The Aurora Hills and Columbia Pike Branch Libraries are closed as of 5 p.m. Thursday evening due to power outages.
We hope to open both Branched Friday on our regular 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. schedule.
There are a lot of downed trees in the area, so please travel safely tonight!
Tree down across the sidewalk on Walter Reed Drive.
Photo by Columbia Pike librarian Jayla.
Did you know that Arlington was at the forefront of experimental farming in the early 20th Century?
In 1900, Congress transferred 400 acres of land along the Potomac near Ft. Myer to the Department of Agriculture in order to create an experimental farm for plant testing, and the improvement of plants and cultivation.
Horse-drawn cultivator, Arlington House in background, 1908.
Experimental Farm, USDA, date unknown.
A lot of fascinating and far-reaching work was conducted at the Experimental Farm over the next forty years:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture photo of the Experimental Farm, 1906. National Monument in the background.
Aerial View of the Experimental Farm, 1919, shows area now occupied by the Pentagon and Airport. Bridges are Memorial Bridge and Aqueduct Bridge.
With the development of Arlington National Cemetery and the construction of Memorial Bridge there was pressure to relocate the farm. In 1932 much of the farm’s work was shifted to Beltsville, MD.
By 1941 the remainder of the property had been transferred to the War Department for use in the National Defense Program.
To see more items like these, or to learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the Central Library.
Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share?
Use this form to send a message to the Center for Local History.
Update: HVAC work is complete and the Aurora Hills Branch will be open on Thursday.
The Aurora Hills Branch Library and the Senior Center will be closed Tuesday, May 21 and Thursday, May 23.
The HVAC unit for the building will be replaced during this time.
Aurora Hills will be open for our regular schedule on Wednesday, May 22, from 1 - 9 p.m.
Due Dates and Holds
We apologize for any inconvenience.
Before the Key Bridged spanned the Potomac River from Georgetown to Rosslyn, the Alexandria Aqueduct carried barges on an extension of the C&O Canal from Georgetown to Alexandria (then encompassing Arlington County and the City of Alexandria), to keep the city competitive as a trading center.
NOTE: The following two paragraphs have been edited to correct an error, and add information.
These two photographs were taken approximately forty years apart.
Aqueduct Bridge, c. 1900, photographed from Georgetown
Key Bridge with remaining piers of old aqueduct, c. 1940, photographed from Georgetown
The first photo, c.1900, was taken from Georgetown looking towards Rosslyn. It shows the Aqueduct Bridge (also known as the Potomac or Alexandria Aqueduct), which connected Virginia and Georgetown from 1843 to 1923. The tall building in the upper right corner of the first photo was a brewing company that began as the Consumer Brewing Company (1895 -1902) and then became the Arlington Brewing Company (1902 -1918).
The second image shows the Key Bridge with the last vestiges of the Aqueduct Bridge. Construction on the Aqueduct Bridge began in 1833 at the bequest of the Alexandria Canal, which knew its port would suffer because of the C&O Canal. The bridge took ten years to construct, and in 1868, a second level was added to the bridge to serve as a road between Rosslyn and Georgetown for people and carts.
In 1886, the bridge was closed to canal boats, but the Aqueduct Bridge continued to be used as a bridge for traffic between Georgetown and Rosslyn until 1923, when the Key Bridge opened.
The Aqueduct Bridge's iron superstructure was removed in 1933 by the Depression-era Civil Works Administration, and in 1962 the Army Corps of Engineers removed the tops of seven of the eight stone piers visible in the the Key Bridge image. The eighth pier—the one closest to Virginia—was left intact and is visible to this day. You can also still see remnants of the Georgetown abutment near the western base of the Key Bridge.
To see more items like these, or to learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the Central Library.
Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share?
Use this form to send a message to the Center for Local History.
To tackle the big book “Moby-Dick,” while talking about it online, and cheering each other on when necessary.
Children of all ages are invited to see and even touch all sorts of vehicles including construction trucks, fire trucks, a recycling truck, an ART bus, and more!
While you’re here, create fun truck and bus crafts, listen to a truck storytime, and check out books about cars, trucks, buses and construction vehicles.
Submit your work for an exhibit at the Library!
A sample of previous art exhibits
The Arlington Public Library is committed to displaying works of art and craft created by and/or of interest to the Arlington community.
We exhibit solo and group shows of local artists submitted through the online application process.
On exhibit at the Shirlington Branch Library, May 1 - 28, 2019.
This series of photographs was taken in the Ethiopian Highlands.
Artist statement:
Most of my early work, shooting in black and white film, was documentary, focusing on the people and street scenes in my hometown, New York City. For example, I completed a major project on the homeless who spent their nights in a church on Park Avenue, where, over a period of years, I came to know the nightly inhabitants. I also did a photo series on Coney Island, where locals ranged from old and grizzled chess players to young working-class parents with their kids. In these projects, I tried to capture the timelessness of the places and the warmth of its inhabitants.
After moving to DC, I switched to digital photography, and much of my focus shifted from documentary towards fine art. Fine art photography allows me to capture details of a subject from a more abstract perspective, and reveal a world that usually goes undetected as life rushes by.
Whereas my focus continues to be mostly on more abstract subjects, I recently had the opportunity to travel to several small villages in the Ethiopian Highlands and briefly return to my documentary photographic roots. Although the culture and environment were completely foreign to me, I was once again enthralled with the timelessness of the landscape and the warmth of the inhabitants. I connected with people living as they had for hundreds of years, working in villages that had changed little for generations. For me personally, the parallels between the quintessentially urban New York City environments and the open, rural villages of Ethiopia represent a striking reminder that, despite differences among people and cultures, we are all fundamentally the same.
In this photo essay of the Ethiopian Highlands, I hope the viewer feels the warmth, hope and humanity that I felt among the people, and within an environment, that were totally foreign to me yet unmistakably reminiscent of my New York City childhood home.
Want to buy something you see on our walls?
Artists contribute 20% of sales made during their exhibit to the Friends of the Arlington County Public Library, to help support Library programming.
Happy Mother's Day to all the women who have worked to keep us both healthy and clean!
These photos are from Arlington Health Department hygiene classes, which were offered for new and expectant mothers in the 1930s and 1940s.
Home hygiene clinic, 1938
Baby bath demonstration, 1943
During this time period, health and cleanliness were considered one and the same, so personal hygiene was seen as essential to being healthy.
The classes for new mothers covered maternity hygiene, infant hygiene, and preschool hygiene. Among other things, nurses demonstrated the best way to wash a toddler and a baby.
To see more items like these, or to learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the Central Library.
Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share?
Use this form to send a message to the Center for Local History.
The Library will host a series of events, conversations, and presentations to support a healthier Arlington.
Focusing on a different theme each day, we will celebrate the power of prevention, advocate for healthy and fair policies, and share strategies and resources for a strong public health system.
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