There is perhaps no more eloquent reminder of Rockville's post-war transformation from small town to booming suburban city than the unprecedented growth and diversity of its houses of worship.  Beginning in the 1950s, thousands of families, attracted to the area by employment opportunities and affordable housing, took up residence near Rockville and settled into the patterns of modern middle class life.  Established institutions, such as First Baptist Church and St. Mary's Catholic Church, absorbed the influx of new members by building larger structures, while new facilities for Unitarians, Jews, Seventh Day Adventists, and other denominations were constructed.  Architecturally, Rockville’s new religious buildings were modernist or modern adaptations of traditional church design.  These institutions continue to respond and adapt to contemporary challenges.

St. Mary's Catholic Church, one of the oldest parishes in Montgomery County, was established in 1817 and enlarged several times thereafter.  By the 1950s, the small Gothic-style chapel was inadequate to meet the demands of Rockville's population, despite the creation of new parishes throughout the area.  In 1967, a modernist central plan church with a distinctive dome and parabolic windows was dedicated on Veirs Mill Road.  Since that time, it has become a signpost of Rockville’s eclectic architectural streetscape.

Rockville's black population did not increase during the post-war period, but its churches remained a cornerstone of community life and activism.  In 1961, Mt. Calvary Baptist Church rebuilt the original 1902 edifice in Lincoln Park as an imposing brick sanctuary with a rose window and high gable roof.  A triple-gabled annex was built in 1987 to accommodate church functions.

Rockville's first synagogue, Tikvat Israel (originally Beth Tikva) was completed in 1964, the same year a survey documented that Montgomery County was home to a majority of the metropolitan area’s Jewish population.  Located on Baltimore Road, Tikvat Israel is a distinctive modernist structure sheltered by mature trees and landscaping.  An educational building opened in 2004 to serve the needs of this growing congregation.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville, adjacent to Welsh Park in West Rockville, was completed in 1964, following nearly a decade of planning.  Secluded in a park-like atmosphere, the facility consisted of four campus-style buildings surrounding a central courtyard cloister.  This year, UUCR will dedicate a spacious new sanctuary, a long-awaited addition that integrates the natural setting into
the architectural design.

First Baptist Church has occupied three sites in Rockville since 1821.  Initially housed on Jefferson Street, where the cemetery remains, the congregation moved in 1908 to a new facility at Jefferson and Washington Streets, and in 1958, added an educational building (today the Garza Building).  In 1971, the congregation relocated to Adclare Road adjacent to I-270.  The modern church, with its folded plate roof and entry canopy, features stained glass windows recycled from the 1908 structure.  Like other religious communities in Rockville, First Baptist is currently planning an addition to its existing facility.

As Peerless continues to survey Rockville’s recent past, we document the historic role that its religious communities and institutions have played in the City’s dynamic architectural character.