Preservation Arlington Names ‘Most Endangered Historic Places’

The group Preservation Arlington has released its annual list of “Arlington’s Most Endangered Historic Places.”

The list is intended “to heighten awareness of historic sites and resources in the county and to inspire advocacy on behalf of preservation within the Arlington community.”

“This year’s endangered list includes both individual historic buildings as well as building types, along with other important places such as graveyards and public parks,” Preservation Arlington said on its website.

The 2014 list, including excerpts from Preservation Arlington’s description of each:

• Key Boulevard Apartments — “A nearly perfect example of Arlington’s garden apartment housing style… It is now threatened by a site plan amendment to demolish the building and redevelop the site.”
• Arlington Presbyterian Church — “Designed by a prominent local architect… Redevelopment plans are moving forward and, if this building is demolished, a visual reminder of the past and the continuity of community that this landmark provides will disappear.
• Parkland Open Space — “Both the Lubber Run Community Center and surrounding parkland, as well as the Potomac Overlook Regional Park, have been included in recent land grabs to develop and monetize the county’s rapidly decreasing open space and tree canopy… As we continue to further urbanize, parkland becomes an ever-more-valuable asset. It needs to be off-limits to redevelopment.”
• Remnants of an Industrial-Commercial Hub in East Falls Church — “These buildings include the remaining W&OD siding, the Shreve Oil Co. building, and Cars USA, among others… The last few buildings of this area’s important role as a commercial hub in the 20th century are threatened by the redevelopment that is expected to occur with the arrival of the Silver Line transfer station at East Falls Church.”
• Wilson School — “Designed by prominent Richmond architect Charles Morrison Robinson, the Wilson school survives as one of the oldest extant school buildings in Arlington County. While severely altered, it is the last remaining example of early 20th-century institutional architecture in the Rosslyn and Fort Myer Heights neighborhood.”
• Mid-Century Arlington Architecture — “Although less understood and celebrated than other well-known design eras, mid-century modern architecture reflects a very pivotal time in our nation and in Arlington County. Arlington has numerous classic buildings of mid-century architecture that need to be preserved before it is too late.”
• Family Graveyards — “As time passes and family members and descendants grow more distant from their buried ancestors, many of these graveyards are falling into a state of disrepair and neglect, and are threatened by encroaching development. Preservation Arlington encourages Arlington County to assist stewards of these family graveyards to investigate, document, and preserve these properties, before any more of these family histories are lost.”

The group’s 2013 list included National Register neighborhoods, the Arlington House woods, the 1879 Seneca quarry red sandstone cemetery boundary wall, the remnants of the Washington & Old Dominion Railway, low-rise commercial architecture of the 1930s-1950s, the Wilson School, the Blue Goose building and garden apartments.

Photos via Preservation Arlington