Is that Silver Spring or Wheaton? Both, actually.

Here's a fun game. Try to figure out where Silver Spring is.

Where are all those neighborhoods far from downtown that claim the same name as the unincorporated city? How can the Forest Glen, Wheaton and Glenmont Metro stations all somehow have Silver Spring addresses?

If you're a native like me, you know that if you cross a random block, you might suddenly find that you're in Olney (Georgia Avenue) or Rockville (Aspen Hill Road) or Chevy Chase (East-West Highway) or Burtonsville (Old Columbia Pike).


Or you can be in Silver Spring and Wheaton at the same time.

Say you're visiting the Mid-County Regional Center next to the Wheaton Metro station  for a meeting of the Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee (WUDAC). Can't get more Wheaton than that, right?

But if you type in the address using either Wheaton or Silver Spring, the Postal Service search will give you the same 20902 zip code. US Postal Service Zip Code Lookup.

Or if you type in 20902, you learn that Silver Spring is the preferred address and Wheaton is acceptable.

That sort of sums up the point of this blog, which is all about Silver Spring and surrounding neighborhoods.

Any other place might be acceptable. But I prefer Silver Spring.