That transportation option was the electric trolley. More than 100 years later, Arlington’s leaders are moving forward with a $200 million streetcar project that will stop in some of the same places as its long-forgotten predecessor.
Aurora Highlands Civic Association president Michael Dowell recently wrote about the area’s transportation history in the group’s monthly newsletter.
“Bring the kids and be immersed in 19th century Virginia life,” beckons county parks spokesperson Nate Spillman. “This is a great outdoor event for the whole family!”
The fun includes watching blacksmiths in action, touring a log cabin, as well as making your own apple cider, corn husk dolls and hand-dipped candles.
Tonight historian John Paul Liebertz will recount the early days of Columbia Pike and describe the people and events that have shaped the Pike’s progress from rural byway to commercial center.
The presentation will take place at 7:00 p.m. at Arlington Central Library (1015 North Quincy Street).
It was the last time Arlington voters would say no on a county bond referendum.
With less than three weeks to go before absentee voting begins in Arlington, it seems highly unlikely that the trend will reverse itself this year.
On Saturday, the Center Hiking Club is sponsoring an all-day, 12-mile historical walking tour of central Arlington, which will include visits to colonial, Civil War, trolley, and W&OD railroad sites. There will also be stops at cemeteries, log cabins, historic springs and old mills, among others. The tour will start at the Clarendon Metro Station at 9:00 a.m. and end at the Ballston Metro Station around 7:00 p.m. The cost is a mere $2.00. Contact organizer Bernie Berne at (703) 243-0179 or bhberne [at] yahoo.com for more information.
Also on Saturday, Shirlington Village is holding its second annual “Wags ‘N’ Whiskers” pet event from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. See our previous article on the event for more information.
Technically, representation in Congress did not come immediately after the vote. It would take another year for the Virginia legislature to accept the retrocession. And not everybody was well-represented. Virginia was a slave state and Arlington would not benefit from the Compromise of 1850, which outlawed the slave trade in the District.
Amid a fascinating history lesson, our friends at We Love DC pose a thought-provoking question: Was the retrocession a good idea? For the District, the answer seems to be no.
Flags In at Arlington National Cemetery — Service members from each branch of the armed forces placed decorative flags in front of Arlington National Cemetery’s quarter million graves yesterday. “Flags In” has been a Memorial Day weekend tradition at the cemetery since 1948. See more photos here.
Remembering Arlington’s Forgotten Baseball Phenom — He was considered one of the greats of his day, although he was never voted into Cooperstown. George Hartley McQuinn, born in 1910, was a six-time All-Star who spent 12 years playing professional ball. In his rookie season, McQuinn went on a 34-game hitting streak. Take that, Ryan Zimmerman. Plus, McQuinn was an Arlington resident who opened a sporting goods store in Clarendon after he retired from the game. He would have turned 100 on Saturday. Read more about him here.
In Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is primarily a regional holiday with “limited significance nationwide.” Across the United States, however, the fifth of May is recognized as a time to celebrate Mexican heritage by some, and as a good excuse to drink lots of Coronas and margaritas by others.
Here are a few of the planned events and specials happening around Arlington on Wednesday. Let us know if we forgot anything.
Maybe you’ve jogged by it and never quite knew why it’s there: thousands of colorful tulips in bloom between the Iwo Jima Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
The tulips are planted on the grounds of the Netherlands Carillon, a gift given to the United States on behalf of the Dutch people in appreciation for our sacrifices during World War II. It was dedicated on May 5, 1960, to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the Netherlands’ liberation from the Nazis.
There’s a section of Arlington National Cemetery, near the Iwo Jima Memorial, that contains graves unlike any other. The graves belong not to soldiers, but to freed slaves who lived on the grounds after the Civil War, in a thriving “Freedman’s Village.”
The village was home to more than 1,100 former slaves, including the black abolitionist Sojourner Truth, who spent a year there, on what was once the estate of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s family.
You may not realize it, but Arlington was once home to the biggest, baddest radio towers in the world.
The U.S. Navy Radio Station was built in 1910 on what is now Columbia Pike, overlooking the nation’s capital. The 600-foot high, 100,000 watt towers were monsters, able to transmit signals much farther than your standard AM or FM broadcast today.
State Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (D), who represents Arlington, went on MSNBC today to criticize Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) for proclaiming April “Confederate History Month.”
