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Tag: Arlington Cemetery

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National Register Places

Puzzle Time:
National Register Places

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Arlington County is rich in history and this is refected in our built environment. In Arlington County there are numerous buildings, sites and neighborhoods on the National Register of Historic Places. There are also local historic districts, historic easements and historical markers. To be listed on the National Register, properties must be of a certain age and meet specific criteria. Being listed on the National Register is mostly honorific. It provides some tax relief to certain owners and certain types…

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Guest Post: Arlington Cemetery Then and Now

Guest Post: Arlington Cemetery Then and Now

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Preservation Arlington welcomes this guest post from Dean DeRosa, a National Park Service volunteer at Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial, regarding the changing landscape of Arlington Cemetery, as viewed through period and modern stereographs. (In 2014, DeRosa made the remarkable discovery of a never-before-published stereograph of Selina Gray, the enslaved housekeeper at Arlington House.) In May 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant headed 20- to 30 thousand Memorial Day visitors to Arlington National Cemetery to pay homage to the…

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2014 Arlington’s Lost Historic Places List

2014 Arlington’s Lost Historic Places List

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Preservation Arlington presents the 2014 Arlington’s Lost Historic Places List. Each year, Preservation Arlington releases an Arlington’s Most Endangered Historic Places List to heighten awareness of historic sites and resources in the county and to inspire advocacy on behalf of preservation within the Arlington community. In 2014 we have developed three separate lists — Protected, Lost, and Endangered — that will be released during Preservation Month 2014. During 2013, several distinctive properties in Arlington County were lost or slated for…

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SAVED: Tiffany Studios Stained Glass Windows

SAVED: Tiffany Studios Stained Glass Windows

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From 1924 to 1926, the United States Mausoleum Company built the Abbey Mausoleum adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery. Built on land that had been owned by the Syphax family — which had ties to Arlington House, Robert E. Lee’s estate — the Abbey Mausoleum was a majestic building with a granite exterior, bronze front doors, extensive marble in the interior, and gorgeous stained glass windows. At 50,000 sf, the building was neoclassical in design and contained over 650 crypts. The…

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Historic Districts 101

Historic Districts 101

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What are Arlington’s historic districts and why are they important? Preservation Arlington has been highlighting properties in our “For Sale” series that are in historic districts, showcasing properties that were saved, and trying to raise awareness about the loss of homes in our National Register Historic Districts. The goal is to foster discussion about what these older neighborhoods mean to the fabric of our community, and how the scale, pedestrian focus, and land use are all factors in historic district…

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Army Corps Green-Lights Cemetery Tree Removal

Army Corps Green-Lights Cemetery Tree Removal

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Over the objections of conservation and preservation groups, as well as private citizens, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has given Arlington National Cemetery the go-ahead to cut down nearly 800 native trees near Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee National Memorial. The Corps performed an environmental assessment that concluded that the proposal, designed to expand the cemetery to allow for more burials, would have “no significant adverse impact” on the environment of the site. The oldest trees in the…

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The Last Days of the Navy Annex

The Last Days of the Navy Annex

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Built in 1941 during the booming war effort in Washington, D.C., the Navy Annex overlooking the Pentagon is now nearly gone. After more than a decade of negotiating and planning, the Department of Defense is close to completing its demolition of the building to make way for an expansion of nearby Arlington National Cemetery. Once the demolition is complete, the site will be converted to a grass field pending its incorporation into the cemetery. Once known simply as Federal Office…

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Blue Goose, Other Endangered List Sites Make News

Blue Goose, Other Endangered List Sites Make News

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Preservation Arlington and our 2013 Endangered List have made local headlines, with coverage in ArlNow, the Arlington Sun Gazette, the Arlington Patch, and the City BizList for Washington, D.C. Much of the coverage focused on the Blue Goose, the mid-century modern office building in Ballston, as well as the Arlington House Woods, which made both Preservation Arlington’s and Preservation Virginia‘s endangered lists this year. “To save the Blue Goose, preservationists will have to convince its owner, Marymount University, to abandon…

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Preservation Arlington’s 2013 List of Endangered Historic Places

Preservation Arlington’s 2013 List of Endangered Historic Places

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National Register neighborhoods, historic and natural resources at Arlington National Cemetery, low-rise commercial architecture, and other buildings and sites make up Preservation Arlington’s 2013 list of Arlington County’s Most Endangered Historic Places. 1.       National Register Neighborhoods.  The proximity of Arlington’s historic neighborhoods to urban amenities has caused property values to skyrocket and consumers seeking larger homes for their purchasing dollar. The social and architectural fabric of these older neighborhoods is being threatened by over-sized and incompatible in-fill development and this…

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Preservation Virginia Names Arlington Cemetery as “Most Endangered”

Preservation Virginia Names Arlington Cemetery as “Most Endangered”

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At a press conference at Arlington National Cemetery today, Preservation Virginia announced that the cemetery’s cultural landscape was one of eight historic places on its 2013 “Most Endangered Historic Sites” list. With representatives from Preservation Arlington, the Arlington County Historic Preservation Office, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), and others in attendance, Preservation Virginia Executive Director Elizabeth Kostelny raised concerns about the planned 27-acre Millennium Project expansion, which threatens a 12-acre section of Arlington House Woods as well as its old…

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