Courtlands:
Old Traditions, New Identity

By Linda Wheeler
Washington Post Staff Writer
May 7, 1994

The Courtlands neighborhood of Arlington manages to be both a picturesque World War I-era community of bungalows shaded by towering trees and a luxury high-rise condominium complex with indoor pools and parking.

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 that is already dotted with blue bachelor buttons and the tall green shoots of spring onions.

Maria Chau has tilled the soil of her 20-by-40-foot plot for 13 years, cheerfully greeting passersby as she sits on a low stool and hoes around the emerging plants with a single-pronged hammer. Chau, 76, lives in a nearby apartment building, and the garden has become a pastime that pays off with enough vegetables for summer meals and flowers for her church.

"This is a wonderful neighborhood," she said. "Here I have the garden and I meet friends and everyone is so nice."

The garden, divided into about 20 plots and leased by the county government for $30 apiece, is at North Barton Street and 10th Street North. Among the neighbors who pause to admire Chau's garden crowded with flowers, herbs and vegetables during the summer months, is Kathy Knott, who bought a condominium in the Charleston about a year and a half ago. "I love to watch the garden progress," she said.

Although Knott bought her apartment because of the short walk to the Metro station and the nearby restaurants and shops along Wilson Boulevard, she said she feels a part of the whole neighborhood, walking her dog by the playground and the garden.

The neighborhood that Knott, 43, sees on her daily walks is hardly recognizable to some residents who have lived in the area for many years.

About half of the traditional one- and two-story homes were demolished on the east side of Courtlands during the building boom of the 1980s. In their place are two Metro stations, a new county courthouse complex and a half-dozen high-rise residential buildings.

The boundaries for the original and current neighborhood are Washington Boulevard, Wilson Boulevard, North Court House Road, Arlington Boulevard and 10th Street.

For Joe Rahner, in his third term as president of the Courtlands Civic Association, the changes have been painful. He grew up in Courtlands when all the neighbors knew each other, residents vied to keep lawns neat and gardens in bloom and tall oak trees shaded the quiet streets. Then as now, the neighborhood was a convenient commuting distance to Washington and other parts of Arlington.

"I've seen a lot of change, not all for the better," he said. "We have had to really fight like the devil to preserve at least part of Courtlands as a decent, single-family, stable neighborhood."

Remnants of that battle are visible at several locations within Courtlands, where one house exists because a homeowner refused to sell and now a 12-story high-rise building is the backdrop for the one-story bungalow. At other places, flagstone steps lead to vacant lots where houses once stood.

Another new resident in the neighborhood, Laura Devlin, 29, said she understands how Rahner feels about the encroachment of the high-rises in the low-rise neighborhood. She moved into Courtland Towers, a rental building, two years ago, and then bought a one-bedroom condominium in the large Williamsburg building this year.

"Those little bungalows were here first," said Devlin, an account executive for a trade association. "They must feel overwhelmed by these tall buildings. But, unfortunately, this is probably inevitable in an urban area."

Devlin said she looks out on two small houses that are dwarfed by her former rental building. "Those homeowners are holding out," she said. "I say more power to them."

Forty houses were lost with the construction of 1,708 apartment and condominium units since 1980, Rahner said. The official Census population in 1990 was 2,786.

But Rahner said few of the newcomers seem interested in the community issues that have kept him and other longtime residents battling with the county over land use issues.

Rahner, 57, a retired captain of the Arlington County fire department who devotes most of his time to community issues, said all the effort is worthwhile if the county can be persuaded to keep the master plan for the area in place.

"We saw the changes coming with Metro and we had the foresight to get certain components of the master plan in place so everyone had a clear understanding of how development would occur," he said. "Our goal was to keep the higher density along the fringes and preserve the core of the residential neighborhood."

Rahner said the civic association is meeting with county officials about the proposed development of the former Sears, Roebuck and Co. store on Clarendon Boulevard. The store closed a year ago after doing business in the community for 50 years. Its closing again opened the door for possible change in the land use and yet more major construction.

Rahner said the Home Depot Inc. hardware chain has proposed building a new store on the property and the civic association is concerned that the project, as outlined, may lead to the demolition of nine rental houses and bring business development further into the community.

"It would be like a huge fist sticking into our neighborhood," he said.

Knott, on the other hand, said she likes the idea of the convenience of having a store such as Home Depot nearby, and although sympathetic to Rahner's concerns, sees it all as part of Courtlands in the 1990s.

Condominiums in all the new high-rise buildings are selling well with prices ranging from about $120,000 to the low $200,000s, said Knott, a real estate agent.

A colleague of hers at Long and Foster Real Estate, Tom Anderson, has made the single-family homes in Courtlands his specialty. He said few of the vintage houses come on the market because most owners seem to like the neighborhood and enjoy being able to walk to stores, restaurants and the Metro. The smaller houses usually sell for about $170,000 and a few of the larger ones for about $300,000, he said.

The variety of housing available in Courtlands makes the neighborhood attractive to most buyers, Anderson said. "I see the diversity as a positive, a plus. I think I could find the right housing for just about anybody who says they want to live in Courtlands."

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