history

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Old Arlington Remembered — Long-time Arlington resident Judy Downs Tinelli recalls the Arlington of her childhood: Sycamore Street was a stream, her neighbor had a herd of cows, and those in the District considered her dad’s 20 minute commute (from what is now East Falls Church) excessive. [WAMU]

Moran Styrofoam Amendment Fails — A measure proposed by Rep. Jim Moran (D), which would have amended a legislative branch appropriations bill to ban polystyrene foam food and beverage containers from congressional cafeterias, failed in the House on Friday. Moran’s general election opponent, Republican Patrick Murray, issued a statement about Moran’s amendment. “Seriously, Jim?,” Murray asked. “Are you really willing to spend all of your time on Styrofoam instead of creating jobs?” [The Hill]

Pottery Barn Offers ‘Arlington’ Sign — Via Shirlington Village Blog Spot, we learn that Pottery Barn is currently offering a 66 inch by 12 inch wall sign that says “Arlington” in bold, black letters on a distressed cream-colored background. The sign is currently on sale for $119.00. [Pottery Barn]

Hotel Celebrates LEED Gold Certification — On Monday, the Renaissance Arlington Capital View hotel in Crystal City celebrated its recent award of LEED Gold environmental certification. Among those on hand at the celebration was David Marriott, grandson of Marriott International founder J.W. Marriott. The Renaissance chain of hotels is owned by Marriott.

Then and Now: Hot Shoppes

By Katie Pyzyk

 

The photo on the left shows the Hot Shoppes location at 1325 Lee Highway in Rosslyn, during the 1930s. It was part of the chain started locally by J. Willard Marriott in 1927.

Marriott and his wife, Alice, moved to the D.C. area from Utah. He launched a restaurant based on his affinity for American Southwest foods such as spicy BBQ, chili and tamales. The name came from his desire for a restaurant that would provide hot food to warm the D.C. residents during the wet chill of an Eastern winter.

The couple built their Hot Shoppes brand on the slogans “food for the entire family” and “square meals at a fair price.” Over time, the menu expanded to include all types of fare besides Southwest dishes, but the attention to service remained. Eventually, that commitment to service and hospitality led to success in other areas, most notably the family’s well known hotel brand.

(Marriott’s first hotel, which opened in 1957, was the Twin Bridges Motor Hotel, located near the 14th Street Bridge in Arlington.)

By 1960, there were 70 Hot Shoppes in D.C. and seven states. Jazz musician Duke Ellington and his band recorded seven versions of the Hot Shoppes theme song, which aired in radio ads from 1967-1968.

The last one closed in 1999. However, fans will be pleased to know at least one of the restaurants will be resurrected, as noted in the Washingtonian’s December 2011 interview Marriott’s son, Bill.

The photo on the right shows how the area looks now. It is where the area formerly known as “Rosslyn Circle” used to be, but is now Arlington Gateway Park.

Below is a commercial for Hot Shoppes from 1970.

Historic photo courtesy Arlington Public Library’s Virginia Room

Library’s New Online Collection Features Old Postcards

By Katie Pyzyk

 

The Arlington Public Library has launched a new online collection featuring vintage postcards from one-time Arlington landmarks and historic moments.

The library’s Virginia Room put together the collection of 55 postcards from its holdings and from donated materials. The postcards feature historic images from around Arlington, including Orville Wright’s plane flying over Ft. Myer, a ticket counter at Washington National Airport and Gunston Junior High School.

Some of the postcards, like the one above featuring the Red Barn Restaurant in 1970, appear to be promotional mailings highlighting businesses and their specials. This one boasts two complete chicken dinners for just $1.29.

Others, like the 1917 Ft. Myer postcard below, have personal messages written on the back. This one reads: “Glad ‘sis’ came over with you. Know she enjoyed the trip.” Note there’s not even a modern address, but simply the recipient’s name and town.

 

Historic postcards courtesy of Arlington Public Library’s Virginia Room

Civil War Monument Dedication at Arlington Church

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County Board Chair Mary Hynes will help dedicate a new obelisk monument honoring Civil War dead at a North Arlington church over the weekend.

Hynes will be the featured speaker when the monument is dedicated at the historic Mount Olivet United Methodist Church cemetery (1500 N. Glebe Road) at noon on Sunday, May 27.

The dedication is taking place as the state and the county continue to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. The 150+ year old church, it turns out, played an important role in the aftermath of the war’s first major land battle.

“The church was used as a field hospital during the summer by Federal troops retreating from the First Battle of Bull Run, July 21-24, 1861,” church officials noted in an email. “Several who gave their lives in the Civil War found their final resting places in unmarked graves in the cemetery. The new monument now marks their presence and honors their service.”

“Mount Olivet United Methodist Church is proud of its Civil War heritage,” said Hank Hulme, church historian emeritus. “This dedication will be one more important event in the Sesquicentennial celebrations honoring Arlington’s place in Civil War history.”

In addition to the Civil War graves, Mount Olivet also has a connection to the Memorial Day holiday itself. The church contains the grave of Sue Landon Vaughan, one of the early founders of Memorial Day.

Photo courtesy Mount Olivet United Methodist Church

Clarendon War Memorial Shows More than Just War History

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) In preparation for Memorial Day, there’s a place in Arlington that might be worth a look — and it’s not Arlington National Cemetery.

Thousands pass by it daily, but many don’t realize that the large, stone structure flanked by cannons across from Clarendon Ballroom (and near the Clarendon Metro station) is actually a war memorial. It was put up by the American Legion and honors Arlington citizens who died in combat, up through Vietnam.

Of particular interest to historians is the World War I plaque on the side of the memorial, facing the intersection of Washington, Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards. Note that the last two names are separated from the others and have the distinction of “colored” listed in parentheses.

County historians say this highlights the racial tensions at the time the plaque was made. However, a local resident with knowledge of the memorial’s history, who requested not to be named, says it wasn’t necessarily a sign of racial tensions. He said it’s simply representative of “how life was at that time.” There’s been debate over changing it, but the decision was made to leave the plaque as is.

The plaque has remained this way during the memorial’s multiple moves. The original location was at Wilson Blvd and Highland Street, then Clarendon Circle, then Courthouse. It was brought back to Clarendon in 1986 and has been there ever since.

The memorial was first erected in the early 1930s.

Then and Now: Rosslyn Circle

By Katie Pyzyk

 

The picture on the left is the area formerly known as Rosslyn Circle, taken around 1925. Records indicate the businesses shown were on Agnew Avenue, which is now Lynn Street. They stood at the base of the newly finished Key Bridge, which replaced the Aqueduct Bridge in 1923.

Rosslyn, and this section in particular, used to be considered a rough area. After the Civil War ended, many soldiers stayed behind. They drove out the farmers who previously owned the land in Rosslyn, and set up saloons, gambling houses and houses of prostitution. Thievery and murder were a regular occurrence, and locals knew not to walk there at night, if at all.

By the early 1900s, fed up residents wanted to rejuvenate the area and formed groups such as the “Anti-Saloon League.” They worked to change Rosslyn’s colloquial slogan from “Gateway to Perdition” to “Gateway to Virginia.” It took decades to drive out the unsavory elements.

By the 1950s, big plans were in the works to fully transform Rosslyn Circle and the surrounding area from a slummy, dangerous part of town teeming with pawnbrokers into a business hub sporting high rises. Much of the area was razed, both to accommodate the new buildings, and to make way for the completion of Interstate 66.

By about 1963, nearly all of old Rosslyn was gone, and businesses and industry poured into the area. Adding to the renewal was the promise of a Metro station, which was completed in 1977.

The photo on the right shows what the area near the old Rosslyn Circle looks like today.

Historic photo courtesy Arlington Public Library’s Virginia Room.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

New GOP County Board  Candidate — Crystal City resident and Republican activist Matt Wavro has stepped up to run on the GOP ticket for Arlington County Board in the fall. [Sun Gazette]

Arlington Cops Recognized — Five Arlington cops have been recognized by Virginia State Police for their exceptional work in deterring auto theft. The Law Enforcement Office Award competition — which recognizes efforts to combat car theft — is judged by partnering law enforcement agencies, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, and insurance industry representatives. [Arlington County]

Remembering Swillers Music — Back in the mid-20th century, Swillers Music was the place in Clarendon to buy musical instruments, sheet music, and even turntables or radios. The bygone store also had its own recording studio. [Library Blog]

Arlington: The Palo Alto of the East?— The Arlington Convention and Visitors Service is touting the our tech-savvy county as “the Palo Alto of the east coast” via Twitter.

Flickr pool photo by Divaknevil

Arlington Cemetery to Hold Historic Taps Event

By Katie Pyzyk

Arlington National Cemetery will play host to a historic event this weekend, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the song Taps.

The anniversary of the National Song of Remembrance will be marked with a ceremony on Saturday, May 19, in the cemetery’s Old Amphitheater. There will be participants from TAPS 150, an organization devised to commemorate the anniversary, along with Bugles Across America, an organization to recruit volunteers for playing Taps at veterans’ funerals.

Hundreds of buglers from around the country will take part in the ceremony, which starts at 10:00 a.m. There will be speakers, special music and a playing of Taps at the event. After that, the buglers will move to sites throughout the cemetery to simultaneously play Taps following the noon chimes.

“Buglers from all over the United States are coming to Arlington National Cemetery to take part in a once-in-a-lifetime experience of sounding Taps in America’s most sacred shrine,” the TAPS 150 website reads. “These are dedicated musicians who believe that a live sounding of Taps is not only appropriate but deserved and even indispensable for those who have served our nation in uniform.”

The website also claims the simultaneous playing should allow people to hear the echo of the tune nearly anywhere in Arlington.

The event is free and open to the public.

Taps was first arranged in July 1862 — during the Civil War — by Union General Daniel Butterfield. Butterfield created the tune to honor his fallen soldiers after the bloody Seven Days Battles near Richmond.

Photo by Tim1965

Former ACPD Officer Featured in Rockwell Painting Dies

By Katie Pyzyk

A former Arlington County Police officer who gained much recognition for being depicted in a famous Norman Rockwell painting has passed away.

Richard Clemens was born in New York City and spent much of his career as a Massachusetts state trooper. Rockwell, who was Clemens’ neighbor, asked the trooper to pose for the 1958 painting with an 8-year-old boy. It shows an officer counseling a young boy who wants to leave home, and was featured on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. It’s a well known painting in the law enforcement community, and can often be found in police stations across the country.

Before moving to Massachusetts, Clemens was a police officer in Arlington from July 1952 through August 1953. Records show his address as having been in the Long Branch Creek neighborhood.

Clemens retired from the Massachusetts State Police as a detective. He accrued awards throughout his career, including one for outstanding police service.

Most recently, Clemens lived in New York state. That’s where his funeral will be held tomorrow.

Then and Now: Tops Drive Inn on Glebe Road

By Katie Pyzyk

 

The photo on the left is of Tops Drive Inn at 40 N. Glebe Road, circa 1955. In 1953, James J. Mathews opened this restaurant, the first of what would become an 18 restaurant chain in the D.C. metro area. Tops touted itself as “Home of the Sir Loiner,” which was a double decker hamburger similar to today’s Big Mac.

The original Tops was a 15 seat facility, but really became popular for its “Teletrays” — the drive-in restaurant feature that allowed visitors to order food without leaving the car.

Mathews was friends with Col. Harlan Sanders, who founded Kentucky Fried Chicken. Mathews secured the exclusive franchise rights for serving the Colonel’s recipe chicken in the metro area, and served on KFC’s board after Col. Sanders retired.

In 1967, Mathews merged Tops with Gino’s Hamburgers, a Maryland chain. The Marriott Corporation bought Gino’s in 1972.

The photo on the right is how that location at Glebe Road and Route 50 looks today. It’s still home to a burger joint, but now it’s a McDonald’s.

After the jump: A vintage Tops commercial that ran on WTTG-TV in 1957.

Historic photo courtesy Arlington Public Library’s Virginia Room

(more…)

Then and Now: The Hicks Store on Lee Highway

By Katie Pyzyk

 

The photo on the left is of the Hicks Store on Lee Highway at N. Culpeper Street, taken in 1960. The store was in an area known as Hall’s Hill — now often called High View Park — which became a predominantly black community when freed slaves settled there shortly after the Civil War. Many family run stores owned by black residents opened in the area during the early 1900s. Hicks store was one of several businesses owned by the Hicks family.

Near the store, the Hicks cemetery is where family members were buried, until the land was condemned in 1959, to accommodate for the widening of Lee Highway west of Glebe Road. The remains were moved to a cemetery in Herndon.

The photo on the right is how the corner of Lee Highway at N. Culpeper Street looks today. A Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant now sits on the site.

Historic photo courtesy Arlington Public Library’s Virginia Room

View More Stories