Bethesda

…a group of communities (Bethesda and several associated with Chevy Chase) that prior to 1949 were governed by county commissioners and thereafter came mostly under the jurisdiction of chartered, popularly elected councils. The district takes its name from the Bethesda Presbyterian Church, built in 1820 on the Georgetown-Frederick Pike…

>Bethesda–Chevy Chase is a growing metropolis of shops, high-rise office buildings, restaurants, and expensive homes and condominiums. Strathmore is an arts and exhibition complex in North Bethesda. The unincorporated city of Silver Spring is a far-reaching northern suburb of Washington that is ethnically and economically…

… (the county seat), and the Bethesda–Chevy Chase area, home of the National Institutes of Health and other research facilities, many of which are linked to the federal government. The economy is dominated by the service industry, especially business, engineering, research, and health services. Also important are tourism, manufacturing, and agriculture.…