is www.sshistory.org.  Future residents of Silver Spring will thank you!