Westover interviews

Country Club Hills Documentary

http://youtu.be/y0N3ZIdNHis

Oral History With Robert Beckman

Break Down
1-3 mins- how long family has lived in Arlington/why
3-5 mins- changes in Arlington
5-7 mins- historical landmarks and DC
7-10 mins- the school system

Boulevard Manor VA Room Follow-Up

Our class visited the Virginia Room in the Arlington Central Library. The family farm belonging to the Reeve’s family. This was the last dairy farm in Virginia. There were many pictures showing how much the neighborhood had changed. The former farm land is now covered with houses, which were built mostly during the baby boom post World War II. Drastic changes happened in a short time, which leads me to believe this community is not done changing.

Oral History With Rose Nicholas

Break Down

1-4 mins- Early life, why family moved to arlington
4-8 mins- what has changed
8-10 mins- How Arlington compares to other places
10-12 mins- improvements in the school system

Westover Video

Arlington Mill Community Center

The Arlington Mill Community Center was built around 1965. Before this building became Arlington Mill, it was a Safeway. The first picture is where Arlington Mill was originally located, which is on Columbia Pike in the Columbia Heights West neighborhood. It was recently demolished, and is now just an empty parking lot with a pile of dirt and dust. It is now going to be renovated. All of it's programs are located in different areas around Arlington for the mean time. For example, the high school continuation program is located in NOVA's campus in the Ballston area. The new renovated Arlington Mill is predicted to be done by 2013.

Oral History of Arlington by Andy Barr

Andy Barr has been an outstanding citizen of the Arlington Community for More than 60 years. He is a national hero as well. He served in the military and fought in the Korean war. Any Barr is also an exceptional humanitarian. He has used his success as a realtor to help the needy. He has remained very active as an alumni of Washington Lee high school by donating to many clubs and sports in our school. He has lived in Clarendon for over 50 years. I want to thank Mr Barr for giving up some of his time to share his amazing story. It was truly an honor.

Breakdown of the video
From the beginning to 2:30: Talks about himself and career in the army. Talks about how he started his real state business in Arlington.

From 2:30 to 4:35 : Talks about how it was like to live in Clarendon in the fifties and his high school years in the forties.

At 4:35: Talks about segregation.

5:25 to 13:15: First moving to Arlington and what that was like. Time in elementary school in Arlington. What life was like in the depression. Talks about moving around the nation and what the nation was like during that time and how segregation was different in different parts of the nation.

13:15 to 15:35: Time at Washington Lee

15:40 to 19:00: Time in the military. Segregation in the military.

19:30 to 22:40: Depression in Arlington and then racism in Clarendon.

23:00 to 24:10: Places of historical importance. Real estate business in Clarendon.

24:20 to the end: What he wanted to add to the interview. His success in the Army. His career as a businessman. Time on the debate team in Washington Lee.

Rivercrest Documentary

Rivercrest Documentary

Ashton Heights Follow Up--Part III

Part III


Part IV

Ashton Heights Follow Up--Part II

Part I


Part II

Interview Bios

Marilyn Faris Scholl- Interviewee number 1.
This is my mother. She has been in Arlington for 25 or 26 years. And through out this interview we discuss things such as the attractions of Arlington, and some of the negative aspects as well. We discuss the benefits of living so close to the Nation's capitol and we also discuss things such as driving and transportation accessibility. We discuss things such as the metro system, the bus system, traffic congestion, and bike trails. We also talked a lot about the weather here in Arlington, how it has changed and/or hasn't changed much over the years, and how people manage to deal with the climate changes. We also discussed how she would recommend people to live here, if they can afford it. She believes it is a great place to raise a family. We also focused a lot on the cost of housing and how buildings have been sprouting up a lot more in Arlington.

Hunt Allard- Interviewee number 2.
This is a very good friend from church. He grew up in Arlington and still lives here today. He now has one daughter who is an 8th grader at Williamsburg Middle School. Hunt graduated from Washington-Lee High School in 1978. In our interview we focused a lot on the metro systems and on the bike trails and accessibility of Arlington. He said that he loves living here and is extremely grateful that his parents decided to move here in the 50s/60s. He says he loves being close to D.C. and loves using the bike trails a lot, since he and his family are all avid bikers. We talk a lot about the public school systems in Arlington, and how he himself is a public school graduate from Arlington, and he highly recommends all the schools. He also would just highly recommend anyone to live here in Arlington, anyone who can afford it. There is just so much to offer, attraction wise, and the people are generally very very nice to be around.

Community Archives

Follow Up:

The item of interest is the Safeway on Wilson Boulevard. It is closest to the intersection of Wilson and George Mason Drive. This Commercial Area is also filled with a few small restaurants, one of which includes McDonalds (big surprise). Recently the little shopping center has been renovated. And there has been a lot of talk and discussion about renovating the Safeway as well. The parking lot for the Safeway right now is very large. Almost twice as big as the Safeway itself! A lot of controversy has come up about if that parking lot should stay the way it is or if things should be added to it. Many people think it is a “waste of space”. Others think it could benefit to build something there for the nearby school, Arlington Traditional School, which is located right across the street. And finally, other views are that the parking lot should be left the way it is now, because it is used for many different things. Many people park there when shopping (obviously) and many different events are sometimes held there. Also many families and teens come there to learn how to drive. The neighborhood of Bluemont definitely benefits from the parking lot as it is right now. I personally don’t think there is any need to change anything in regards to the parking lot or the Safeway. But one article that was found in the Virginia Room had a lot to say about the Wilson Boulevard Commercial Area, which includes plans to change the Safeway. Mainly just renovate the building, since it has been there for a long time, but also to cut back the parking lot a bit, to add grassy areas or a park area. I personally think this might be a nice idea, but the construction for it would not be very good. Because knowing Arlington constructions, it could take a very long time, and therefore could potentially stop people from shopping there for a long time. Which would only be a hassle, since the main benefit of that Safeway is the convenience of having it so close. But the Virginia Room itself has many things that anyone would find interesting. There are tons of maps, articles, books, and other historical artifacts in there that can be great for research for any school project, or just for personal interest. I found using the Virginia Room to be very useful for this particular project and I would recommend it for anyone doing a similar history project on the area.

http://www.arlnow.com/2011/04/28/bluemont-civic-association-mulls-development-plan/

Arlington History During the 1960s and 1970s

Arlington began to develop commercially during the 1960. This is when Roslyn and Cristal City began to develop and redevelop and become more commercial. Office buildings, car dealerships, hotels, and high rise apartments were built. The development of these more urban areas increased even more when the metro rail system was built between the late 1970s and mid 1980s. The Arlington County government had worked to keep moderate- income housing in these urban areas and low density commercial areas. The police division in Arlington also improved during the 1960s, they created better training education for them.

Information from: Arlington Virginia

http://www.arlingtonhistoricalsociety.org/learn/snapshots/urban_arlington_county.html

Taken From:Arlington Historical Society. Images of America Arlington. Charleston: Arcadia, 2000.

Westover Follow-up

Westover stayed a farmland until the 1890s, where the first electric railways were built. This then started up more expansion and the population began to grow. As more people came, the Walter Reed Elementary School was built in 1938, which is actually where I went to preschool, only a lot of years later. In the same year, Arlington County was approved of 120 more acres of land to build more multi-family apartments, which transitioned Westover from farmland to more commercial. Now, Westover still has the same family-owned businesses but the main change that the county made recently is that they tore down the old library and part of the Walter Reed Elementary School-but kept the exterior of it to preserve the history-and combined it with the library. Other than that, Westover has still managed to preserve its original history.

Dominion Hills Documentary

Westover: Then and Now

(top) Then: Westover in 1975
(bottom) Now: Westover in 2010

Westover Video

Clarendon follow-up "Little Saigon"

For a brief period in the late 1970s Clarendon became home to a large Vietnamese population. This was because during this time the neighborhood was getting rather torn up from the metro construction so in turn land lords had to lower their rents in order to attract tenants. The tenants that were attracted were the Vietnamese. They moved in and quickly set up shop. The Vietnamese influence on the neighborhood grew so large that Clarendon was quickly nick-named "Little Saigon."

Sadly, this all ended when the metro was completed and rent went back up. The Vietnamese population gradually left and a majority of them ended up in Falls Church. This created what is now known as the Eden Center.

Ashton Heights Follow Up--Part I

I was intrigued by this old picture of the Murray school I found in the Virginia room of Arlington Central library. So I decided to interview the architect of the project which restored and renovated the Murray school into the new Arlington Arts center.

The Virginia Room in the Central library in Arlington is a great resource because it has a great archive of old maps, pictures, books, and newspapers of and about Arlington. It is a great place to visit if you want to learn more about your neighborhood or just about Arlington itself. The Virginia room is where I got the picture in the top left-hand corner.

*Note: The videos are in part II and III of this entry. They are titled the same and have part II or III at the end. I'm sorry this is the only way I could upload them.

Rivercrest Follow Up

As the second smallest neighborhood in Arlington County, Rivercrest surprisingly has a lot to offer when it comes to recreational activities and community initiatives. This neighborhood is home to Gulf Branch Nature Center, a preserve that ultimately touches the Potomac, and takes up a considerable amount of land. Inside the Gulf Branch boundaries is a building that is half-zoo and half-museum. There are owls, bees, snakes, and frogs, as well as exhibits that talk about the old indigenous peoples of the region and their way of life. Next to this building is the reason why I would never leave Rivercrest: a Blacksmith shop stands tall and is used almost daily by citizens who take pleasure in shaping metal. During my documentary I happened to walk in on the Blacksmiths busy welding machete guns and crosses. They are really nice people, spending most of their time in the electricity and internet-free shop. Who even knew blacksmiths still existed?

I would highly recommend visiting Gulf Branch Nature Center. Military Road splits it in half- one one side is a path that necks its way down to the Potomac River, where people fish and (sometimes) swim in the dirty water. On the other is a host of more trails, along with the old Blacksmiths and a museum/zoo.

Bluemont Neighborhood Documentary

Sorry if I keep moving the camera around during this video! It was hard to keep it still while walking. Also, sorry it's so long. I didn't have a car to drive around in and the walking took a little longer than expected. Enjoy this little viewing of the Bluemont Neighborhood!!

Cherrydale Follow-up

While researching Cherrydale there was an article that was found in the Virginia Room at the Central Library. This article was mentioning how General Store in Arlington was right in the center of town and everything else was built to surround it. For example the fire house and the school were built within a one block radius of the store, this being east of Lee Highway. The article continues to mention how the store and the area around it became it's own community in itself, which created Cherrydale. Now there are multiple stores in Cherrydale so the community is less compact because not everyone has a reliance on one store. This article put the idea of community into perspective and shows how a community may form.

Cherrydale Documentary

Follow- up Virginia Room

Exhibit: For the Greater Good

A picture of a letter I found was in the exhibit called: For the Greater Good. It is one of the last entries in Fleet’s ledger book. It discusses work on the League’s activities to celebrate Africa-American progress. The letter includes: a parade, an exhibit, pageants, and programs. Fleet was listed as the Recording Secretary but another member has written out the minutes.

The Arlington Civic League was an independent organization it had no affiliations however on a national or state level. This group can be seen as an outgrowth of the African- American fraternal and social organizations in Arlington County. The African American Arlingtonians felt comfortable in creating an independent organization like the Arlington Civic League.

Rina's Documentary

Then and Now Pictures Of Columbia Heights

Virginia Room Follow-Up: Boulevard Manor Community Archives

When our class visited the Virginia Room in the Arlington Central Library, my research materials focused mainly on the Reeves family property in Boulevard Manor. Many of the pictures from the early- to mid- 1900’s depicted the farmland and open fields around the farmhouse that were part of the Reeves’ family farm. What I found most interesting about the photographs was the dramatic change from the past to the present. Most of the farmland that belonged to the Reeves family is now covered by houses, including my family’s home. The majority of houses built during the baby boom after World War II up until the late 1970’s are still part of the neighborhood today. What once was acres of farmland is now park property owned by Arlington County or residential neighborhoods. This dramatic changes in land use over a relatively short time frame was what I found to be most interesting during my research, and caused me to wonder: How will the neighborhood change in the next twenty to thirty years?

History of Columbia Heights Neighborhood

History of Columbia Heights

Columbia Heights was first a farmland that had no real significance in its presence. But in It slowing was beginning to become a suburb in Washington Dc after the Civil War when people were able to be taken from neighborhoods to the downtown were Columbia Heights was located at.

After Congress passed the D.C Organic Act, the boundaries of DC were expanding. Senator John Sherman purchased the area from what is present day 16^th street and 10^th street creating a subdivision in the city. He named Columbia Heights after his college he so deeply loved.

As the years when by Columbia Heights was beginning to transform. It began to attract people by its change from suburban area to an urban and densely populated area. In 1924 the building of the Tivoli Theater movie house was completed that served as a big attraction for people to come to Columbia Heights.

During the 1940s there were changes in Columbia Heights. Black people were starting to buy apartments buildings from whites and bought homes as well. The neighborhood began to be “middle class” African Americans.

In 1968 after Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination there was a big riot that broke loose in Columbia Heights. Many homes and businesses were destroyed and broke.

Columbia Heights Interview

Columbia Heights Interview

Columbia Pike Interviews

before and after pictures of columbia heights

This is the after picture of the Cavalier Hotel at 3500 14th Street NW, in Columbia Heights
This is the before picture of the Cavalier Hotel at 3500 14th Street NW, in Columbia Heights





This is the after picture of the area on 14th street, Park and Kenyon












This is the before picture of 14th street area and Park and Kenyon

Then and Now's

 Tomb of the Unknown Dead (1896, 2011)

 Arlington House Built in 1861 (sketch made prior to building, the building now)

Map of Arlington (During the Civil War, 2011)

Boulevard Manor Map and Stats

Map of Boulevard Manor

http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Boulevard-Manor-Arlington-VA.html

http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Boulevard-Manor-Arlington-VA.html

The Boulevard Manor community has been steadily increasing in population and household incomes. The cost of living in Boulevard Manor has also increased due to the fact many homes are being renovated and added on to. There are also many instances of houses being torn down and built back up again.

GENERAL HISTORY ON ARLINGTON CEMETERY

    Arlington Cemetery is America’s “most revered” burial ground and was established when the Arlington House was confiscated by the Federal Government in 1863 from its owner, Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

    The real start of the cemetery was when Private William Christman (of the 67th Pennsylvania Infantry) was the first person to be buried on these grounds.

    A total of 2,111 Civil War Unknowns were buried in a memorial just outside of Arlington House in 1866. This tomb is now known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and is placed under a 24-hour honor guard in 1937.

    In 1882, the Supreme Court declared the United States Federal Government a trespasser on the Arlington grounds and ordered the lands returned to the Lee family. With over 10,000 grave sites already there, George Washington Custis Lee sold the land to the U.S. Government for $150,000.

    Many influential people from the Nation's Capital were buried at Arlington National Cemetery, such as the designer of the city, Pierre L'Enfant and Robert Todd Lincoln, the son of President Abraham Lincoln.

    William Howard Taft became the first of only two presidents to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

    Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place for over 220,000 Americans.

 The Tomb of the Unknown soldier with guard.

SOURCES
http://www.visitingdc.com/virginia/arlington-cemetery-history.htm
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/historical_information/arlington_house.html

Columbia Pike History

Clarendon Tour

http://ge.tt/8kQORA5?c

A driving tour of Clarendon/Courthouse with some narration

(follow the link to view/download)

Alcova Heights Community Archives

Using the Virginia room as a resource for local history has lead me to be curious about current renovations that the community is making to improve the neighborhood. As I was researching I found a newspaper article in The Washington Post titled "New Neighborhood Plan Breathes New Life Into Alcova Heights" by Elizabeth Shorb. This article talks about Alcova's history and what exactly draws people to the neighborhood. The population in Alcova Heights increased by a lot in the early 1920's, and as time passed the NCAC made many changes in the community by fixing sidewalks, gutters, and other landscaping projects. Currently, the NCAC is working on installing street lights to all their streets, and they're continuing to work hard to meet their present and future needs.


source:
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:uem1Fxa9auwJ:www.co.arlington.va.us/Departments/CPHD/ons/pdf/alcovaheightsarticle.pdf+neighborhood+breathes+new+plan+into+alcova+heights&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESge3Lckvwm8F2vYxD3o_K2B21Q5vusTy8lV_S2JfYgVaWBoiNPUmbISMZTpgGNtVjWHwNKXNEL05rImmSn7fcTZe0phxrxokiHM4K11MUx--5CKfBlsCZuxonyqJHgOq6CeH5vN&sig=AHIEtbQx5HDR6UkSpRSPMqsQRwhd2cXz8w&pli=1

Cherrydale Community Archives

In numerous articles and books i read in the Virginia room in the Arlington Public library I found the issue of small, old historic type houses being knocked down and new large houses being placed in that do not go with the community. Cherrydale has many sears houses, bungalows and other old small houses. Many people moved t0 this neighborhood because of its small community feel. In June of 2005 Cherrydale residents created a neighborhood conservation plan to try to keep old homes, old trees and other historic aspects of Cherrydale. http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/CPHD/Documents/4614Cherrydale_PLan_Final.pdf (Cherrydale Conservation Plan)

Cherrydale was settled over 100 years ago so keeping old homes and restoring them has proven to be very difficult since it is much easier and cheaper to build a new house or multiple new houses in place of where one used to be. Cherrydale also used to be much more diverse than it is now, but with rising home prices throughout Arlington many of the blue collar workers that used to live here can no longer afford it and Cherrydale is now mainly filled with white collar workers.

Brockwood Community Archives

I chose to do my follow up of the Virginia room on a picture I found there of abandoned railroad lines as of 1990. I noticed that one in particular, the W & OD Railroad, was located within my neighborhood's boundaries. I then discovered the history of this W & OD Railroad.

The W & OD Railroad, which stands for the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad, stretch approximately 45 miles from Purcellville, Viriginia to Shirlington, Arlington, Virginia with 14 stops in between the two. The W & OD Railroad was built in 1859 to replace the successful Alexandria, Loudoun, and Hampshire Railroad. The entrepreneurs who founded the railroad fantasized about bringing coal and other riches from the Applachian Mountains to the Port of Alexandria. Although the railroad was nearly destroyed in the Civil War (1861-1865), the railroad was able to establish itself as an important means of transportation. The heyday of the W & OD Railroad was approximately from 1900 to 1920 when electric trolley lines were popular means of transportation. During its heyday, the W & OD Railroad ran its course three times a day. (The nearest stop to the Brockwood Neighborhood is at Bluemont Junction, which is located in Bluemont Park across Wilson Boulevard from Bon Air Park and the Brockwood Neighborhood.) However, as the popularity of electric trolley lines diminished with new means of transportation, such as cars (Regarded as the first affordable automobile accessible to a variety of people and social classes, the Model T was built from 1908 to 1927.) Today, what once stood the W & OD Railroad now stands the W & OD Trail, a lengthy course of bike path for bikers and runners alike. Many parts of the bike path are in the exact location where railroad tracks used to be.

Ballston Today

Ballston 1972

History of Ballston

Central Ballston had developed by 1900 in the area counded by the present Wilson Boulevard, Taylor Street, Washington Boulevard, and Pollard Street. Lubber run and southward along Glebe Road to Henderson Road was not as populated as the Wilson Boulevard area.

Ballston, Arlington, Virginia is named after the Ball family, relatives of George Washington. The Parkington Shopping Center opened at the intersection on November 4^th, 1951 at Balls Crossroads, this site is known now as the Ballston Common Mall.

In the 1960’s and 1970’s the Ballston area entered a period of decline, this changed however when the Ballston Metrorail station opened in December of 1979. This station was originally called the Glebe Road station.

The Ballston area also includes the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, DARPA, and the Office of Naval Research. The non-profit organization is The Nature Conservancy.

History of Arlington

In 1722 there were about seven patents in the Arlington area that held about 10,463 acres of granted land. Permanent settlement in the Arlington area would not began in the early 18^th century. Shortly after this the establishment of the Hunting Creek tobacco warehouse took place in the foot of Oronoco Street in what we would call Alexandria.

At about the same time, Gerard Alexander, built Abingdon, the first mansion house within the present lines of Arlington County. The remains of Abingdon have been restored on the grounds of the Reagan Washington National Airport. The Arlington are had been known to be part of the Northumberland County (1648) and Westmoreland (1663), and part of Stafford (1684), and finally Prince William in 1731.

Fairfax Parish was established in 1765 to include all of Fairfax County north of hunting Creek. A 500-acre farm ( a glebe) was provided for the support of the rector of the Parish, and in 1775 a glebe house was built in present day Arlington.

Karen Spadacene interview

Item Of Interest: The Maury House

Maury School was built in 1910 and was typical of school architecture in Virginia at the turn of the century. It is located on 3550 Wilson Boulevard. It was originally referred to as the Clarendon Elementary School. The school was created to serve the growing Clarendon neighborhood. The two-story symmetrical building was designed with a central hall and four classrooms on each floor. The school was renamed in 1925 to honor Matthew Fontaine maury (1806-1873), known as the “pathfinder of the seas.” He was a native Virginian, naval officer, geographer, and oceanographer. Prior to the Civil War, he was head of the Naval Observatory. In 1861, he resigned from the US Navy to become a Commander in the Confederate Navy.

The Maury Elementary School closed in 1975. The Maury School is a designated Arlington County Landmark and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Maury School is the second oldest school building remaining in Arlington. The house was reopened in 1977 but it was established as the Arlington Art Center and it still remains so.



http://www.arlingtonhistoricalsociety.org/learn/sites_properties/schools.html

http://library.arlingtonva.us/departments/libraries/history/LibrariesHistoryPichistD.aspx