The chicken that tried to sneak into the Pentagon (photo courtesy Animal Welfare League of Arlington)
A very bold and very lost chicken was “caught sneaking around the security area at the Pentagon” early Monday morning.
The adventurous bird was nabbed by Arlington animal control officers, who were called in to help the headquarters of the world’s most powerful military with its poultry problem.
A runner along Long Bridge Park in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Local GOP Supports NAACP’s Caucus Call — “We agree with the NAACP Arlington Branch when they exclaim ‘holding a partisan caucus outside the general election schedule leads to voter confusion and thus undermines voter engagement… and candidate recruitment,’ and we support the NAACP’s strong recommendation that the ‘ACDC cease its School Board caucus and endorsement process…'” [Arlington GOP]
New Mahjong Speakeasy in Pentagon City — “Scott Chung, the restaurateur behind Bun’d Up, was chatting with fellow chef Andrew Lo not long ago about how to best make use of the back room of his Taiwanese gua bao eatery in Pentagon City. Chung had a vision for a dive bar. Lo suggested a hub for mahjong… The end result is Sparrow Room, a speakeasy-style cocktail bar and dim sum restaurant at Westpost (formerly Pentagon Row) that opens Thursday, Jan. 27.” [Arlington Magazine]
This regularly scheduled sponsored column is written by Carolanne Korolowicz, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. If you would like to work with Carolanne in Northern Virginia and the greater D.C. Metro area, you can reach her directly at [email protected].
I’ve always heard my grandmother saying she was from Barcroft more often than saying she was an Arlingtonian. Though a niche distinction, for those from there– it’s an important one. When she tells stories of her upbringing, it is always painted like a Norman Rockwell scene. She speaks of farmettes, relatives living next door, days on the playground and a community truly caring for one another. As I started my Barcroft research, outside of just generations of familial stories, it was hard to take in all of the information to write a concise article due to every happening, resident and home being documented with great importance. Whether a neighbor started a business or went to go visit their cousins in the country, the community took a genuine interest.
(Donna Lee (Kirchner) Wilson, my grandmother, with the 1948 Barcroft Community Quilt, 2009)
The early settlers of Barcroft considered themselves pioneers headed west. Post-Civil War, real estate developers saw investment opportunities in Northern Virginia. With (relatively) easier access to Washington due to advancements in transportation, these subdivisions were heavily advertised to city folk looking to escape to the “country air”. There was an early, and overall unsuccessful, attempt to subdivide the land that makes up modern-day Barcroft by Frank Corbett. In 1886, he hired surveyors to lay out a 40-acre subdivision amongst his 162-acre farm, believing the existing train station nearby would be a popular selling point. However, his lots failed to sell. The issue was that he made the tracts too large, pricing out the demographic looking for these properties—middle-class, federal workers. After his death in 1897, a new developer swooped in on the purchase of his remaining lots, starting Barcroft’s second wave.
Original Columbia Pike Bridge over Four Mile Run
In 1903, Abbie Galt Fox purchased the balance of Corbett’s property. She partnered with her son-in-law, Stephen Prescott Wright, to help subdivide, manage and finance the “new” Barcroft. As the lots began to sell, Barcroft expanded both north and to the east. Apartment complexes began to emerge alongside Columbia Pike. The rural village over the next couple of decades would start to become the neighborhood we recognize today.
First Issue of The Barcroft News, 1903
What is unique in Barcroft’s timeline is that a strong sense of community emerged as quickly as the new developments. In June 1903, a young resident, Eddie Haring, took it upon himself to print the first official Barcroft News. The newsletter was compiled of personal news (similar to someone making a Facebook status today), neighborhood updates, opinion pieces and letters to the editor. One in particular really shows the hope and pride residents had in their new hamlet: (more…)
Girl Scouts deliver cookies to Virginia Hospital Center (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
(Updated, 2/2/22) Girl Scout cookie sales in Arlington are back in person this year, after going mostly virtual in 2021.
Over the next several weeks, residents will be able to purchase their Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs or the newest flavor, Adventurefuls, at 15 booths across the county, according to the Girl Scouts’ Cookie Finder website. Only four locations were set up in 2021.
Chasing Tails on N. Westmoreland Street in East Falls Church (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Seafood restaurant Chasin’ Tails is swimming out of Arlington and about a mile down the road to Falls Church, co-owner Au Dang confirms to ARLnow.
The decade-old restaurant that’s inspired by backyard crawfish boils is heading to Founders Row, a new development just over a mile from its current location at 2200 N. Westmoreland Street in Arlington’s East Falls Church neighborhood. The move is expected to happen possibly in June, depending on permits, with the closing and opening of the restaurants happening simultaneously.
Join us in remembrance and celebrate our community at the City of Falls Church’s 44th Annual Memorial Day Parade and Festival on Monday, May 25, 2026. Honor our nation’s fallen heroes and our country’s rich history while marking the 250th anniversary of the United States of America!
Covid cases in Arlington as of Jan. 31, 2022 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)
For the first time since Dec. 15, fewer than 100 new Covid cases were reported in Arlington today.
Ninety new cases were reported today by the Virginia Dept. of Health. That brings the seven-day moving average down to 184 cases per day, the lowest point since Dec. 20.
Mir waiting to get inside the airport in Kabul to evacuate (photo courtesy of Ryan Elizabeth Alvis)
When the Taliban took over his native Afghanistan in August, Mir knew that he and his family needed to get out.
He was confident they would be a target because he was a contractor assisting the United Kingdom, United States, and NATO with communications and information technology.
Chef Johnny Spero at Nighthawk Pizza (photo courtesy of Nighthawk Pizza)
Nighthawk Pizza, the beer and food hall with a “’90s vibe,” is aiming for a late March opening in Pentagon City, co-owner Scott Parker tells ARLnow.
The newest venture from the local serial entrepreneur was initially expected to start serving in the late fall, but supply chain hang-ups (a common refrain these days) pushed the date a few months.
A dad gets pelted by snow in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Pole Finally Removed from Pike — From Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services: “That utility pole awkwardly lingering in the intersection of Columbia Pike and S Frederick Street has been removed. Good night for a cozy fire.” [Twitter]
Men at Memorial Still a Jan. 6 Mystery — “A few months after the Capitol attack, in March 2021, ARLnow published a story that featured several of Westcott’s photos with the faces of the men blurred out. Westcott was also in touch with some of the online sleuths investigating the Capitol attack, but nothing emerged that definitively identified the men or linked them to the broader Oath Keepers conspiracy, or figured out precisely how they fit into the puzzle.” [Huffpost]