A look back at the early years of the Kenwood Place condos in Bethesda (Photos)

The Kenwood Place condominiums remain one of the best-kept secrets in multifamily housing in Bethesda. Pricing has usually been lower here at 5301 Westbard Circle than in downtown Bethesda, and the units are far more spacious than almost anything downtown. The initial advertising touted "condos as big as a house."

Check out this wacky map that was used in early marketing of the property. It looks like Kenwood Place is a block away from all of the prime, upscale shopping that is hard to find in today's Friendship Heights: Woodward & Lothrop, Lord & Taylor and Mazza Gallerie - a big R.I.P. to all three. The map even shows Ward Circle and Nebraska Avenue! Scale was clearly an issue here. Location, location, location!

Then there was this controversial marketing campaign, "Should people over forty own a condominium?" This was apparently a hot topic at the time. So were those outfits! The ad copy sets the scene familiar to Kenwood Place residents and neighbors in that "prestigious neighborhood." Navigate the "long winding driveway" in your town car, to the "grande entrance portico, stately lobby...verdant gardens and picturesque swimming pool."

Kenwood Place was converted to condominiums in 1981. The mortgage rate that year was a far cry from recent times, that's for sure. Rates have changed, but Kenwood Place is here to stay. Its next door neighbor, the Westwood Shopping Center, is undergoing a major transformation into the Westbard Square mixed-use development, with a new Giant, new retail, rental apartments and townhomes. Whether it's big units for lower prices, or Springfield residents wanting to use that dang back gate to get to the Giant, some things never change at Kenwood Place!