As it moves further into its second century, the Lyon Park community is taking a deeper dive into understanding its formative years.
From digitizing historical records to developing a trio of commemorative markers, leaders hope that looking to the past will help shape the Arlington neighborhood’s next century.
Home to about 5,000 residents, Lyon Park in 2003 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But unlike the Maywood community, it is not designated a local historic district, meaning redevelopment can occur largely unfettered by government intervention.
While many cherish and protect its historic provenance, “the accelerated development is really threatening the character of the community,” said Elizabeth Sheehy, who heads the historical committee of the Lyon Park Citizens Association.
She was speaking at the Oct. 16 meeting of the county government’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB), which is vetting design and wording of three historical markers that will be placed at the heart of the community.
Founded in 1919 — named, like Lyon Village farther north, after developer Frank Lyon — Lyon Park has an important centennial coming up. It was in 1925 that the Lyon Park Community House, now known as the Lyon Park Community Center, opened to become the centerpiece of the community.
During a renovation that was undertaken about a decade ago, more of the history of the community center and surrounding neighborhoods was unearthed. But in preparation for a 100th-anniversary celebration slated for next summer, more efforts are in the planning stages:
- A display case in the community center will provide further information about the neighborhood’s evolution.
- Archived documents currently resting in filing cabinets, including the association’s minutes dating back to 1924, will be scanned and posted online.
- The association’s website will be redesigned and include more historical information.
- The three markers, once approved by the HALRB, will be created and put in place.
Much of the effort is being supported by a grant from the county government. Those grants “really are a tremendous way to connect the people with their communities,” Sheehy said.
At the Oct. 16 HALRB meeting, historic-preservation activist Bernie Berne weighed in, pressing the association to place more emphasis on the history of Vinson Station, a key stop on one of the many trolley lines that crisscrossed the local region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
“It needs a sign,” Berne said of the location where the station once stood.
Representatives of the civic association said they would take the request to heart.
