Germantown, Maryland

===Development and master plan (1950–1980)===
[[File:Cider Barrel in Germantown, Maryland (1966), by Dan Brodt.jpg|thumb|Cider Barrel in 1966]]
In January 1958, the [[U.S. Atomic Energy Commission]] was relocated from its location in downtown [[Washington, D.C.]], to Germantown, which was considered far enough from the city to withstand a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] nuclear attack.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.er.doe.gov/SC-80/trail/history.htm |title=Redirection Page |work=U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090911094925/http://www.er.doe.gov/sc-80/trail/history.htm |archive-date=September 11, 2009 |df=mdy }}</ref> The facility now operates as an administration complex for the [[U.S. Department of Energy]] and headquarters for its Office of Biological and Environmental Research.<ref name="Biological"/>

Marshall Davis owned a farm located where [[Interstate 270 (Maryland)|I-270]] and Germantown Road intersect today.<ref name= once>{{cite news |title= Once-Rural Germantown Growing Up |first= Felicity |last= Barringer |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= September 19, 1977 |page= A1 |id= {{ProQuest|146738794}} }}</ref> After I-270 divided his farm in two, Davis decided to sell the last of his land to the International Development Corporation for about $1,300 per acre in 1955.<ref name= once/> [[Fairchild-Hiller Corporation]] bought the land for about $4,000 per acre in 1964, and it built an industrial park on the land four years later.<ref name= once/> Harry Unglesee and his family sold their farm near Hoyles Mill Road for less than $1,000 per acre in 1959.<ref name= once/> Other farmers soon sold their land to developers and speculators as well.<ref name= once/>

The Germantown Master Plan was adopted in 1967.<ref name= boasts>{{cite news |title= Germantown Master Plan Boasts a Time Schedule |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= August 11, 1973 |page= E21 |id= {{ProQuest|148394807}} }}</ref> The plan for the {{convert|17|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} area included a dense central downtown area and less dense development surrounding it.<ref name= revision>{{cite news|title=Revision Approved Of Germantown Plan: 'New Town' Plan Change Is Approved|first=Alice|last=Bonner|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 9, 1974|page=C1|id={{ProQuest|146220112}}}}</ref> In 1967, the [[Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority]], in its planning of the [[Washington metro]], considered having Germantown be the western terminus for the [[Red Line (Washington Metro)|Red Line]]. Ultimately, [[Shady Grove station|Shady Grove]] was selected instead.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://architectofthecapital.org/posts/2016/6/18/wmata-metro-proposal-1967 | title=WMATA's Metro Proposal from 1967 | date=June 19, 2016 }}</ref>

In 1974, the Montgomery County Council approved an amended plan written by the Montgomery County Planning Board.<ref name= boasts/> The amended plan included a downtown area and six separate villages, each comprising smaller neighborhoods with schools, shopping areas, and public facilities.<ref name= revision/> The amended plan also included the construction of a third campus for [[Montgomery College]] near the downtown area.<ref name= revision/> The same year, the completion of a sewer line helped the development and growth of Germantown.<ref name="Sewer">{{cite web|url=http://www.germantownmdhistory.org/?q=node/2|author=Germantown Historical Society|work=Germantown Historical Society|title=Germantown's History, A Brief Overview|quote=The area felt a new surge of energy with the building of interstate 270 in the 1960s. For a while the old and the new mixed as employees of the Atomic Energy Commission (now the Department of Energy) came to the old Germantown store for lunch and Mr. Burdette's cows often had to be cleared from the road. When the sewer line was completed in 1974 building in Germantown began in earnest.|access-date=March 10, 2013}}</ref>

During the 1970s, [[Wernher von Braun]], a German rocket scientist during [[World War II]], worked for the aerospace company [[Fairchild Industries]], which had offices in Germantown, as its vice president for Engineering and Development. Von Braun worked at Fairchild Industries from July 1, 1972, until his death on June 16, 1977.<ref name="Braun">{{cite web|url=https://www.biography.com/people/wernher-von-braun-9224912|title=Wernher von Braun Biography|publisher=A&E Television Networks, LLC|access-date=September 19, 2017}}</ref> The [[A-10 Thunderbolt]] and the landing gear of the [[Space Shuttle]] were both designed at these offices.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rockvillenights.com/2023/08/fairchild-apartments-in-germantown.html | title=Fairchild Apartments in Germantown recall the golden age of Montgomery County (Photos) }}</ref>

The Germantown Campus of [[Montgomery College]] opened on October 21, 1978. At the time, it consisted of two buildings, 24 employees, and 1,200 students.<ref name="Montgomery College">{{cite web|url=http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/edu/maps.aspx?id=23554|title=Montgomery College – Germantown Campus|publisher=Montgomery College|access-date=August 16, 2017|archive-date=August 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822103254/http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/edu/maps.aspx?id=23554|url-status=dead}}</ref> Enrollment had increased to five thousand students by 2003, with eighty employees across four buildings. A steel [[water tower]] modeled after the [[Earth]] can be seen from orbiting satellites in [[outer space]]. As of 2008, a forty-acre bio-technology laboratory was nearing completion.<ref>{{cite book|last=Coleman|first=Margaret|title=Then & Now: Around Germantown|url=http://www.worldcat.org/search?qt=wikipedia&q=isbn%3A9780738554167|access-date=March 8, 2013|year=2008|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|location=Charleston, South Carolina|isbn=978-0-7385-5416-7|page=72|quote=Montgomery College, Germantown Campus, opened October 21, 1978, with two buildings, 1,200 students, and a faculty of 24. A steel water towel modeled Planet Earth as seen from a satellite. By 2003, enrollment was 5,000 with 80 faculty members in four buildings. A 40-acre biotechnology laboratory is nearing competition in 2008.}}</ref>