Arlington Public Library

Throwback Thursday

Unbought and Unbossed: U.S. Representative Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm (1924-2005)

Celebrate Black History Month and the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment with stories about women who have used their voices and their votes to better their communities and help shape the United States.

In 1968, Shirley Chisholm made history as the first African-American woman to be elected to Congress. She also broke barriers as the first woman to seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972.

Throughout her life, Shirley Chisholm became one of the most influential and iconic policymakers and activists in the United States, and a tireless advocate for women and minority groups.

Shirley Chisholm was born in 1924 in Brooklyn, New York, to immigrant parents from Guyana and Barbados. She graduated cum laude from Brooklyn College in 1946, where she was also a top member of the debate team. After college, she worked as a nursery school teacher and went on to receive a master’s degree from Columbia University in early childhood education. She continued to excel in her field and later served as a consultant to the New York City Division of Day Care.

Shirley Chisholm at the Black Caucus State of the Union event, 1973. Courtesy of the Library of Congress

As her career progressed, Chisholm was also politically active and participated in many groups that sought to combat racial and gender inequality, including the League of Women Voters, the NAACP, the Urban League, and the Democratic Party Club. In 1964, she was elected to the New York State Legislature, making her the second African-American person to do so. Four years later, in 1968, she ran for and was elected to Congress. After her historic win, considered an upset in her district, she aptly declared: “Just wait, there may be some fireworks.”

Chisholm’s time in Congress was one of prolific work and steadfast determination, marked by her slogan “unbought and unbossed.” Nicknamed “Fighting Shirley,” she focused on causes including racial and gender equality, helping the poor, and putting an end to the Vietnam War. During her time in office, she introduced more than 50 pieces of legislation and continued to achieve milestones, including becoming the first Black woman and the second woman ever to serve on the House Rules Committee in 1977. Chisholm was also one of the co-founders of the National Women’s Political Caucus, which sought to broaden women’s political participation.

Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm announces her candidacy for the presidential nomination, January 25, 1972. L-R, Shirley Chisholm, Parren Mitchell, Charles Rangel, Bella Abzug. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

In 1972, Chisholm trailblazed into yet another region of the political realm when she sought the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, the first woman to do so. Due to discrimination, numerous obstacles were placed in her way: she received little establishment support, and was blocked from taking part in televised primary debates, only making one speech after seeking legal intervention. And while the nomination ultimately went to George McGovern, Chisholm entered 12 primaries and was able to gain 10 percent of the total vote.

Shirley Chisholm presidential campaign poster, 1972. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Shirley Chisholm speaks at the third session of the Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach, July 12, 1972. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Chisholm retired from Congress in 1983 but continued to be politically active, co-founding the National Political Congress of Black Women and teaching at Mount Holyoke College.

After a life on the forefront of trailblazing politics, she reflected on her life:

“I’d like them to say that Shirley Chisholm had guts. That’s how I’d like to be remembered.”

Learn more about Shirley Chisholm in her autobiography, "Unbought and Unbossed," available at the Library.

Valentine’s Day Postcards

The price of a stamp to mail a postcard in the early 1900s was just one penny. 

Postcard sent from Morgantown. WV, February 14, 1913

Postcard sent from Annapolis, MD, February 12, 1909

These Valentine's Day postcards, part of a collection sent from around the region to Miss Irene Andris, have postmarks ranging from 1906 through 1913. Some include personal messages, but many are simply addressed to the recipient.

Irene Andris was the grandmother of a Library employee, who donated the collection to the Center for Local History.

Postcard sent from Morgantown. WV, date stamp illegible.

Postcard sent from Morgantown. WV, February 14, 10 a.m., no year.

The Center for Local History has a large collection of holiday-themed postcards from the early-to-mid 20th Century. There are also postcards for birthdays, New Year’s, Christmas, Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, and the Fourth of July. 

The first American postcard was pressed in 1873. Postcards quickly became an inexpensive form of communication, growing in popularity throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries. The study and collection of postcards, which you've just learned a little bit about by reading this, is called Deltiology.

To see more of the postcard collection, or to learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the Central Library.

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Question for the Archives: Where Was My School?

Last week the Center for Local History was contacted by a patron looking for the name of an Arlington school he attended for one year as a child.

1952 Arlington property map

The man was able to give us the following information: He lived on North Richmond Street, in North Arlington, and the bus ride to the unknown school was short. He mentioned the school was older and made of brick. And when Taylor Elementary School opened the following year in 1953, he switched schools.

After looking at our maps and checking on when specific schools were built, archivist Heather determined that it’s most likely that the patron went to Woodmont Elementary School in the 1952-53 school year. Woodmont was built in 1926, with a few later additions. The other candidate that was farther away, Nottingham, was built in 1952, so it wouldn’t have that “old” feel the patron mentioned. Woodmont is also close enough to North Richmond Street to be considered a short bus ride in 1952.

1952 Arlington property map

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.

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The First Arlington County Fair

For over 40 years the Arlington County Fair has been an important community event in both the County and Northern Virginia.

Arlington held its first County Fair in 1977, led by a nonprofit, all-volunteer group, which organized and operated the event.

Floyd Hawkins, who at the age of 81 helped start the Arlington County Fair, and served as the Fair’s treasurer for 10 years, from 1977 to 1987.
The Center for Local History conducted an oral history interview with Hawkins in 1986.

Harvest Day

The idea for the Fair emerged from the County’s community gardens program. Resident gardeners had been planning a Harvest Day to display the produce from the program’s 10 community garden plots. One thing led to another, and the idea expanded to involve more members of the Arlington community.

The First Arlington County Fair

The inaugural Arlington County Fair began on Friday, August 26, 1977, at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center. It started with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon and ended at 6 p.m. on Sunday, August 28.

It was noted at the time that Arlington's fair was the only event of this type held between Gaithersburg, MD, and Manassas, VA. It was also billed as one of the country's rare “urban fairs” – combining the elements of a traditional county fair in an urban setting. Anticipation for the Fair brewed around this melding of the new and old, as one reporter noted in an August 25, 1977 Washington Post preview:

“Where can an exceptional chrysanthemum raised on the tenth-floor balcony of the Crystal House apartment complex in Arlington receive its just due? Until this week, nowhere. However, if entered before 9 a.m. Friday it could be a blue-ribbon winner in the First Annual Arlington County Fair.”

Among the activities at the first Arlington County Fair were ribbon competitions in home arts, preserving, crafts, cake decorating, produce, flower arranging, individual flowers, paints, photography, sculpture, clothing, and baked goods. Also featured were exhibits and demonstrations of arts and crafts, as well as booths from groups such as the Arlington Office of Consumer Affairs and the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. The Arlington County Fair, according to Ware Page - the first chairman and a local freelancer in consulting and advertising - was designed to appeal to the diversity of Arlington’s population:

“Our fair is unique. It will reflect Arlington’s pluralistic nature. There will be religious groups, business interests, local gardeners, charity and community groups all under one roof.”

While there was a limited livestock showing at the event – two pigs, two sheep, and two goats imported from the 4-H club in Loudoun county – there was plenty of flora and fauna to go around. About 270 families were farming loaned plots established by the community garden program, and many of them participated in activities.

Like today, entrance to the first Arlington County Fair was free, and a variety of items were available for purchase among the many booths and vendors. But another important element of the typical rural fair (and today's County Fair) was missing in 1977 - a midway.

Excerpts from the compilation of winning recipes from the baked goods competition, 1981 Arlington County Fair.

Arlington County Fair "premium booklets" from 1983 and 1988 include information about shuttle buses, competitions and schedules.

Rapid Growth in the 1980s

By 1983, only five years after the Arlington County Fair began, more than 200 booths and exhibitors were registered to exhibit over the Fair weekend. By 1984, the live entertainment boasted a diverse range of performers including a ventriloquist, the Old Dominion Cloggers, barbershop quartet music by the Arlingtones, bluegrass, jazz, big band music, and Hungarian folk songs. Karate demonstrations and aerobic dancing were also performed.

Livestock Out, Thrill Rides In

Livestock mostly ceased making any appearances after 1977, with a few exceptions (such as pony rides and racing piglets). Midway rides were added in later years.

The Thomas Jefferson Community Center, where the Arlington County Fair has taken place since 1977.

"Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow"

The Arlington County Fair has become one of the largest free events on the East Coast, with attendance reaching over 84,000.

After the first few years, each County Fair has had a theme: “Arlington – Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow” (1986); “The Many Faces of Arlington” (2003); “Groovy Since 1977” (2016), which payed tribute to the County Fair’s origins, are just a few.

What will this year's theme be? We'll find out this summer when we see you at the County Fair!

To learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the Central Library.

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What Happened to Arlington’s Radio Towers?

From 1913 to 1941, the Arlington Radio Towers dominated the Arlington skyline, visible for miles in either direction. 

Standing at the intersection of Columbia Pike and Courthouse Road, the towers were built by the U.S. Navy Department to house the nation’s first radio station.

Arlington Radio Towers and Alcova Heights neighborhood, date unknown.

Referred to as “Radio Arlington” or “NAA,” the station provided numerous services while it was active, and used multiple transmitters, which operated on both longwave and shortwave frequencies.

The Navy selected Arlington as the site of this historic structure after a survey of numerous potential locations in the Washington, D.C., area. Upon choosing a tract near Fort Myer, 13.4 acres of land was transferred from the War Department to the Navy, and construction began in 1911.

In addition to the towers themselves, two other facilities were built on the site: one to house the transmitters and serve as office space for the superintendent of the Naval Radio Service, and another to house receiving transmitters and quarters for the crew.

The towers came to be known as the “Three Sisters.” The tallest stood at 600 feet tall, with its accompanying “sisters” at 450 feet. This made the 600-foot tower the tallest freestanding radio tower in the world at the time of its construction, as well as the most powerful station (2,643 meters and 113 kHz, respectively). The towers were also the second-largest man-made structure in the world at the time, second to the Eiffel Tower, to which the towers also drew comparisons in their respective designs. In 1923, two 200-foot towers were added to the structure.

The Arlington Radio Towers, ca. 1920.

Designed to facilitate communication between the government and fleet commanders at sea, and as part of a “high-powered chain” of connected radio towers linking Washington, D.C., to the rest of the country, the towers pioneered efforts in advancing wireless communication. In 1915, the president of AT&T made a telephone call from New York City to Mare Island, California, via the Arlington towers – the first transmission of this type. Later that year, the towers made the first Trans-Atlantic voice communication with a call between the Three Sisters and the Eiffel Tower – a distance of more than 3,600 miles. The towers also served as the nation’s timekeeper and weather station, broadcasting daily time signals and weather reports between 1913 and 1936.

The towers initially used a 100-kilowatt Fessenden rotary-spark, which remained in use until July 8, 1923. The Federal Telegraph Company also installed 35-kilowatt Poulsen arc transmitters, which were found to be superior and from then on more widely used. In the 1920s, vacuum tube transmitters mostly replaced the older models both in Arlington and other broadcasting towers installed by the Navy.

Arlington Radio Towers, date unknown. Photo caption reads:
“View of Radio Towers on Court House [sic] Road, from rear of Sommers house, showing how undeveloped the area was.”

In 1917, the towers also played a quiet but important role in the United States’ entry into World War I.

According to the Arlington Historical Society, on the morning of April 6, as Congress decided to enter the U.S. into the war, the Joint Resolution was to be sent to President Woodrow Wilson for signing at 1:00 p.m. that day. Fifteen minutes before the signing was to take place, all stations of the navy system were instructed to cease operations to receive the signal that war was imminent. As the president signed the resolution, a naval commander in the executive office manually signaled an assistant standing in the adjacent State, War, and Navy Building (now the Eisenhower Executive Office Building), who notified the radio station, which transmitted the first declaration of war sent by radio to U.S. warships at sea.

The radio industry was under the control of the federal government during the war, and the Three Sisters towers continued to broadcast time signals, weather reports, and news bulletins throughout wartime. During this period, civilians were banned from possessing and operating radio receivers, but this ban was lifted on April 15, 1919.

The towers were dismantled in 1941, described as a menace to the newly constructed Washington National Airport (which had replaced the Washington-Hoover Airport that same year). The radio transmission carried by the towers was transferred to Annapolis, as were the towers themselves, which were disassembled and reconstructed at the Maryland site.

News article from The Northern Virginia Sun, January 3, 1941.

Transmitting equipment from the Three Sisters also went to Annapolis, while receiving equipment was transferred to a station at Cheltenham. The Navy later brokered a $1 contract for the removal of the remainder of the structure, which was taken for scrap.

Until 1956, the Arlington site served primarily as a link between the different Naval Communication Stations in Washington, D.C. The Navy ordered the disestablishment of NAA on July 1 of that year, followed by various ceremonies championing the legacy of the bygone structures and the station itself. The Annapolis and Cheltenham sites then took on the duties that were, up until then, still being conducted at the Arlington location. Today, the site formerly occupied by the towers is still home to military communications departments, including the Defense Communications Agency.

The Arlington community missed the towers very much, with one writer for the Northern Virginia Sun eulogizing their absence:

“The skyline will seem blank to those accustomed to the sight of the ‘three sisters,’ but, like everything else, the sense of their loss will not last long. Time moves too fast for that.”

A "U.S. Wireless Station Fort Myer, VA" postcard sent in 1916 shows a color photograph of the radio towers.

To learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the Central Library.

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The Early History of Arlington’s Parks and Recreation Department

Starting with a $500 allocation in 1933, Arlington has grown over the past 75 years from one public park on Four Mile Run in 1941 to a Countywide system of parks, playgrounds, and programs.

In 1933, the Arlington County Board earmarked $500 for parks and playgrounds – amenities that at the time were still rare in the county. The initial funding of $500 was reduced from a proposed $2,500, but it allowed for the acquisition of land and maintenance of parcels that had been donated by developers.

This was the beginning of the County's first parks and recreation department, formally established in 1944 as the Department of Parks and Playgrounds.

First Public Park

Starting in 1936, the Arlington County School Board was given oversight of all recreational programs. That year also marked another major milestone - the acquisition of the County’s first public park. Located in the Four Mile Run-Lubber Run area, the park spanned 54 acres, and maintenance and development of the park were completed by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps, a work relief program established as part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.

In 1941, the Lubber Run Park formally opened to the public. Opening day was planned as a grand celebration, with a ceremony attended by State and County officials, and a massing of the colors performed by the Fort Myer Color Guard. But the festivities were rained out in a torrential downpour, and the park’s ceremonial start instead began simply, with its use by members of the County.

News story from the Northern Virginia Sun, February 13, 1936

In 1948 the County Board shifted the responsibility of County parks to the County Manager.

Recreation Centers

In 1951, Arlington County purchased the Henderson House at 4811 Third Street North to establish its first recreation center, later called the Arlington Recreation Center. The Center burned down in 1954, and in 1956 it was replaced with the Lubber Run Community Center, which remained open until 2018.

Henderson House, circa 1950.

Henderson House barn after the fire, 1954.

Growth and Innovation

The Department of Recreation and Parks (as it was known starting in 1953) continued to grow, as did its innovations and additions.

In 1954, the department established the Silver Age Club No. 1, Virginia's first public recreation program designed for senior citizens. In 1960, Arlington's first therapeutic recreation playground was established for children with special needs. And by 1971, the County's parks included lighted outdoor sports facilities, an amphitheater in Lubber Run Park, and the establishment of nature trails.

Lubber Run Park Entrance Sign and Lubber Run Park Amphitheater, respectively. Photos courtesy of Arlington, VA Parks and Recreation.

Negro Recreation Section

Until 1962, the Arlington parks system was segregated. The Negro Recreation Section was designated by the parks department for African-American members of the community who were denied access to County parks. Created in 1948, the Negro Recreation Section provided sports and arts-related programming and held public events, which were often held at the Langston Recreation Center or Hoffman-Boston School. Ernest E. Johnson served as its supervisor from 1948-1962.

Parks and Recreation Today

In 2012, the parks system became formally known as the Department of Parks and Recreation, as it is referred to today. Currently, about 11 percent of Arlington’s land is reserved for parks, amounting to thousands of acres across the county.

Learn more and Arlington’s Department of Parks and Recreation through an interactive timeline of the department’s history.

Learn more about the history of the Negro Recreation Section in the Center for Local History’s Community Archives.

To learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the Central Library.

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The Royal Family in Arlington

You probably know that members of the United Kingdom’s royal family make regular visits to the United States for diplomatic and ceremonial purposes.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at the Arlington Cemetery, June 1939.

But over the last 80 years members of the royal family have stopped in Arlington too, drawing much local attention and stirring up royal fervor!

Here are a few of their notable visits to the area:

June 1939

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, parents to the current Queen Elizabeth II, were the first reigning British monarchs to visit the United States and made a stop in Arlington during their time in the country. The trip garnered both local and national excitement, with one columnist from The Northern Virginia Sun declaring that “you will look a long time to find in your history books anything that quite reaches the level of the moment which will be recorded this afternoon.”

Those gathered in Washington D.C. to greet the royals upon their arrival on June 8 included a group of approximately 300 Arlington residents. An entire division of the Arlington Boy Scouts attended the event. Three children from Arlington were also selected to participate as guards of honor for the royal arrival, including a representative from the Girl Scouts, a member of the Rover Scouts, and a cub scout from the Clarendon Methodist Church. In preparation for the occasion, the Arlington County Board voted for the hours between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on June 8 to be considered a holiday. Arlington County schools were also given the day off as a holiday, marking a slightly early end to the school year.

In the society pages of The Sun newspaper, it was reported that numerous Arlington residents attended the garden party thrown for the royal couple at the British Embassy during their stay. On the second day of their visit, the couple toured Mount Vernon and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery, before embarking north for appointments in New York.

October/November 1951

As part of a tour of the nation’s capital, Princess Elizabeth (who wouldn’t begin her reign as queen until February 1952) and Prince Philip also made stops at Mount Vernon and the Arlington National Cemetery during their brief three-day visit to the Washington, D.C., area, which bookended a longer tour of the Canadian territories.

From The Daily Sun, October 31, 1951.

During their time in D.C., the royal couple stayed at Blair House, the temporary residence of President Truman while the White House was being renovated – a project that lasted four years, from 1949 to 1952.

The princess and prince’s visit proved to be a whirlwind, scheduled out to the minute with activities and events. On the second day of their trip, the couple hosted a reception at the British Embassy, during which 2,000 people were selected to shake the princess’s hand. The honored guests were notified of their selection via mailed invitations in late October, which included the forewarning that the reception line “will be kept moving briskly at the request of Scotland Yard” and “Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip may not be questioned or quoted.” The couple was then treated to a dinner and party hosted by the President and First Lady.

Stops at Mount Vernon and the Arlington National Cemetery also took place on the second day of their visit. A 21-gun salute was fired in honor of the princess, after which their motorcade proceeded to the amphitheater through the cemetery’s west entrance. The couple was then brought through the trophy room to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where Princess Elizabeth laid a wreath.

The ceremony was accompanied by a performance of “Taps,” as well as “God Save the King” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” during the visit. The cemetery was understandably closed to traffic the day of the event, though citizens were permitted to attend the ceremony on foot.

October 1957

Six years after her first visit to the U.S., this trip marked Queen Elizabeth’s first American visit as sovereign. This tour also included a stop at the Arlington National Cemetery, where the Queen would once again pay respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Queen Elizabeth lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery, 1957.

During this trip, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip touched down stateside October 16 at the Patrick Henry Airport (now the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport), where they kicked off a two-day stay in Virginia. The couple attended the 350th-anniversary celebration of the founding of Jamestown, toured the College of William and Mary, and dined at the Williamsburg Inn before departing for the D.C. area on President Eisenhower’s official airplane, the Columbine III.

From there, the queen and prince were welcomed by President Eisenhower and the First Lady, as well as Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, and set off on a full schedule of appearances. The pair toured the Capitol Building with Vice President Richard Nixon and Pat Nixon, visited the National Cathedral, laid the cornerstone for the new British Embassy, and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier crossing over to Arlington for this appointment.

The couple also traveled to College Park to take in a football game on October 19, in which Maryland upset UNC 21-7. After the game, Queen Elizabeth infamously asked to see an American supermarket and the royal motorcade headed for the Queenstown Giant Food grocery store in West Hyattsville, where they were given a brief tour as awestruck shoppers looked on.

To learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the Central Library.

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Arlington Theatre ‘N’ Bowling

On August 15, 1940, one of Arlington’s premier cinemas – the Arlington Theatre – opened its doors.

Architect’s conception of the Arlington Recreation Center, which included the Arlington Theatre. From special coverage of the building’s opening in The Sun, August 16, 1940.

Located at the intersection of Columbia Pike and South Fillmore Street, the Art Deco style building was a cinematic façade fit for its wide variety of movie screenings and could seat over 600 moviegoers at a time.

Part of a boom in cinema construction around the county, the Arlington Theatre joined the Wilson, Ashton, and Buckingham Theatres – all of which were part of the Neighborhood Theatres franchise. The Arlington Theatre was designed by architect Fred Bishop, who also designed Richmond’s iconic Byrd Theater and the Beacon Theatre in Hopewell.

The Arlington Theatre was a part of a larger building called the Arlington Recreation Center, which included commercial storefronts, a pharmacy, and a 24-lane bowling alley on the second and third floors. The bowling alley featured “modern, high speed” Brunswick Balke alleys and acoustical soundproofing. Bowlers could also treat themselves to the Center’s soda fountain and sandwich bar, or have orders delivered straight to their lanes.

Ad for the Bowling Center at Arlington Theatre

The Arlington Theatre drew major media attention for its inaugural night. Its opening was covered in a special section of the August 16, 1940, edition of The Sun, where it was featured alongside pieces on the broader growth and development around the Columbia Pike area. A reporter described the theatre:

“Modern in every respect, housed in a fireproof building and equipped with the famous Carrier air conditioning system, which also cools and refreshes the bowling alleys and the pharmacy. Large, spring-bottom seat(s), amply spaced, assure comfort for theatre patrons, while the lobby, lounges, and restrooms are furnished and decorated in modern and attractive styles.”

The theatre’s first film showing was a 6:30 p.m. screening of the 1940 film “My Favorite Wife,” the “delightfully delirious comedy” (according to the theatre’s advertisement) starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. Part of the popular screwball comedy genre of the era and adapted from the Alfred Lord Tennyson poem, “Enoch Arden,” the film garnered a successful opening night, with one reviewer describing it as “fast-paced, delightful comedy entertainment.”

The film played for two additional showings during opening week, screening in full on Friday, August 16 and Saturday, August 17. All screenings were accompanied by a screening of the “Information Please” program, a radio quiz show in which audience members would ask experts questions. The panel show was so popular that RKO-Pathé Pictures released filmed versions of the radio program that were released as 10-minute-long clips to accompany feature film screenings. The “guest guesser” for this particular broadcast was the 1940 Republican presidential nominee Wendell Willkie.

The Arlington Theatre also became a popular location for numerous community events, and in 1940 hosted then First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt for a charity Christmas Party held by the Kiwanis Club. During World War II, the theater was a place to buy bonds and defense stamps to support the troops. The Arlington Theatre and the other Neighborhood Theatres in the area would host themed screenings, including designating September 1942 as “Salute to our Heroes” month, with ads for showtimes also including the call, “Come on, moviegoers! Buy war stamps here!”

The Arlington Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse in 2004

In 1985, the building transitioned to its modern iteration as the Arlington Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse, which still operates today. It stands as one of the last operational cinema buildings from the heyday of the 1930s and 1940s construction and includes the Arlington Theatre’s original theater behind its movie screen with lighting, storage, and a green room. The Cinema seats up to 275 guests and features both movie screenings and live entertainment.

Read The Sun’s coverage of the Arlington Theatre’s 1940 opening in the Community Archives.

Learn more about local cinema history in “Movie Theaters of Washington DC,” by Robert K. Headley, available at the Library.

To learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the Central Library.

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Arlington’s Water System

Do you know where your water comes from? 

By the 1920s, while a few Arlington communities were serviced by privately-owned water companies (including Aurora Hills and Cherrydale) most of the County’s 16,040 residents got their water from individual shallow wells, which were inconvenient and susceptible to pollution.

Arlington County Water Department Float for the Water Carnival, November 1927

In 1922, the State of Virginia passed legislation to permit the establishment of sanitary districts within the County for the purpose of constructing water and sewer systems.

The Arlington County Board of Supervisors contracted engineer Asa E. Phillips to investigate options for a County-wide water system in 1926. Phillips and the County Board proposed a number of solutions to County residents. Eventually residents decided that instead of building its own water filtration plant Arlington County would request water from Washington, D.C., which had recently finished construction on the Dalecarlia Water Plant.

After Congress passed two authorizing acts – the first to allow the sale of the federal water supply to Arlington County, and the second to connect the federal water system to the Arlington County water system – and the Virginia General Assembly authorized bonds for the construction and operation of the water supply, construction began on the water main that would connect Dalecarlia to Lyonhurst Station in North Arlington, one of the highest points in the County. Lyonhurst Station was equipped with a pump station, a 260,000-
gallon water tower, and a 1.5- million gallon reservoir.

On November 3, 1927, public water supply service began in Arlington. The County declared a special holiday and threw a Water Carnival in Lyon Village to celebrate.  The Water Carnival consisted of a parade with floats decorated by various county groups, a fire hydrant demonstration, dancing, fireworks, a barbeque and even a jousting tournament! In the water spirit of the event, many of the afternoon activities were rained out, but that did not dampen the celebration too much, as the evening programs continued.

Dalecarlia Water Treatment Plant, 2011

The distribution system in Arlington has significantly expanded and updated from the original 1927 system, and improvements to the system, initiated in 1953, have since made Lyonhurst Station obsolete.

Arlington County's water source is the Potomac River. The water is then treated and comes to us from the Dalecarlia Water Treatment Plant, run by the Washington Aqueduct.

Read more about the Arlington County Water & Utilities Department and the water system:

To learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the Central Library.

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Hoover Airport

Arlington has had congested traffic conditions for almost 100 years...

Cars driving on Military Road as a small plane flies in to land at Hoover Airfield, mid-1930s

In 1925, Thomas Mitten, head of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, sought to begin daily passenger flights between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. as part of the 150th celebration of the Declaration of Independence.

Finding no appropriate airfield in the District, Mitten selected a new site in Arlington to build an airfield, at the present-day site of the Pentagon. The land was just large enough for a single runway and a small hangar.

Plane flying over Military Road to land, 1935

On July 16, 1926, 150 years after the signing of the Declaration, the airfield was christened Hoover Field (after then-Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover) and started passenger and mail air services.

Herbert Hoover (4th from left), Secretary of Commerce, at the opening of Hoover Field with one of the three Fokker Planes of PRT Flights to Philadelphia Sesquicentennial Expo, July 16, 1926.

Hoover Field quickly became known as one of the most dangerous airfields in the country. Multiple problems plagued the field including a major road—Military Road— that ran along the east side of the field, poor visibility from the nearby landfill that burned trash, and a site that was too small to viably hold an airfield.

Hoover Airplane

Fokker F-VII Trimotor "Wilbur," operated by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Air Service between Philadelphia, Washington, and Norfolk, VA for transportation of mail, freight, and passengers at Hoover Field, 1926.

In 1927 a second airfield named Washington Airport opened on land directly adjacent to Hoover Field. The two airfields operated jointly for a time and in 1933 they merged under the name Washington-Hoover Airport.

Washington-Hoover Airport did not yield better safety results than Hoover Field, as they had a reputation of having the poorest aviation ground facilities of any major city in the United States.

Military Road now ran between the two airfields, so airport management attempted to stop traffic on the road to allow planes to land and take off, but were fined by county officials for obstructing traffic. It took a congressional act to allow the airport to install traffic lights, but even with these lights, the road caused dangerous and confusing conditions for both pilots and drivers as seen in the first photograph.

Eventually Military Road was rerouted around the airport.

Washington-Hoover Airport remained open until 1941. With the opening of the much larger Washington National Airport (now known as Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport), Washington-Hoover was no longer needed. The land was purchased by the United States Department of War, and became part of The Pentagon’s grounds.

Hoover Airport (lower right) with Blimp Hangar and two plane hangars; Washington Airport (center lower left); Military Road bisects the two fields, mid-1930s.

To learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the Central Library.

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