Where We Live:
Arlington County

WashingtonPost.com
September 18, 1996

Arlington is the smallest county in Virginia, covering only 26 square miles. But it is one of the most densely populated and diverse communities in the Washington, D.C., area.

The thriving cosmopolitan county is home to a national airport, a national cemetery, and the Pentagon--and to 185,500 people, many of whom picked Arlington because it is close to their jobs across the Potomac River in the nation's capital.

To learn more about the county's diverse neighborhoods, click on the links below:

Old-Fashioned Spirit Fills Alcova Heights
By Linda Wheeler; October 14, 1995
Capped by a gracious Southern mansion called Alcova, Alcova Heights shares an old-fashioned spirit of community, and its vintage houses in a suburban area have attracted buyers to the neighborhood.

Parks Are Among the Perks in Arlington Forest
By Linda Wheeler; January 22, 1994
Chuck Carter strings 600 lights around a giant holly tree at the Arlington Forest Shopping Center each year to mark Christmas, and then begins organizing a spring yard sale that attracts more than 100 families from his community. Carter and his family own one of the 850 houses in the 54-year-old neighborhood of Arlington Forest, an early planned community of tree-lined streets, substantial colonial brick homes and a period shopping center.

Arlington Ridge: Proximity Is Paramount
By Linda Wheeler; July 22, 1995
Arlington Ridge is popular with car commuters to the District. But despite its closeness to the city, the neighborhood has maintained a gracious character with its older, large homes set in groves of tall oaks along winding residential streets. Residents work to keep it that way.

Arlington View: A Sense of History
By Louie Estrada; June 5, 1993
To an outsider, Arlington View may seem like any other collection of houses in Northern Virginia. But to those who live there, a past that stretches back more than 250 years provides the foundation for today's strong sense of community.

Arlington Village: The Experiment Lives On
By Linda Wheeler; February 13, 1993
Arlington Village resident David Malinak said he sometimes believes he would like a larger house but every time he looks at what is available, he decides to stay where he is. What Malinak, an owner for eight years, finds so attractive in his condominium community is the product of a successful experiment on the part of a developer who responded more than 50 years ago to a federal mandate to build attractive, low-priced housing.

Arna Valley: Redefining Their Community
By Louie Estrada; September 3, 1994
On the grounds of Arna Valley, a modest apartment complex of three-story brick buildings in south Arlington County, stands a brightly painted mural with Latino themes of birth, growth and hope, a collage of symbols and beliefs for its many immigrant residents. The mural represents a chance to redefine a community faced with increasing crime and other problems.

Ashton Heights: Young Families Stir a Revival
By Linda Wheeler; December 10, 1994
Trudy Ensign moved into her newly built house in Ashton Heights when there were very few lots left in what was then considered the new suburbs of Washington. Enough time has passed for Ensign's children to have grown and moved away, but there now is a new wave of young families to move onto Ensign's street, with children once again holding tea parties on front porches and ditching bicycles on generous front yards.

Aurora Highlands: From Neighbors to True Friends
By Linda Wheeler; June 24, 1995
For many residents of Aurora Highlands, near National Airport, the sense of community is strong. They get together for social activities or to participate in a baby-sitting cooperative begun years ago. They circulate petitions for such concerns as the fight against the proposed closing of their local library, and many joined in the opposition to the proposal to build a football stadium just south of the neighborhood in 1992.

Ballston-Virginia Square: A Mini-Urban Village
By Linda Wheeler; January 21, 1995
Unlike many of its adjoining neighborhoods, Ballston-Virginia Square has an urban feel with high-rise condominium buildings, major hotel and office buildings, as well as two Metro stations. Construction cranes continue to appear on the skyline as developers build yet more tall commercial buildings, while in residential pockets off busy Fairfax Drive, town houses are under construction.

Barcroft: Older Virtues Still Prevail
By Linda Wheeler; July 23, 1994
Children ride miniature bicycles along a tree-lined block in the Barcroft neighborhood of Arlington as a couple holding hands and pushing a baby carriage walk nearby. Around the corner, parents watch from their front porch as three children take turns jumping down the steps. The resemblance to a photo album snapshot of an idyllic neighborhood from earlier times seems to play out on a daily basis in this community of mostly single-family detached homes, where one well-tended lawn melds into the next.

Buckingham: Change and Diversity
By Louie Estrada; November 19, 1994
Buckingham, a 1,544-unit complex of two-story, garden-style buildings, which stretch from Route 50 to just beyond Glebe Road, is divided into three sections: Gates of Arlington, Buckingham Village and Arlington Oaks. The property is dotted with towering oaks and hip-high shrubs. While Gates of Arlington and Buckingham Village are apartments with ethnically mixed tenants, and a large Latino population, Arlington Oaks is a cooperative of young professionals and the elderly.

Cherrydale: At 100, It Blends Old and New
By Linda Wheeler; July 31, 1993
Bisected by Lee Highway, there is little indication to motorists passing through this century-old Arlington County community of what lies beyond the busy commuter route. The highway is lined with a patchwork of used-car lots, garages and small commercial buildings. A large, new Safeway supermarket and its extensive parking lot dominates the north side. But here and there are hints of an older community. There's the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department, built in 1919, and the Cherrydale Hardware store, opened in 1936, both still in operation.

Chesterbrook Woods: New Families Mean Change
By Louie Estrada; May 27, 1995
"Chesterbrook Woods is in a state of transition," says Betsy Brand, president of the Chesterbrook Woods Citizens Association. "There have been a number of new families moving in, younger couples with children." But the gradual increase in newcomers is one of the few noticeable changes. For the most part, the community has remained a bedrock of stability. It is an attractive neighborhood for move-up buyers.

Chesterbrook Woods: Block Parties Not a Hit
By Julia Angwin; May 23, 1993
Nine minutes from the Kennedy Center lies a lush suburb that resembles an English garden in the spring, with its carefully maintained bounty of azaleas, dogwood and honeysuckle. Though the scene is idyllic, most residents say they are attracted primarily by the proximity to the city, not the neighborhood living. “It’s not the kind of community where people hang over the back fence and talk to each other,” said John Sadler, a 14-year resident.

Colonial Village: Quiet Diversity in Arlington
By Erin Marcus; January 18, 1992
It lies in the flight path of National Airport, a short walk from Rosslyn's modern glass towers. But sit in one of the courtyards of Arlington's Colonial Village apartment complex and you'll feel as if you're on a college campus, far away from urban life. Residents like the brick architecture, grassy courtyards and collegiate feel. Many said they chose the complex because it offered garden apartments and were surprised to find such a place so close to downtown Washington.

Courthouse Area: Trial, Error and Quirky Appeal
By Heather Salerno; October 21, 1995
"We always say we're 10 minutes from everywhere," said Donielle Manor, speaking about the convenience of living in the Courthouse area. The accessibility to the rest of the Washington area offered by the Courthouse neighborhood's location appears to be its biggest draw for residents.

Courtlands: Old Traditions, a New Identity
By Linda Wheeler; May 7, 1994
Back when the first families moved to Courtlands, just across the Potomac River from the District, they were the 1920s pioneers transforming farmland into a substantial suburban community. About 60 years later, the newcomers were people seeking the security and convenience of condominium living, but this time it was the older houses that had to make way for the new development. But even as the neighborhood settles comfortably into its new identity, some community traditions continue, such as the Rocky Run Playground that attracts children from Courtlands and adjoining neighborhoods and the community garden dotted with blue bachelor buttons and the tall green shoots of spring onions.

Crystal City, A Model of Convenience
By Linda Wheeler; March 25, 1995
The striking urban skyline of tall, brick buildings crowded into overlapping shapes near National Airport is a busy office center by day and a quiet home for residents at night and on weekends. Different from most area neighborhoods, Crystal City is a high-rise community where, each weekday, 60,000 people come to work and 6,000 come home.

Fairlington: At 50, a Mature 'Little Town'
By Linda Wheeler; May 29, 1993
This community in the southernmost part of Arlington County began as a rental development built specifically for those who had come to Washington for the war effort. The little-town quality was intentional on the part of Houston architect Kenneth Franzheim. He was hired to plan a community to house about 10,000 people in accordance with an executive order by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who directed that the country’s largest defense office—the Pentagon—and the largest defense community housing—Fairlington—be built as America went to war.

Falls Church: Celebrating Past, Present, Future
By Louie Estrada; September 16, 1995
During the growing season, residents are drawn together by the weekly farmers market in the parking lot of city hall. Vendors from nearby farms display apples, peaches, vegetables, fresh flowers and baked goods. But more importantly, perhaps, is that the marketplace serves as a meeting place for community activists.

Fostoria Fights to Maintain Rural Va. Roots
By Linda Wheeler; November 13, 1993
Anna Sullivan was not deterred by the lack of a "for sale" sign in front of the Queen Anne Victorian house. She jumped from her car, strode up the walk and knocked on the door. "Is your house for sale?" she asked the somewhat surprised couple who answered the door. The owners, as it turned out, had decided to divorce but had not yet contacted a broker. Yes, the house was available, they said. Sullivan ended up getting a vintage gingerbread house but in an unlikely place: Arlington.

Highview Park: A Neighborhood Comes of Age
By Kate Moore; October 22, 1994
The majority of Highview's 1,500 residents own their homes, which differ in shape and size: There are two- to four-bedroom colonials here alongside Cape Cods, bungalows, ramblers and split-levels. Some owners have added rooms or decks, contributing to the sense of unplanned variety along the narrow streets. The residents too are a mix of families, retirees and single people.

Lyon Park Centers on Strong Sense of Community
By Linda Wheeler; June 11, 1994
The very young community of Lyon Park in Arlington needed a community center and developer Frank Lyon had set aside several acres for that purpose. Byron K. Enyart, now a retired World War II Army colonel, recalled that 15 families contributed $100 each in 1923 to match the funds of the developer and build the one-room frame building that resembles a country schoolhouse.

Prospect House: A View With a Room
By Louie Estrada; September 30, 1995
A panoramic view of the monumental core of the District just across the Potomac River is what makes Prospect House unique. Some aspects of the units can be duplicated in other buildings, but not the view.

River House: Island of Calm Amid Retail Swirl
By Steven Ginsberg; December 16, 1995
While most Washingtonians think of Pentagon City as a retail complex rather than a residential property, there was plenty of life before Nordstrom, the Gap and Macy's. River House opened as the first rental high-rise in Northern Virginia in 1957. Bolstered by its immediate success, two more high-rises were added by 1961. These three triple-wing buildings, named the James, Ashley and Potomac, make up the modern River House.

Shirlington: It's Not a Close Secret
By Louie Estrada; December 11, 1993
Shirlington, with its village shops and residential units, was first developed in 1943 to take advantage of a convenient location off of Shirley Memorial Highway connecting Richmond and Washington. Today, convenience to the District, along with a second generation of stores, continues to be the main appeal for its residents.

Spy Hill: A Site With Quite a View
By Linda Wheeler; November 25, 1995
Monica Fleischmann lived in Arlington for more than 20 years and never knew about the neighborhood of Spy Hill. But when she found the community built on a ridge overlooking Washington, she knew she had found the right place; a huge house built on a small lot in a neighborhood made up almost entirely of three cul-de-sacs.

Sunrise: A Shining Place to Retire
By Kate Moore; May 11, 1996
The Sunrise retirement communities offer a balance of independence and care, based on their residents' needs. A beauty salon, concierge and transportation are provided as simple conveniences, but Sunrise is built on a backbone of available aid. "If [residents] need help, it's only moments away," a Sunrise official says.

Westover: Setting Store by a Small-Town Past
By Louie Estrada; November 4, 1995
The storefront of the J.W. Ayers Variety and Hardware store, stocked with shiny, lacquered wooden sleds and bright red Radio Flyer wagons, is reminiscent of times gone by. And in many ways so is the surrounding community it serves. The store is one of several small shops lined along Washington Boulevard in Westover, a community of about 2,000 people in north Arlington. The small business district is cut from the cloth of small-town USA.

© 1996 The Washington Post Co.

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