Leafy Spaces And Growing Family Trees

Residents of Ashton Heights can walk to schools, Metro, and the busy restaurants and stores of Clarendon and Ballston, then retreat to their quiet neighborhood where towering oaks shade vintage houses and wide front porches.

When Erik VandeMeulebroecke and his wife, Patricia, moved to Ashton Heights five years ago, their wish list included "an old house with charm, a front porch and a neighborhoody feel." They also wanted to avoid long commutes.

Their bungalow, built in 1922, is one block from Wilson Boulevard, one of Arlington County's major thoroughfares. Erik bikes six miles to his office near the White House. "It's all about not having to depend on a car," he said. "We looked at Ashton Heights from a location standpoint but were pleasantly surprised with the community we found."

Longtime residents who are aging in place give Ashton Heights a stability that is comforting to newcomers. Third-generation folks are moving into houses their grandparents once owned, and multiple generations share Washington-Lee High School alumni status.

Ashton Heights is also alive with the chatter of little voices. Although Long Branch Elementary School is within walking distance for many, two of the VandeMeulebroecke children join about 20 other youngsters and their parents at their block's school bus stop on weekday mornings. Young trick-or-treaters this year came in the hundreds, rather than the dozens.

Real estate agent Karen Lam's in-laws, now in their 70s, join two successive generations of Ashton Heights Lams for the annual Halloween bonfire, a tradition shared for decades with neighboring Lyon Park. In July, residents from both neighborhoods bring lawn chairs to a community knoll to watch the fireworks a few miles away on the National Mall.

"On weekends, people promenade down the street, power-walking or walking their dogs," said resident Dan Marschall, an adjunct professor of sociology at George Washington University. "You think you're in the far suburbs."

His wife, Karen Santoro, said, "People don't move, they just add on." The best way to get a sense of Ashton Heights is on foot, but it's difficult to pick just one favorite among the 1920s bungalows, 1930s and '40s Colonials, farmhouses and assorted other architectural styles.

There are original Sears houses, including one with fieldstone columns and chimney. One stucco house with two large curved bays in front has a wooden front door shaped like a keyhole.

If there's a quintessential classic house, it is that of Jim and Phyllis Shea. The grand 1920 brick Colonial, which has white columns, pocket doors and a stately 40-foot-wide front porch, has been in the family for 35 years.

The Sheas, now grandparents of nine, talk of the countless neighborhood children who studied piano with Phyllis, the many prom photos taken in front of the fireplace and the flourishing grape arbor and fig trees left by previous owners. Homemade fig preserves have become a family favorite.

They also love talking of the house's former owners, including Paul Siple. As an Eagle Scout, Siple accompanied Richard Byrd on his 1928 Antarctic expedition and later played a prominent role in Antarctic exploration. He is credited with coining the term "windchill."