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Arlington Public Library

Center for Local History Blog

Dedicated to collecting, preserving and sharing the history of the community.

"A Library is a Dangerous Place"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The new Westover Branch Library opened October 31, 2009, at the corner of Washington Boulevard and N. McKinley Road. It is a dual use facility shared with the schools and located on the site of the original Walter Reed School.

When the previous building opened in 1963, 3000 books were borrowed on the first day, a record number of check-outs for a single day at that time, according to then library director Jane Nida.

The whole library system was expanding during this period, and at one of the dedications, County Board member Roye Lowry made the following remarks, a reminder of the importance and power of libraries:

“The serenity of this building and the quiet atmosphere of its interior should not mislead us, for this is meant to be an exciting and even dangerous place…Awaiting us here will be the best and the worst in ourselves and in all men…If you enter this place, you shall not leave unmarked, for this is a place where illusions are shattered, where prejudices are destroyed, where hopes and ideals are kindled anew…

A library is a dangerous place for anyone who is afraid of new ideas. I hope that we will always keep it that way.”

 

The Great Outdoors

Swimming in Arlington

The young girls above are enjoying a rarity in Arlington County: swimming in an outdoor pool.

Although there are private swim clubs all over Northern Virginia, Arlington has only one outdoor public pool, at Upton Hill, which is part of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, not the county.

Young people in Arlington were still able to learn to swim. The county was unique in that by 1968, there were indoor pools and instruction at every public senior and junior high school. However, swimming outside during the summer could be more difficult. The Department of Parks and Recreation tried to help with their summer day camp program. New in the summer of 1953, campers went biweekly to “the Marine Corps pool” and “the Middleburg pool” according to the annual report. That report specifically stated “[b]ecause of lack of facilities, swimming and golf are not a part of the Department’s sports activities.” Today, classes are still offered through the county – year-round, inside.

What About You?

Where did you go swimming in Arlington? Did you attend the county’s day camp? Do you know anything about “the Marine Corps pool” and “the Middleburg pool”? Let us know what you remember!

 

Littlest Italy

Quarries for Washington

Arlington is not known for its vibrant Italian community, but actually at one time there was a small section of the County known as “Little Italy.”

In the Marcey Creek ravine there once lived about twenty-four Italian and Sicilian quarrymen who worked the quarries on the Potomac Palisades near the mouth of Pimmit Run, Gulf Branch, Donaldson Run, Marcey Creek and Spout Run. These quarries once produced the building material for many structures in the Washington area.

Two types of stone were quarried: rubble to crush for use on streets and roads, and larger stones for construction. Among the buildings that used the stone included Georgetown University, St. Patrick’s Church, the Hains Point seawall, and St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. The last quarry closed in 1938.

In preparation for the George Washington Memorial Parkway’s construction in the mid 1950’s, the National Park Service acquired the quarry land, including the area known as “Little Italy” where the last three remaining quarry workers remained. The above photograph shows a waterfall in one of the quarries after it was turned into parkland.

Guiseppe (Josh) Conduci and his brother Carmelo (Carl) Conduci and Phillip Matoli had lived peacefully there after the quarries closed down, raising and selling flowers. Their only extravagance was pure olive oil for cooking. Friends stepped in to find homes for them, but forced to move from the only homes they had known for so many years was wrenching, and a sad ending to what was once Arlington’s early “Italian community.”

What About You?

Do you remember the quarries on the Potomac Palisades? Let us know what you remember!

 

An Historic School

From School to Historical Society

Hume School Arlington Historical Society

Driving along Arlington Ridge Road you pass an old two-story brick building with a bell tower which was once the Hume School.

Named for civic leader and philanthropist Frank Hume, it is the oldest remaining school building in Arlington.

Built in 1891, the land was purchased for $250 from Frank Hume, a successful wholesale grocer in Washington D.C., who later donated land for an adjacent playground as long as the building was used as a school. When the school was built it was the County’s newest school and attacked as an extravagance as it had three rooms, considered far too large for any “foreseeable” school population. Most schools at that time were one room only.

In 1958, when the school closed, the Hume heirs deeded the property to the Arlington Historical Society, along with a $10,000 donation from one of Frank Hume’s children to help with fundraising for a proposed museum to help preserve Arlington’s heritage. The result was the Arlington Historical Society Museum, which is run primarily by volunteers and has been open at least one day a week since its inception.

What About You?

What do you remember about Hume School? How have you interacted with the Historical Society? Let us know what you remember!

 

Jacobs Castle

Over the years, Arlington County has seen many residences and buildings rise and fall, but few can claim to have such an unusual story as that of Jacobs Castle.

While on vacation in Europe in the 1930s, obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. J. Bay Jacobs and his wife, Eva Harris Jacobs, saw a castle in Bavaria that they both greatly admired. Upon returning, the couple decided to build a similar one for their residence in Arlington.

The property chosen was a section of the former Thomas B. Dawson Estate, located near Rosslyn on a bluff of the Palisades overlooking the Potomac River. Construction started in 1938, with ongoing additions and improvements taking place into the 1950s.

Among the many features of the property was a fish pond, a striking wrought iron spiral staircase housed in the turret, and the oak flooring of the first floor living room, which had an unusual motif of carved butterflies in the shape of a man’s bowtie.

Following the deaths of the Jacobs (Mrs. Jacobs in 1979, Dr. Jacobs in 1988), the ornate antique furnishings were sold at auction, and, the castle was then deeded to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists by Dr. Jacobs’ son John Bay Jacobs II. Later, the property was sold to developer Conrad Cafritz, who envisioned developing some of the land while turning the castle itself into a community center. These plans came to naught when Cafritz went bankrupt and the property was foreclosed upon and later destroyed in November 1994.

A somewhat macabre coda to Jacobs Castle occurred when demolition workers unearthed the body of a baby, found inside a crate behind a small, boarded passageway. Dr. Jacobs’ son said his father preserved the bodies of stillborn infants for use in his teaching.

What About You?
Do you have any memories of Jacobs Castle? Let us know what you remember!

 

Close Encounters

UFOs in Arlington!

 

Arlington’s X-Files, Pt. 1

At some time in our lives, most of us have seen something puzzling in the sky that left us looking for some type of explanation. From early Biblical accounts to present day sightings, it’s a phenomenon that has become part of our modern folklore and whether one is a believer or skeptic, it is a topic that will continue to be debated.

Arlington has had its share of sightings over the years, and even played a part in the much publicized “UFOs Over Washington” flap that took place from July 13 to July 29, 1952, over Washington, D.C., when, on July 13th, a green, oval shaped object was reportedly seen circling the Arlington and Washington D.C area.

Other notable reports of UFO activity in Arlington County include a May 5, 1990 report of an object that was sighted by an amateur astronomer using binoculars, a May 27, 1997 sighting of 2 rapidly moving discs, and a 10 minute sighting of a disc shaped object with revolving red and white lights on Sept. 19, 2000.

What About You?

Have you had a close encounter of the Arlington kind? Let us hear from you!

 

Snowy Fun and Games on "County Hill"

Presbyterian Church of the Covenant on Military Road

Presbyterian Church of the Covenant on Military Road, date unknown.

Excerpt from our Oral History with Clyde Shepard

Interviewer: What did the kids do around wintertime? Did you sleigh ride like we do now?

Narrator: Yes, in the wintertime, that’s exactly what we did. We’d stayed on that Glencarlyn hill down there where the Seven Eleven is. We call that the County Hill. Of course, you only had a car come by there occasionally. When I was very young, the cars would only come by every fifteen minutes, one car. It was a very dangerous thing we did, you want to talk about some of the things we did. I’ll say this, we used to catch on the back of the bus when he’d slow down and hit the tracks down there and we’d get a free ride, you know, we had gloves on, and we’d be on our bellies on the sleigh, right, and then we’d catch the bus and he’d pull us up and we’d slide back down and wait for the next car or bus. That’s one thing we did all winter long. We’d get a big fire on the top of the hill, there’s plenty of wood around. A big old barrel we had down there and we’d start a fire, we spent the winter nights, it seemed like to the winters were more severe back when I was a child. We had snow all winter long. Seems that way to me.

The Best Kind of Activist

Remembering Ellen Bozman

When Arlingtonians attend a Neighborhood Day celebration, shop at retail stores built in high-rises across the street from an Arlington metro station, or buy produce at the Arlington Farmer’s Market, they can thank Ellen Bozman.

Bozman, who moved to Arlington from Illinois in 1950, was a believer in good government and smart community planning. She was first active in Arlington’s League of Women Voters, pushing for school desegregation and becoming the league’s president from 1963 to 1965. Over time, Ellen was drawn into county work by her civic responsibility, culminating in her election to the Arlington County Board in November of 1973. She kept that seat, holding the chairmanship six times, until her retirement from the Board in 1997. One of her most long-lasting achievements was the success of Smart Growth, which surrounded metro stops along the Courthouse-Ballston corridor with urban retail and residential high rises while keeping areas further out more open and suburban. In 1986, Washingtonian magazine named her “Washingtonian of the Year.”

Bozman’s tireless work on behalf of all Arlingtonians continued even after her retirement from the County Board. Until her death on January 8, 2009, she was a board member for the Arlington Community Foundation and appeared at Neighborhood Day celebrations, of which she was the founder. Today, you can find out more about Ellen Bozman’s work on behalf of Arlington County residents in the Virginia Room. There are oral histories and county publications that document Bozman’s time on the County Board, and maps that document Arlington’s development over the second half of the twentieth century.

What About You?

What are your memories of Ellen Bozman? Let us hear from you!

 

A Parkington Christmas

The commercial area now known as Ballston was called Parkington from the 1950s into the 1980s.

The name referred to the large parking garage built there to accommodate the growing suburban population of the Washington area. The main shopping attraction of Parkington was the Hecht’s store, which was included into the formation of the Ballston Mall and is now known as Macy’s. The Hecht Company, as it was known at the time, constructed the garage themselves.
During the holidays, Hecht’s advertised it’s “Kiddies’ Train Ride” in local papers, including the Alexandria Gazette. The ad read

“Clear the tracks for the Disneyland Special! Kids, get your Mommie and Daddy to bring you to the Hecht Co. at Parkington today and every day till Christmas! Take the most exciting train ride you ever had! Buy your ticket for just 9 [cents] and hop aboard for a wonderful, magical train ride through Disneyland…where you’ll see your favorite Disney characters – Donald Duck, Alice-in-Wonderland [sic], the Mad Hatter, and many, many more! Buy and armful of tickets and go ’round as many times as you’d like!” There was even a “bucking bronco” nearby. Of course, the train was only for kids, but “doting parents can watch too!”

What About You?

Do you remember the train ride at Hecht’s, or Christmas shopping in Parkington? What other Arlington holiday traditions do you remember? Let us hear from you!

 

The Old Oaken Bucket

Oral histories are a vibrant and personal part of the Virginia Room's collection.

GW-WLgame 1963bl

Here, Barbara Ball Savage, a W & L alumnus, talks about one of Arlington's Thanksgiving traditions, the Old Oaken Bucket game.
This interview was conducted in February of 2000.

Barbara Ball Savage: The Oaken Bucket was very big between W & L and George Washington High School in Alexandria. And you could count on a few fights there every Thanksgiving morning because the tempers would get pretty high. I can remember Forest Tucker, the actor - do you remember who Forest Tucker was? He was a W & L graduate. He graduated with my sister-in-law as a matter of fact. And he would come back for that game, so I can remember him being there while I was in high school. But it was a big thing. Thanksgiving morning we would all bundle up and I swear the days were colder then than they are now. I can remember just freezing. And if it was down in Alexandria we would all pile in cars and go down there and go to that game. It was really a big thing for Arlington and Alexandria. And then we’d come home and the turkey would be just about ready because Mother had things ready. She’d have dinner on the table for 21, 22 people by 2:00 at the latest.[…]

And Thanksgiving was a wonderful time, and then we all went out in the back yard and played touch football. Everybody got in the games and played. Or, we’d finish raking the leaves…[s]o Thanksgiving was a very special day. But that football game, you’d talk about it for a month ahead of time, you know, how important that game was going to be.

What About You?

What do you remember about the Old Oaken Bucket game? What about other Arlington high school traditions? Let us hear from you!

 



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