From Bethesda Magazine: History, architecture, gardens are highlights of this Kensington tour

From its curving streets to its lush gardens, the town will be on full display

June 2, 2026 3:36 p.m.

Flinn Park is one of Kensington’s public greens. Photo credit: Kariann Zentz/Town of Kensington

The Maryland House & Garden Pilgrimage will come to the Town of Kensington on June 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a tour of historic homes, sites and private gardens. There are eight homes on the self-guided tour, some offering looks around the grounds and private gardens, and others allowing visitors to go inside the main levels.

Kensington’s historic train station will be open to visitors for the tour. Photo credit: Kariann Zentz/Town of Kensington

Other landmarks that will be open on tour day include the train station, town hall and the Compass Art Center, along with sites in Ken-Gar, a historically Black neighborhood. Tickets are $50 in advance or $60 on the day of the event. While the tour is walkable, shuttles will be available for people with limited mobility. For more information, visit mhgp.org/kensington.

Here are six highlights planned for the tour.

FOUND OBJECTS

The town’s history is tied to Washington, D.C., developer Brainard Warner, who bought property in the area and sold parcels to other D.C. elites. Several summer houses were built in the 1890s as getaways from the city. Like the other homes on the tour, 10304 Kensington Parkway, a Queen Anne-style residence built in the late 1800s, has been renovated. The owners plan to set up a shadow box display featuring artifacts and objects they found in the walls of the house during the renovation, according to Kyle Richards, one of the event’s co-chairs.

- Advertisement -

10234 Carroll Place — This home near Noyes Children’s Library will be open on the tour. Photo credit: Daniel Rad Photography

A NEW CHAPTER

The Maryland House & Garden Pilgrimage selects a historic preservation project to receive the proceeds of each tour it sponsors. For the Kensington tour, proceeds will benefit the Noyes Children’s Library Foundation, which is raising funds for the renovation of the one-room space built in 1893. Carrie Storer is one of the co-chairs of this year’s event and her 1898 Queen Anne-style home will be one of the stops on the tour. “It’s a great vantage point to sort of look across the street at the library and talk about the project,” Storer says.

SUNNYCREST

Dr. Katharine Chapman lived and worked in this Georgian Revival-style home built in 1901 at 3924 Baltimore St. Chapman delivered many babies there during her 60-year practice from 1926 to her death in 1986, according to Richards. You’ll be able to go into the house and see archival material about what it was like almost 100 years ago, Storer says.

A PRIZE-WINNING TREE

There’s a state champion magnolia tree at 3929 Baltimore St., one of the stops on the tour. With a sprawling canopy and massive trunk, it is recognized by the Maryland Big Tree Program.

KEN-GAR

There will be videos and displays on the history of Ken-Gar, a historically Black neighborhood, at the First Baptist Church of Ken-Gar at 3922 Hampden St. Video topics will include the Leonard D. Jackson Community Center, which was once a two-room schoolhouse for Black children.

THE WARNER MANSION

The Warner Mansion, a Queen Anne-style residence built in 1892 and the former residence of Brainard Warner, will offer visitors a glimpse inside its walls for the first time in decades. After changing hands, Montgomery Parks sold the mansion and a carriage house to Washington Landmark Construction in June 2025. The buildings are being redeveloped into condominiums.

This appears in the May/June 2026 issue of Bethesda Magazine.

Digital Partners

Originally published at Bethesdamagazine