1) In 1950 Arlington was a part of multiple improvement plans, which aimed to relieve pressures that originated in WWII. There were capital improvement plans to develop important public facilities and services the county needed. Soon after the capita improvement plan was initiated the County also put into place two other programs that provided for the capital and fiscal improvement projections. The programs, which were put into place in the 1950s, were the foundation for the master improvement projects, which followed in the 1960s. The 1950s was an era when the community really began to change and develop. The programs in place in the 1950s changed the County in a physical way but they also changed the makeup of its population. In 1956 the Arlington’s League of Women Voters along with the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and many other organizations directed the effort to desegregate the schools in Arlington County. On February 2, 1959, four African American students attended Stafford Junior High School (now Hoffman-Boston Woodlawn Alternative Program.) Patrick Henry elementary school and Washington-Lee high school would follow suit the fall of 1959.
2) This is a picture of the Clarendon circle in 1950. It looks very different from today. There are a lot less people. The actual Clarendon circle in this picture does not exits anymore it has been modified into five intersecting streets. Today Clarendon is the social highlight of Arlington County but what is in this picture is very opposite. There are very few cars on the street and even less people walking around. Today it is hard to walk down the sidewalk without running into people. In the past 60 years Clarendon and all of Arlington has become more populated and a lot more urban.
3) This is picture of all the Hot Shoppe restaurants in 1955. This was a chain much like McDonalds is today. The food would be brought to you and you would eat out of your car. This type of fast food has disappeared and the times reflect it. In 1955 people had time to sit and eat even if it was a hamburger. The way the food was served in 1955 also reflects on the times. The people would come to you and you would have an actual interaction with them. Today because nobody has enough time and actual interaction with people are not important to us anymore, this is reflected in the service we get. The food is handed out to us through a window and we drive off. People do not have time to just sit and eat food. When you are ordering one has to speak into a speaker, there is no need for interaction like that if we have technology.
Sources:
1) http://www.arlingtonhistoricalsociety.org/learn/snapshots/urban_arlington_county.html
2) http://www.flickr.com/photos/arlib/5238388925/in/set-72157624778848169/
3) http://www.flickr.com/photos/arlib/4888252793/in/set-72157624778642991/
No comments:
Post a Comment