College Park grew up around the University of Maryland and along the Route 1 corridor. Calvert Hills and Old Town sit right next to campus, with houses built from the early 1900s into the 1950s, and Calvert Hills is a designated historic district. Berwyn and Hollywood to the north filled in with bungalows, Cape Cods and brick houses through the middle of the century.
Many of these houses have small closed kitchens, a single full bathroom and hardwood floors hiding under later carpet. Some have been rental housing for students for years and need more than cosmetic work when an owner takes them back. The city is also home to College Park Airport, which opened in 1909 and is known as the oldest continuously operating airport in the world.