Wilson Estate, Tree Tops, 9100 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Montgomery County, MD

Significance: Constructed in 1926 to the design of architect Edward Clarence Dean, Tree Tops served until 1942 as the main residence for Luke I. and Helen W. Wilson and the focal point of a large estate that included several cottages and outbuildings. Tree Tops was the name originally given to the entire estate, but has come to be associated specifically with the main house over time. Building 15K is the name NIH has applied to the building. Tree Tops was one of several large estates that once lined Rockville Pike, and as such it is important for the role it played in the establishment of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, as the Wilson donated numerous acres over a period of time from 1935 to 1993, including Tree Tops itself in 1942.
Survey number: HABS MD-1105-A
Building/structure dates: 1926 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1942 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: after. 1970- before. 1980 Subsequent Work