A couple of weeks ago, I found the iconic Little House! And when I blinked again, there was a second discovery: The pink little thing is a Sears catalog house, a 1931 “Wexford,” to be precise!

If you ever were a kid in America in the past 75 years, or raised your kids here, you’ll probably remember Virginia Lee Burton’s book about the brave little holdover from the past. The house started on a green farm amongst gardens and trees, and gradually became enveloped in a growing city of other houses, then buildings, cars, highways, smog and a tram line.

It was an endearing story of tradition, change and survival. Much like the story of Bethesda, MD, over the past 70 years. A small town surrounded by farms even 50 or 60 years ago, downtown Bethesda it is now a buzzing urban center in the Washington DC suburbs. There are hundreds of restaurants and stores, businesses in high-rises, a Metro station, Microsoft’s East Coast offices, parking garages, theaters, and just about anything you might find in a big city.

We’re going to tell the story of the Little Wexford in this coming Friday’s Kit House of the Week edition on our DCHouseSmarts blog. Just this much: Now a commercial outlet, she really is the only little house left on her street.