Groundbreaking Moments: Five Stories of Dewberry Success
Dewberry was established on April 13, 1956. Early success depended upon the Washington region’s suburban growth, for which the firm provided surveying and land design services. Over the years, Dewberry grew and diversified to reach its current size of 2,000 employees in more than 40 locations.
The following are five key events in the firm’s history that contributed to its half-century of success.
Montgomery Village
In the 1960s, the residential development firm of Kettler Brothers began to pursue their ambitious vision for a special new planned community in Montgomery County, MD. Dewberry’s role as site/civil engineer for the multi-phase project would prove to be one of the firm’s largest endeavors during its early years. Montgomery Village was one of the nation’s first planned communities, and today, as it celebrates its 40th anniversary, the village is home to 40,000 residents. After completing Montgomery Village, Dewberry went on to serve as prime civil engineer on many other major communities, including Lake Braddock, Burke Centre, Franklin Farm, Kings Park, and Ashburn Farm in Northern Virginia, and Avenel in suburban Maryland.
FEMA Flood Insurance Mapping Support
A response to a small Commerce Business Daily advertisement in 1974 launched a relationship between Dewberry and the U.S. Federal Emergency Agency that has spanned more than 30 years. For its first contract, Dewberry was tasked with providing management and technical support to the agency (originally with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) for its nationwide flood insurance mapping program. In 1981, that support was expanded to include immediate response to major disasters. Over the years, Dewberry has assisted state and local governments throughout the United States with mapping and technical expertise, as well as rapid response to disasters including the Loma Prieta and Northridge earthquakes; Hurricanes Andrew, Hugo, Floyd, Isabel, Charley, Katrina, and Rita; the World Trade Center attacks; and other flood and fire disasters.
Filene Center, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
In 1982, fire destroyed the original Filene Center at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, VA. Wolf Trap is the nation’s only national park dedicated to the performing arts, and the Filene Center is the park’s largest venue—a beautiful, open-air arts pavilion. In a landmark architectural commission that would showcase Dewberry’s comprehensive services in building design, the firm was selected to design the new center—much like the original but with many enhancements. The project also revealed Dewberry’s proficiency in fast-track production—in an early-CAD era, 66 working drawings were developed in four months.
Goodkind & O’Dea Acquisition
 Dewberry designed the widening of this section of the Northern State Parkway in New York |
PSA Acquisition
 PSA-Dewberry designed the Southfield Public Library |
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