• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Alert

Help Someone You Know Get a Library Card for Library Card Sign-up Month! More Info

Home - Arlington County Virginia - Logo
MENUMENU
  • Join Now
  • My Account
    • Login
    • My Checkouts
    • My Holds
    • My Lists
    • My Reading History
    • About Borrowing
    • About Holds
    • About My Account
  • Hours & Locations
    • All Hours & Locations
    • Holiday Closings
  • News
  • Contact Us

Arlington Public Library

MENUMENU
  • Search
  • Collections
  • Library Services
  • Events
  • Explore
  • Join Now
  • My Account
    • Login
    • About Borrowing
    • About Holds
    • About My Account
  • Hours & Locations
    • All Hours & Locations
    • Holiday Closings
  • News
  • Contact Us

Clarendon Circle

Post Published: September 3, 2010

One of the busiest areas of Arlington can be found in Clarendon, where Washington Boulevard, Wilson Boulevard and Clarendon Boulevard all meet. In the early 1900s, the presence of the trolley in Clarendon led to an outgrowth of merchants and businesses in that neighborhood.

Although the names, owners and buildings themselves may have changed over time, what has remained constant is the steady parade of shoppers, pedestrians, and commuters that flock to the businesses and restaurants in Clarendon. Long before malls and multiplex cinemas became the mainstays of the present day consumer, customers packed the Ashton Theater, Little Tavern, Sears, and numerous other businesses in Clarendon.

Clarendon Circle was conceived around the time of the onset of World War I, when a parcel of land donated by Arthur J. Porter was used to make the circle.  Sometime in the late 1920s-early 1930s, the American Legion began construction on a War Memorial Monument in the center of the circle, supposedly using stones from a retaining wall from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which was being dismantled at that time. After its dedication on November 11, 1931, the memorial remained at Clarendon Circle until 1940, when concerns about the structure being a possible traffic hazard resulted in its relocation to the Court House that same year. Eventually, in 1986, the memorial was returned to a spot very near its original location.

What About You?

What do remember about Clarendon Circle? Shops? Businesses? Trolleys?

September 3, 2010 by Web Editor Filed Under: News Archive, Our Back Pages Tagged With: local history news

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. James says

    September 24, 2010 at 7:14 AM

    Do you have any other photos of Clarendon Circle when it was a circle?

  2. Virginia Room says

    September 28, 2010 at 12:55 PM

    We have many photos of both Clarendon Circle and the surrounding neighborhood. There is a browsing collection in the Virginia Room available whenever we are open, and you can request other photographs that are housed in our off-site facility. Please feel free to come in and see our materials!

Trackbacks

  1. Main Street and Square | Boulevard Stories says:
    December 16, 2013 at 2:04 PM

    […] 6    Arlington Public Library: Image – Clarendon Circle. http://library.arlingtonva.us/2010/09/03/clarendon-circle/ […]

Footer

About Us

  • Mission & Vision
  • Center for Local History
  • News Room

Administration

  • Policies
  • Library Staff
  • Job Opportunities
  • Propose a Program

Support Your Library

  • Friends of the Library
  • Giving Opportunities
  • Donating Materials
  • Volunteer Opportunities

Our Mission

We champion the power of stories, information and ideas.

We create space for culture and connection.

We embrace inclusion and diverse points of view.

Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. YouTube. Flickr. Newsletters.

download appDownload the Library App

Arlington County | Terms & Conditions | Accessibility | Site Map
· Copyright © 2023 Arlington County Government ·