Stratford Junior High School is an incredible part of Arlington’s history. It is the first public secondary school in Virginia to integrate as well as an excellent example of International Style school architecture. The building and site meet seven of the criteria for local historic designation. Yet, although it is listed on the National Register, it has no local protection.

On Wednesday, June 17, the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) will hold the first of six public hearings on the Stratford School Local Historic District Designation. A local historic designation will provide a framework for preserving and telling the important story of this building and site while allowing plans for a separate new school to be designed and built.

The June Agenda for HALRB is now online. On the agenda are a total of three (3) Certificates of Appropriateness (CoAs) in the Maywood Historic District, the Dawson Terrace Historic District and the Columbia Pike Form Based Code. The majority of the agenda, from 8 PM to 9:30 PM, is allocated to discussion of the Historic District Designation Report: Stratford School. The County has also prepared a brief document outlining the process on how this nomination originated and what series of events/meetings will occur over the coming months.

Preservation Arlington highlighted the Stratford story in a November 2013 article on the story of the school and how the building has evolved over the years. We will be publicly supporting a local designation for this highly significant site.

ACTION NEEDED: Your voice is needed on this important issue. Please plan to speak on this designation at the hearing or write a letter to HALRB to be read into the record. Letters should be addressed to Joan Lawrence, Chairman, HALRB and emailed to John Liebertz (jliebertz@arlingtonva.us), Historic Preservation Planner, Arlington County and staff coordinator for HALRB.

The HALRB meeting will be held:
June 17
County Board Room
2100 Clarendon Blvd.
7:30 PM