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ARLINGTON'S 2003 MOST ENDANGERED
HISTORIC PLACES
Continued Threats to Preservation
or Re-use of Valuable County Landmarks
AHA released our 2003 list of
threatened historic resources in Arlington
County in June, highlighting five significant
local resources facing imminent threats to
their futures. Some of these sites are well
known community landmarks; others are ones
you may drive by often but might never have
stopped to think about their history. All
of them contribute to the character of Arlington,
and each deserves our attention.
The historic Joseph Taber
Johnson House on Lorcom Lane is threatened
by a large townhouse development, and is just
the latest example of inappropriate infill
development happening throughout Arlington's
historic residential neighborhoods. . A major
development project, including an 11-story
tower, proposed for the 3000 Block of Clarendon
and Wilson Boulevards would destroy the
scale and character of this integral portion
of the Clarendon commercial district. . Some
of the Historic Buildings along Columbia
Pike are threatened by plans for major
redevelopment . Civil War Fort Ethan Allen,
a County-designated historic district since
1978, remains on the Endangered List this
year as it is even more threatened by the
inappropriate placement of the Canine Conservation
Area in the very center of the fort. . Plans
for a major addition threatened Swanson
Middle School, and we were disheartened
that the County Board has approved the addition.
For more information on these endangered sites,
see our Web site, www.arlingtonheritage.org
Sites on our WATCH LIST include:
Were baseball to come to Arlington, it would
certainly have an adverse effect on the quality
of life and stability of the Historic Neighborhoods
around the Proposed Stadium Locations.
(At our June meeting AHA voted to oppose construction
of a stadium in the County.) We have carefully
monitored plans for the proposed redevelopment
surrounding the Arlington Post Office in
Clarendon, the County's most important
historic civic structure, and are pleased
with final designs for the recently approved
project. Development pressures are extremely
high for all the Low-Scale Commercial Buildings
along the Wilson Boulevard Corridor, and
we are particularly concerned with several
historic buildings related to early automotive
development in the Clarendon area.
CANINE AREA CONTINUES TO DAMAGE
FORT ETHAN ALLEN SITE CANINE AREA CONTINUES
TO DAMAGE FORT ETHAN ALLEN SITE
It doesn't matter what you
call it . the disastrous Canine Conservation
Area (CCA), the former Dog Exercise Area
at Fort Ethan Allen, killed seven more
trees at the County-designated Arlington Historic
District this past spring and threatens continuing
damage, including potential destruction of untold
rich archeological evidence. All summer the
area has been a putrid, mosquito-infested zone,
rank with decay. Just WHAT is being conserved
here? Certainly not this priceless resource!
A working group meeting held
in June addressed the relocation of the CCA
to a triangular median strip on Glebe Road near
Chain Bridge. However, the CCA could not be
moved to this location until 2005 at the earliest,
due to red tape involved with acquiring this
land from VDOT. The AHA Board met in July to
formulate a strategy to force the County to
remove the CCA as soon as possible. Our position
is that the fort has suffered long enough. In
the spirit of fairness, Arlington Dogs have
had two and a half years to use the CCA since
it was illegally constructed, and more than
their fair share of using this County park during
the waiting period before a new CCA can be built.
The County staff created this mess, and they
need to resolve it. Close the CCA/DEA NOW!
If you would like to help us drive
this point home to the County, and hasten the
CCA's removal, please attend the next Friends
of the Forts meeting, in mid-September. Call
Laura Bobeczko at 703.241.0626 for date and
place.
SWANSON SCHOOL ADDITION
County Board members voted unanimously
to grant the use permit for the proposed outsized
addition to and renovation of Swanson Middle
School at their June 14 meeting. This 1939
school is one of the County's most significant
public buildings. AHA Board members testified
repeatedly since early 2002 before the School
Board and the HALRB on the architectural
and cultural importance of the school. The Board
voted despite the Planning Commission's
vote to defer the project, because of landscaping,
historic preservation, and design process issues.
AHA is disturbed at the lasting
damage that will be done. We hope in the future
the School Board will better understand the
important role that historic school buildings
play in retelling the County's history. However,
we are pleased to report that the County's
Historic Preservation Office is currently
pursuing two designations for Swanson School.
HALRB and HP Program staff are preparing documentation
to support the building's designation as a Local
Historic District. A National Register nomination
will be prepared in the fall for Westover, a
planned community dating to the late 1930s.
The school will be considered a contributing
building in this nomination. We hope these two
honorary designations will prevent further damage
from being done to this historic school.
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ED BEARSS CASTS A SPELL AT
AHA ANNUAL MEETING
Edwin
Bearss, Civil War expert, author, raconteur,
and National Park Service Historian Emeritus,
held a large audience spellbound at the AHA
Annual Meeting on April 30. Mr. Bearss spoke
of Arlington's Civil War history. He described
the forts of the Arlington Line in defense of
Washington as "the shield for the sword of the
Army of the Potomac," stating the army would
have lacked
a protective shield, except for the forts. He
cited the importance of preservation and interpretation
of Arlington's two best-preserved remaining
forts-Ethan Allen and C.F. Smith-and the need
for the County to be a better steward of these
priceless resources. AHA presented Mr. Bearss
with a Life membership. The speaker graciously
stayed to swap anecdotes and answer questions.
At
this time, 2003 Officers and Directors
were presented: Shannon Bell, Chair; Kathryn
Gettings Smith, Vice Chair; Laura Bobeczko,
Secretary; and Margaret Welsh, Treasurer. Board
members include Jack Adler, Gail Baker, Larry
Goldschmidt, Sara Amy Leach, Judith Priestley
Muniec, Dr. Constance Werner Ramirez, Mary C.
Redfern, and Howard Thorkilson.
FIRST TUESDAYS - LUNCH TIME
PRESERVATION PROGRAMS A HIT
Since January 2002, Board Member
Constance Ramirez has been coordinating
a Brown Bag Lunch Time Program with Michael
Leventhal, Arlington County Preservation
Coordinator at the County Building on the First
Tuesday of each month. The purpose of these
gatherings is to give everyone who is interested
in the historic places, history, traditions,
and the heritage of Arlington an opportunity
to get to know each other, to learn about each
other's interests, and to share information.
The programs consist of introductions, exchanges
of information, and then a speaker. Speakers
have included Carol Shull, Keeper of
the National Register; Sharon Park, FAIA,
Chief of Technical Preservation Services, National
Park Service; Tom McCulloch, President's
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; David
Edwards, Virginia Department of Historic
Resources; and Mary Means, whose firm
is preparing the Arlington Preservation Plan.
Among County staff who have spoken is Susan
Bell, Director of Community Planning, Housing
and Development. The lunches are held in room
715 of the County Building, 2100 Clarendon Boulevard
from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. Participants can bring
their "brown bag" lunches. There are no charges
or dues.
To receive an email notice before
each meeting, please send an email address and
telephone number to Connie at cwramirez@starpower.net.
Persons without email may call Michael Leventhal
at 703.228.3813 to confirm the date.
GOOD
FOR US! EIGHT COUNTY SITES ADDED TO NATIONAL
REGISTER
Three Arlington neighborhoods
and five residential/commercial sites were added
to the National Register of Historic Places
by the Department of the Interior. The neighborhoods
are Ashton Heights, Cherrydale,
and Maywood. The residences include the
George Crossman House, 2501 N. Underwood
Street, and the John Saegmuller House,
5101 N. Little Falls Road. Also added were the
garden apartment complexes, Arlington Village
and the Commons of Arlington, and a commercial
building, Al's Motors/Gold's Gym, 3910
Wilson Boulevard. We congratulate the newly
designated sites and applaud efforts to increase
appreciation of our historic resources, especially
our unique 20th century architecture. The County
now has 40 sites on the National Register and
28 local Historic Districts.
MEMBERS@ARLINGTONHERITAGE.ORG
Watch
the local papers and our Web site (www.arlingtonheritage.org)
for the May release of our Third
Annual Most Endangered Properties List.
If there is a site you feel is endangered, please
contact Chair
Laura Bobeczko with your nominations.
UPCOMING AHA PROGRAMS - WHAT'S
YOUR PREFERENCE?
The AHA Board is formulating ideas
for upcoming programs and events. Tell us
what you'd like to see. Would you be interested
in a program on How to Research Your Historic
Home? Another tour of Fort Ethan Allen? An historic
walking tour? Where? Please email us at info@arlingtonheritage.org
with your ideas.
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