Arlington County, Virginia

Colonial Virginia

The area that now constitutes Arlington County had been part of Fairfax County in the Colony of Virginia. Land grants from the British monarch were awarded to prominent Englishmen in exchange for political favors and efforts at development. One of the grantees was Thomas Fairfax for whom both Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax are named. The county's name of Arlington comes from Henry Bennet, Earl of Arlington, a plantation along the Potomac River, and Arlington House, the family residence on that property. George Washington Parke Custis, grandson of First Lady Martha Washington, acquired this land in 1802.^[5] The estate was eventually passed down to Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of General Robert E. Lee.^[6] The property later became Arlington National Cemetery during the Civil War.

District of Columbia

Map of the District of Columbia in 1835, prior to the retrocession of Alexandria County

The area that now includes almost all of Arlington County, along with most of what is present-day Alexandria, was ceded to the new federal government by Virginia. With the passage of the Residence Act in 1790, Congress approved a new permanent capital to be located on the Potomac River, the exact area to be selected by U.S. President George Washington. The Residence Act originally only allowed the President to select a location in Maryland as far east as what is now the Anacostia River. However, President George Washington shifted the federal territory's borders to the southeast in order to include the existing town of Alexandria at the district's southern tip.

In 1791, Congress, at Washington's request, amended the Residence Act to approve the new site, including the territory ceded by Virginia.^[7] However, this amendment to the Residence Act specifically prohibited the "erection of the public buildings otherwise than on the Maryland side of the River Potomac."^[8]

As permitted by the United States Constitution, the initial shape of the federal district was a square, measuring 10 miles (16 km) on each side, totaling 100 square miles (260 km²). During 1791–92, Andrew Ellicott and several assistants placed boundary stones at every mile point. Fourteen of these markers were in Virginia and many of the stones are still standing.^[9]

When Congress arrived in the new capital, they passed the Organic Act of 1801 to officially organize the District of Columbia and placed the entire federal territory, including the cities of Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria, under the exclusive control of Congress. Further, the territory within the District was organized into two counties: the County of Washington to the east of the Potomac and the County of Alexandria to the west. It included almost all of the present Arlington County, plus part of what is now the independent city of Alexandria.^[10] This Act formally established the borders of the area that would eventually become Arlington but the citizens located in the District were no longer considered residents of Maryland or Virginia, thus ending their representation in Congress.^[11]

Retrocession

Arlington National Cemetery is located on land confiscated from Confederate General Robert E. Lee following the end of the American Civil War.

Residents of Alexandria County had expected the federal capital's location to result in higher land prices and the growth of commerce. Instead the county found itself struggling to compete with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal at the port of Georgetown, which was farther inland and on the northern side of the Potomac River next to the city of Washington.^[12] Members of Congress from other areas of Virginia also used their power to prohibit funding for projects, such as the Alexandria Canal, which would have increased competition with their home districts. In addition, Congress had prohibited the federal government from establishing any offices in Alexandria, which made the county less important to the functioning of the national government.^[13]

Alexandria had also been an important center of the slave trade; Franklin and Armfield Office in Alexandria was once an office used in slave trading. Rumors circulated that abolitionists in Congress were attempting to end slavery in the District; such an action would have further depressed Alexandria's slavery-based economy.^[14] At the same time, an active abolitionist movement arose in Virginia that created a division on the question of slavery in the Virginia General Assembly. Pro-slavery Virginians recognized that if Alexandria were returned to Virginia, it could provide two new representatives who favored slavery in the state legislature. (Some time after retrocession, during the American Civil War, this division led to the formation of the state of West Virginia, which comprised by what was then 51 counties in the northwest that favored abolitionism.)^[15]

Largely as a result of the economic neglect by Congress, divisions over slavery, and the lack of voting rights for the residents of the District, a movement grew to return Alexandria to Virginia from the District of Columbia. From 1840 to 1846, Alexandrians petitioned Congress and the Virginia legislature to approve this transfer known as retrocession. On February 3, 1846, the Virginia General Assembly agreed to accept the retrocession of Alexandria if Congress approved. Following additional lobbying by Alexandrians, Congress passed legislation on July 9, 1846, to return all the District's territory south of the Potomac River back to Virginia, pursuant to a referendum; President James K. Polk signed the legislation the next day. A referendum on retrocession was held on September 1–2, 1846. The voters in the City of Alexandria voted in favor of the retrocession, 734 to 116, while those in the rest of Alexandria County voted against retrocession 106 to 29. Pursuant to the referendum, President Polk issued a proclamation of transfer on September 7, 1846. However, the Virginia legislature did not immediately accept the retrocession offer. Virginia legislators were concerned that the people of Alexandria County had not been properly included in the retrocession proceedings. After months of debate, the Virginia General Assembly voted to formally accept the retrocession legislation on March 13, 1847.^[13]

In 1852, the Virginia legislature voted to incorporate a portion of Alexandria County to make the City of Alexandria, which until then had been administered only as an unincorporated town within the political boundaries of Alexandria County.^[16]

Civil War

The façade of Arlington House (background), once the residence of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, appears on Arlington's seal, flag, and logo.

During the American Civil War, Virginia seceded from the Union as a result of a statewide referendum held on May 23, 1861; the voters from Alexandria County approved secession by a vote of 958–48. This vote indicates the degree to which its only town, Alexandria, was pro-secession and pro-Confederate. The rural county residents outside the city were Union loyalists and voted against secession.^[17]

Although Virginia was part of the Confederacy, the Confederacy did not control all of Northern Virginia. In 1862, the U.S. Congress passed a law that some claimed had required that owners of property in those districts in which the insurrection existed were to pay their real estate taxes in person.^[18]

In 1864, during the war, the federal government confiscated the Abingdon estate, which was located on and near the present Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, when its owner failed to pay the estate's property tax in person because he was serving in the Confederate Army.^[18] The government then sold the property at auction, whereupon the purchaser leased the property to a third party.^[18]

After the war ended in 1865, the Abingdon estate's heir, Alexander Hunter, started a legal action to recover the property. James A. Garfield, a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives who had been a brigadier general in the Union Army during the Civil War and who later became the 20th President of the United States, was an attorney on Hunter's legal team.^[18] In 1870, the Supreme Court of the United States, in a precedential ruling, found that the government had illegally confiscated the property and ordered that it be returned to Hunter.^[18]

The property containing the home of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's family at and around Arlington House was subjected to an appraisal of $26,810, on which a tax of $92.07 was assessed. However, Lee's wife, Mary Anna Custis Lee, the owner of the property, did not pay this tax in person.^[19][20] As a result of the 1862 law, the Federal government confiscated the property and made it into a military cemetery.^[19]

After the war ended and after the death of his parents, George Washington Custis Lee, the Lees' eldest son, initiated a legal action in an attempt to recover the property.^[19] In December 1882, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the federal government had illegally confiscated the property without due process and returned the property to Custis Lee while citing the Court's earlier ruling in the Hunter case.^[19][20] In 1883, the U.S. Congress purchased the property from Lee for its fair market value of $150,000, whereupon the property became a military reservation and eventually Arlington National Cemetery. Although Arlington House is within the National Cemetery, the National Park Service presently administers the House and its grounds as a memorial to Robert E. Lee.^[19]

Confederate incursions from Falls Church, Minor's Hill and Upton's Hill—then securely in Confederate hands—occurred as far east as the present-day area of Ballston. On August 17, 1861, an armed force of 600 Confederate soldiers engaged the 23rd New York Infantry near that crossroads, killing one. Another large incursion on August 27 involved between 600 and 800 Confederate soldiers, which clashed with Union soldiers at Ball's Crossroads, Hall's Hill, and along the modern-day border between the City of Falls Church and Arlington. A number of soldiers on both sides were killed. However, the territory in present-day Arlington was never successfully captured by Confederate forces.^[21]

Separation from Alexandria

1878 map of Alexandria County now (with the removal of Alexandria) Arlington County

In 1870, the City of Alexandria became legally separated from Alexandria County by an amendment to the Virginia Constitution that made all Virginia incorporated cities (but not incorporated towns) independent of the counties of which they had previously been a part. Because of the confusion between the city and the county having the same name, a movement started to rename Alexandria County. In 1920, the name Arlington County was adopted, after Arlington House, the home of the American Civil War Confederate general Robert E. Lee, which stands on the grounds of what is now Arlington National Cemetery. The Town of Potomac was incorporated as a town in Alexandria County in 1908. The town was annexed by Alexandria in 1930.

In 1896, an electric trolley line was built from Washington through Ballston, which led to growth in the county (see Northern Virginia trolleys).

20th century

The former Arlington County seal used from June 1983 to May 2007

Netherlands Carillon

The former Navy Annex and Air Force Memorial

In 1920, the Virginia legislature renamed the area Arlington County to avoid confusion with the City of Alexandria which had become an independent city in 1870 under the new Virginia Constitution adopted after the Civil War.

In the 1930s, Hoover Field was established on the present site of the Pentagon; in that decade, Buckingham, Colonial Village, and other apartment communities also opened. World War II brought a boom to the county, but one that could not be met by new construction due to rationing imposed by the war effort.

In October 1942, not a single rental unit was available in the county.^[22] On October 1, 1949, the University of Virginia in Charlottesville created an extension center in the county named Northern Virginia University Center of the University of Virginia. This campus was subsequently renamed University College, then the Northern Virginia Branch of the University of Virginia, thereafter, the George Mason College of the University of Virginia, until it was finally designated George Mason University, which it remains today.^[23] The Henry G. Shirley Highway (now Interstate 395) was constructed during World War II, along with adjacent developments such as Shirlington, Fairlington, and Parkfairfax.

In February 1959, Arlington County Schools desegregated racially at Stratford Junior High School (now Dorothy Hamm) with the admission of black pupils Donald Deskins, Michael Jones, Lance Newman, and Gloria Thompson. The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in 1954, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas had struck down the previous ruling on racial segregation Plessy v. Ferguson that held that facilities could be racially "separate but equal". Brown v. Board of Education ruled that "racially separate educational facilities were inherently unequal". The elected Arlington County School Board presumed that the state would defer to localities and in January 1956 announced plans to integrate Arlington schools. The state responded by suspending the county's right to an elected school board. The Arlington County Board, the ruling body for the county, appointed segregationists to the school board and blocked plans for desegregation. Lawyers for the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) filed suit on behalf of a group of parents of both white and black students to end segregation. Black pupils were still denied admission to white schools, but the lawsuit went before the U.S. District Court, which ruled that Arlington schools were to be desegregated by the 1958–59 academic year. In January 1959 both the U.S. District Court and the Virginia Supreme Court had ruled against Virginia's massive resistance movement, which opposed racial integration.^[24] The Arlington County Central Library's collections include written materials as well as accounts in its Oral History Project of the desegregation struggle in the county.^[25]

Arlington during the 1960s underwent tremendous change after the huge influx of newcomers in the 1950s. M.T. Broyhill & Sons Corporation was at the forefront of building the new communities for these newcomers, which would lead to the election of Joel Broyhill as the representative of Virginia's 10th congressional district for 11 terms.^[26] The old commercial districts did not have ample off-street parking and many shoppers were taking their business to new commercial centers, such as Parkington and Seven Corners. Suburbs further out in Virginia and Maryland were expanding, and Arlington's main commercial center in Clarendon was declining, similar to what happened in other downtown centers. With the growth of these other suburbs, some planners and politicians pushed for highway expansion. The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 would have enabled that expansion in Arlington. However, he administrator of the National Capital Transportation Agency, economist C. Darwin Stolzenbach, saw the benefits of rapid transit for the region and oversaw plans for a below ground rapid transit system, now the Washington Metro, which included two lines in Arlington. Initial plans called for what became the Orange Line to parallel I-66, which would have mainly benefited Fairfax County. Arlington County officials called for the stations in Arlington to be placed along the decaying commercial corridor between Rosslyn and Ballston that included Clarendon. A new regional transportation planning entity was formed, the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority. Arlington officials renewed their push for a route that benefited the commercial corridor along Wilson Boulevard, which prevailed. There were neighborhood concerns that there would be high-density development along the corridor that would disrupt the character of old neighborhoods. With the population in the county declining, political leaders saw economic development as a long-range benefit. Citizen input and county planners came up with a workable compromise, with some limits on development. The two lines in Arlington were inaugurated in 1977. The Orange Line's creation was more problematic than the Blue Line's. The Blue Line served the Pentagon and National Airport and boosted the commercial development of Crystal City and Pentagon City. Property values along the Metro lines increased significantly for both residential and commercial property. The ensuing gentrification caused the mostly working and lower middle class white Southern residents to either be priced out of rent or in some cases sell their homes. This permanently changed the character of the city, and ultimately resulted in the virtual eradication of this group over the coming 30 years, being replaced with an increasing presence of a white-collar transplant population mostly of Northern stock. While a population of white-collar government transplant workers had always been present in the county, particularly in its far northern areas and in Lyon Village, the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s saw the complete dominance of this group over the majority of Arlington's residential neighborhoods, and mostly economically eliminated the former working-class residents of areas such as Cherrydale, Lyon Park, Rosslyn, Virginia Square, Claremont, and Arlington Forest, among other neighborhoods. The transformation of Clarendon is particularly striking. This neighborhood, a downtown shopping area, fell into decay. It became home to a vibrant Vietnamese business community in the 1970s and 1980s known as Little Saigon. It has now been significantly gentrified. Its Vietnamese population is now barely visible, except for several holdout businesses. Arlington's careful planning for the Metro has transformed the county and has become a model revitalization for older suburbs.^[27][28]

In 1965, after years of negotiations, Arlington swapped some land in the south end with Alexandria, though less than originally planned. The land was located along King Street and Four Mile Run. The exchange allowed the two jurisdictions to straighten out the boundary and helped highway and sewer projects to go forward. It moved into Arlington several acres of land to the south of the old county line that had not been a part of the District of Columbia.^[29]

21st century

Smoke rising from the Pentagon following the September 11 attacks

On September 11, 2001, five al-Qaeda hijackers deliberately crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon, killing 115 Pentagon employees and 10 contractors in the building, as well as all 53 passengers, six crew members, and five hijackers on board the aircraft.

Arlington, regarded as a model of smart growth, has experienced explosive growth in the early 21st century.^[30]

Arlington County National Gateway

Arlington County IDA Potomac Yard

Arlington County Aquatic and Fitness Center

Arlington County Virginia Tech Innovative Campus Project

The Turnberry Tower, located in the Rosslyn neighborhood, was completed in 2009. At the time of completion, the Turnberry Tower was the tallest residential building in the Washington metropolitan area.^[31][32]

In 2017, Nestle USA chose 1812 N Moore in Rosslyn as their US headquarters.^[33]

In 2018, Amazon.com, Inc. announced that it would build its co-headquarters in the Crystal City neighborhood, anchoring a broader area of Arlington and Alexandria that was simultaneously rebranded as National Landing.^[34]

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Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. The county is predominantly suburban in character with some urban and rural pockets.

Colony of Virginia

Colony of Virginia

The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1583 and the Roanoke Colony by Sir Walter Raleigh in the late 1580s.

British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23 per cent of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered 35.5 million km2 (13.7 million sq mi), 24 per cent of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its constitutional, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was described as "the empire on which the sun never sets", as the Sun was always shining on at least one of its territories.

Fairfax, Virginia

Fairfax, Virginia

The City of Fairfax, colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. At the 2010 census the population was 22,565, which had risen to 24,146 at the 2020 census.

Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington

Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington

Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, KG, PC was an English statesman.

Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial

Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial

Arlington House is the historic family residence of Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Army, and a national memorial in his honor serving as a museum, located in Arlington, Virginia. It is situated in the middle of Arlington National Cemetery, overlooking the Potomac River and the National Mall.

George Washington Parke Custis

George Washington Parke Custis

George Washington Parke Custis was an American plantation owner, antiquarian, author, and playwright. His father John Parke Custis was the stepson of George Washington. He and his sister Eleanor grew up at Mount Vernon and in the Washington presidential household.

Martha Washington

Martha Washington

Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, she served as the inaugural first lady of the United States, defining the role of the president's wife and setting many precedents that future first ladies would observe. During her tenure, she was referred to as "Lady Washington". Washington is consistently ranked in the upper half of first ladies by historians.

Mary Anna Custis Lee

Mary Anna Custis Lee

Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee was the wife of the Confederate general Robert E. Lee and the last private owner of Arlington Estate. She was the daughter of George Washington Parke Custis who was the grandson of Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, the wife of George Washington.

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Saturday. The other Army cemetery is in Washington, D.C. and is called the U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery. All other national cemeteries are run by the National Cemetery System of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union and the Confederacy, the latter formed by states that had seceded. The central cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing so, which was widely believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction.

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of downtown Washington, D.C. Alexandria is the third-largest "principal city" of the Washington metropolitan area which is part of the larger Washington-Baltimore combined statistical area.

Aerial view of the growth pattern in Arlington County. High density, mixed-use development is often concentrated within 1/4 to 1/2 mile from the county's Metrorail stations, such as in Rosslyn, Courthouse, and Clarendon (shown in red from upper left to lower right).

Prince George's County

Alexandria

Arlington

Fairfax County

Falls Church

Washington

class=notpageimage|

Jurisdictions South and West of Washington, D.C.

Arlington County is located in northeast Virginia and is surrounded by Fairfax County and Falls Church to the west, the city of Alexandria to the southeast, and Washington, D.C., to the northeast directly across the Potomac River, which forms the county's northern border. Other landforms also form county borders, particularly Minor's Hill and Upton's Hill on the west.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 26.1 square miles (67.6 km²), of which 26.0 square miles (67.3 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) (0.4%) is water.^[35] It is the smallest county by area in Virginia and is the smallest self-governing county in the United States.^[36] About 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²) (17.6%) of the county is federal property. The county courthouse and most government offices are located in the Courthouse neighborhood.

For over 30 years, the government has pursued a development strategy of concentrating much of its new development near transit facilities, such as Metrorail stations and the high-volume bus lines of Columbia Pike.^[37] Within the transit areas, the government has a policy of encouraging mixed-use and pedestrian- and transit-oriented development.^[38] Some of these "urban village" communities include:

In 2002, Arlington received the EPA's National Award for Smart Growth Achievement for "Overall Excellence in Smart Growth."^[39] In 2005, the County implemented an affordable housing ordinance that requires most developers to contribute significant affordable housing resources, either in units or through a cash contribution, in order to obtain the highest allowable amounts of increased building density in new development projects, most of which are planned near Metrorail station areas.^[40]

A number of the county's residential neighborhoods and larger garden-style apartment complexes are listed in the National Register of Historic Places and/or designated under the County government's zoning ordinance as local historic preservation districts.^[41][42] These include Arlington Village, Arlington Forest, Ashton Heights, Buckingham, Cherrydale, Claremont, Colonial Village, Fairlington, Lyon Park, Lyon Village, Maywood, Nauck, Penrose, Waverly Hills and Westover.^[43][44] Many of Arlington County's neighborhoods participate in the Arlington County government's Neighborhood Conservation Program (NCP).^[45] Each of these neighborhoods has a Neighborhood Conservation Plan that describes the neighborhood's characteristics, history and recommendations for capital improvement projects that the County government funds through the NCP.^[46]

Arlington is often spoken of as divided between North Arlington and South Arlington, which designate the sections of the county that lie north and south of Arlington Boulevard. Places in Arlington are often identified by their location in one or the other. Much consideration is given to socioeconomic and demographic differences between these two portions of the county and the respective amounts of attention they receive in the way of public services.^[47]

Arlington ranks fourth in the nation, immediately after Washington, D.C., itself, for park access and quality in the 2018 ParkScore ranking of the top 100 park systems across the United States, according to the ranking methodologies of the nonpartisan Trust for Public Land.^[48]

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers, mild to moderately cold winters, and pleasant spring and fall seasons. Arlington averages 41.82 inches of precipitation that is fairly evenly spread out during the year. Snowfall averages 13.7 inches per year. The snowiest months are January and February, although snow also falls in December and March; scarce snow may fall in November or April. The county usually has 60 nights with lows below freezing and 40 days with highs in the 90s. Hundred degree temperatures readings are rare, even more so negative temperature readings, last occurring August 13, 2016 and January 19, 1994, respectively.^{[49] [50]} According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Arlington County has a slightly colder version of the humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.^[51]

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List of neighborhoods in Arlington County, Virginia

List of neighborhoods in Arlington County, Virginia

This is a list of neighborhoods in Arlington County, Virginia. Under Virginia law, towns may be incorporated within counties; however, the state does not permit the creation of any new incorporated towns within a county that has a population density greater than 1,000 persons per square mile. As such, Arlington has no incorporated towns within its borders, but a number of neighborhoods within Arlington are commonly referred to by name as if they were distinct towns. This list includes:

Mixed-use development

Mixed-use development

Mixed use is a type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some degree physically and functionally integrated, and that provides pedestrian connections. Mixed-use development may be applied to a single building, a block or neighborhood, or in zoning policy across an entire city or other administrative unit. These projects may be completed by a private developer, (quasi-) governmental agency, or a combination thereof. A mixed-use development may be a new construction, reuse of an existing building or brownfield site, or a combination.

Orange Line (Washington Metro)

Orange Line (Washington Metro)

The Orange Line is a rapid transit line of the Washington Metro system, consisting of 26 stations in Fairfax County and Arlington, Virginia; the District of Columbia; and Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The Orange Line runs from Vienna in Virginia to New Carrollton in Maryland. Half of the line's stations are shared with the Blue Line and over two thirds are shared with the Silver Line. Orange Line service began on November 20, 1978.

Court House, Arlington, Virginia

Court House, Arlington, Virginia

Court House, also known as Courthouse, is a transit-oriented neighborhood in Arlington County, Virginia. It is centered around the Court House station on the Orange Line and the Silver Line of the Washington Metro.

Clarendon, Arlington, Virginia

Clarendon, Arlington, Virginia

Clarendon is an urbanized, upper-class neighborhood in Arlington County, Virginia, located between the Rosslyn area and the Ballston area. It was named after Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, a leading statesman and historian of the English Civil War. The main thoroughfares are Wilson Boulevard and Clarendon Boulevard.

Prince George's County, Maryland

Prince George's County, Maryland

Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it the second-most populous county in Maryland, behind Montgomery County. The 2020 census counted an increase of nearly 104,000 in the previous ten years. Its county seat is Upper Marlboro. It is the largest and the second most affluent African American-majority county in the United States, with five of its communities identified in a 2015 top ten list.

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of downtown Washington, D.C. Alexandria is the third-largest "principal city" of the Washington metropolitan area which is part of the larger Washington-Baltimore combined statistical area.

Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. The county is predominantly suburban in character with some urban and rural pockets.

Falls Church, Virginia

Falls Church, Virginia

Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area.

Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States that flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is 405 miles (652 km) long, with a drainage area of 14,700 square miles (38,000 km2), and is the fourth-largest river along the East Coast of the United States and the 21st-largest in the United States. Over 5 million people live within its watershed.

Minor's Hill

Minor's Hill

Minor's Hill is a geographic eminence located in the western tip of Arlington County, Virginia. Its summit rises to 459 feet above sea level which makes it the highest point in the county. The hill is named after a man named George Minor who lived there at the time of the American Revolutionary War.

County statistics of the United States

County statistics of the United States

In 45 of the 50 states of the United States, the county is used for the level of local government immediately below the state itself. Louisiana uses parishes, and Alaska uses boroughs. In Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, some or all counties within states have no governments of their own; the counties continue to exist as legal entities, however, and are used by states for some administrative functions and by the United States Census bureau for statistical analysis. There are 3,242 counties and county equivalent administrative units in total, including the District of Columbia and 100 county-equivalents in the U.S. territories.

2020 census

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census,^[65] there were 207,627 people, 98,050 households, and 41,607 families residing in Arlington. The population density was 8,853 people per square mile, the second highest of any county in Virginia.

According to the US Census, the racial makeup of the county in 2012 was 63.8% Non-Hispanic white, 8.9% Non-Hispanic Black or African American, 0.8% Non-Hispanic Native American, 9.9% Non-Hispanic Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.29% Non-Hispanic other races, 3.0% Non-Hispanics reporting two or more races. 15.4% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race (3.4% Salvadoran, 2.0% Bolivian, 1.7% Mexican, 1.5% Guatemalan, 0.8% Puerto Rican, 0.7% Peruvian, 0.6% Colombian). 28% of Arlington residents were foreign-born as of 2000.

There were 86,352 households, out of which 19.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.30% were married couples living together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.50% were non-families. 40.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.96.

Families headed by single parents were the lowest in the DC area, under 6%, as estimated by the Census Bureau for the years 2006–2008. For the same years, the percentage of people estimated to be living alone was the third highest in the DC area, at 45%.^[66] In 2009, Arlington was highest in the Washington DC Metropolitan area for the percentage of people who were single – 70.9%. 14.3% were married. 14.8% had families.^[67] In 2014 Arlington had the 2nd highest concentration of roommates after San Francisco among the 50 largest U.S. cities.^[68]

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the county was $94,876, and the median income for a family was $127,179.^[69] Males had a median income of $51,011 versus $41,552 for females. The per capita income for the county was $37,706. About 5.00% of families and 7.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.10% of those under age 18 and 7.00% of those age 65 or over.

The age distribution was 16.50% under 18, 10.40% from 18 to 24, 42.40% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 9.40% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.70 males.

CNN Money ranked Arlington as the most educated city in 2006 with 35.7% of residents having held graduate degrees. Along with five other counties in Northern Virginia, Arlington ranked among the twenty American counties with the highest median household income in 2006.^[70] In 2009, the county was second in the nation (after nearby Loudoun County) for the percentage of people ages 25–34 earning over $100,000 annually (8.82% of the population).^{[67] [71]} In August 2011, CNN Money ranked Arlington seventh in the country in its listing of "Best Places for the Rich and Single."^[72]

In 2008, 20.3% of the population did not have medical health insurance.^[73] In 2010, AIDS prevalence was 341.5 per 100,000 population. This was eight times the rate of nearby Loudoun County and one-quarter the rate of the District of Columbia.^[74]

Crime statistics for 2009 included the report of 2 homicides, 15 forcible rapes, 149 robberies, 145 incidents of or aggravated assault, 319 burglaries, 4,140 incidents of larceny, and 297 reports of vehicle theft. This was a reduction in all categories from the previous year.^[75]

According to a 2016 study by Bankrate.com, Arlington is the best place to retire, with nearby Alexandria coming in at second place. Criteria of the study included cost of living, rates of violent and property crimes, walkability, health care quality, state and local tax rates, weather, local culture and well-being for senior citizens.^[76]

2021 marked the fourth consecutive year that the American College of Sports Medicine named Arlington the "Fittest City in America" in their annual Fitness Index.^[77] Arlington topped the list of 100 cities in both the Personal and the Community & Environment Health metrics.

Discover more about Demographics related topics

1800 United States census

1800 United States census

The United States census of 1800 was the second census conducted in the United States. It was conducted on August 4, 1800. It showed that 5,308,483 people were living in the United States, of whom 893,602 were enslaved. The 1800 census included the new District of Columbia. The census for the following states were lost: Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Virginia.

1810 United States census

1810 United States census

The United States census of 1810 was the third census conducted in the United States. It was conducted on August 6, 1810. It showed that 7,239,881 people were living in the United States, of whom 1,191,362 were slaves.

1820 United States census

1820 United States census

The United States census of 1820 was the fourth census conducted in the United States. It was conducted on August 7, 1820. The 1820 census included six new states: Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama and Maine. There has been a district wide loss of 1820 census records for Arkansas Territory, Missouri Territory and New Jersey.

1830 United States census

1830 United States census

The United States census of 1830, the fifth census undertaken in the United States, was conducted on June 1, 1830. The only loss of census records for 1830 involved some countywide losses in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Mississippi.

1840 United States census

1840 United States census

The United States census of 1840 was the sixth census of the United States. Conducted by the Census Office on June 1, 1840, it determined the resident population of the United States to be 17,069,453 – an increase of 32.7 percent over the 12,866,020 persons enumerated during the 1830 census. The total population included 2,487,355 slaves. In 1840, the center of population was about 260 miles (418 km) west of Washington, near Weston, Virginia.

1850 United States census

1850 United States census

The United States census of 1850 was the seventh census of the United States. Conducted by the Census Office, it determined the resident population of the United States to be 23,191,876—an increase of 35.9 percent over the 17,069,453 persons enumerated during the 1840 census. The total population included 3,204,313 slaves.

1860 United States census

1860 United States census

The United States census of 1860 was the eighth census conducted in the United States starting June 1, 1860, and lasting five months. It determined the population of the United States to be 31,443,322 in 33 states and 10 organized territories. This was an increase of 35.4 percent over the 23,069,876 persons enumerated during the 1850 census. The total population included 3,953,762 slaves.

1870 United States census

1870 United States census

The United States census of 1870 was the ninth United States census. It was conducted by the Census Bureau from June 1, 1870, to August 23, 1871. The 1870 census was the first census to provide detailed information on the African American population, only five years after the culmination of the Civil War when slaves were granted freedom. The total population was 38,925,598 with a resident population of 38,558,371 individuals, a 22.6% increase from 1860.

1880 United States census

1880 United States census

The United States census of 1880 conducted by the Census Bureau during June 1880 was the tenth United States census. It was the first time that women were permitted to be enumerators. The Superintendent of the Census was Francis Amasa Walker. This was the first census in which a city—New York City—recorded a population of over one million.

1890 United States census

1890 United States census

The United States census of 1890 was taken beginning June 2, 1890, but most of the 1890 census materials were destroyed in 1921 when a building caught fire and in the subsequent disposal of the remaining damaged records. It determined the resident population of the United States to be 62,979,766—an increase of 25.5 percent over the 50,189,209 persons enumerated during the 1880 census. The data reported that the distribution of the population had resulted in the disappearance of the American frontier.

1900 United States census

1900 United States census

The United States census of 1900, conducted by the Census Office on June 1, 1900, determined the resident population of the United States to be 76,212,168, an increase of 21.01% from the 62,979,766 persons enumerated during the 1890 census.

1910 United States census

1910 United States census

The United States census of 1910, conducted by the Census Bureau on April 15, 1910, determined the resident population of the United States to be 92,228,496, an increase of 21 percent over the 76,212,168 persons enumerated during the 1900 census. The 1910 census switched from a portrait page orientation to a landscape orientation.

Local government

For the last two decades, Arlington has been a Democratic stronghold at nearly all levels of government.^[83] However, during a special election in April 2014, a Republican running as an independent, John Vihstadt, captured a County Board seat, defeating Democrat Alan Howze 57% to 41%; he became the first non-Democratic board member in fifteen years.^[84] This was in large part a voter response to plans to raise property taxes to fund several large projects, including a streetcar and an aquatics center. County Board Member Libby Garvey, in April 2014, resigned from the Arlington Democratic Committee after supporting Vihstadt's campaign over Howze.^[85] Eight months later, in November's general election, Vihstadt won a full term; winning by 56% to 44%.^[86] This is the first time since 1983 that a non-Democrat won a County Board general election.^[87] In 2018, without the controversial streetcar issue to bolster his campaign, Vihstadt lost.^[88]

The county is governed by a five-person County Board; members are elected at-large on staggered four-year terms. They appoint a county manager, who is the chief executive of the County Government. Like most Virginia counties, Arlington has five elected constitutional officers: a clerk of court, a commissioner of revenue, a commonwealth's attorney, a sheriff, and a treasurer. The budget for the fiscal year 2009 was $1.177 billion.^[89]

Incorporation

Under Virginia law, the only municipalities that may be contained within counties are incorporated towns; incorporated cities are independent of any county. Arlington, despite its population density and largely urban character, is wholly unincorporated with no towns inside its borders. In the 1920s, a group of citizens petitioned the state courts to incorporate the Clarendon neighborhood as a town, but this was rejected; the Supreme Court of Virginia held, in Bennett v. Garrett (1922), that Arlington constituted a "continuous, contiguous, and homogeneous community" that should not be subdivided through incorporation.^[95]

Current state law would prohibit the incorporation of any towns within the county because the county's population density exceeds 200 persons per square mile.^[96] In 2017, then-county board chairman Jay Fisette suggested that the county as a whole should incorporate as an independent city.^[97]

State and federal elections

In 2009, Republican Attorney General Bob McDonnell won Virginia by a 59% to 41% margin, but Arlington voted 66% to 34% for Democratic State Senator Creigh Deeds.^[98] The voter turnout was 42.78%.^[99]

Arlington elects four members of the Virginia House of Delegates and two members of the Virginia State Senate. State Senators are elected for four-year terms, while Delegates are elected for two-year terms.

In the Virginia State Senate, Arlington is split between the 30th, 31st, and 32nd districts, represented by Adam Ebbin, Barbara Favola, and Janet Howell, respectively. In the Virginia House of Delegates, Arlington is divided between the 45th, 47th, 48th, and 49th districts, represented by Mark Levine, Patrick Hope, Rip Sullivan, and Alfonso Lopez, respectively. All are Democrats.

Arlington is part of Virginia's 8th congressional district, represented by Democrat Don Beyer.

The United States Postal Service designates zip codes starting with "222" for exclusive use in Arlington County. However, federal institutions, like Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and The Pentagon use Washington zip codes.

Discover more about Government and politics related topics

Democratic Party of Virginia

Democratic Party of Virginia

The Democratic Party of Virginia is the Virginia affiliate of the Democratic Party based in Richmond, Virginia.

Christian Dorsey

Christian Dorsey

Christian Dorsey is an American politician in Arlington County, Virginia. He previously worked at the Economic Policy Institute. His areas of expertise are community development, housing, race and the economy.

Libby Garvey

Libby Garvey

Libby Garvey is a municipal politician in Virginia, currently serving as a member of the Arlington County Board. She has previously served as the board's chair.

Democratic Party (United States)

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled politicians in every state behind war hero Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party. Its main political rival has been the Republican Party since the 1850s, with both parties being big tents of competing and often opposing viewpoints. Modern American liberalism — a variant of social liberalism — is the party's majority ideology. The party also has notable centrist, social democratic, and left-libertarian factions.

Administrative divisions of Virginia

Administrative divisions of Virginia

The administrative divisions of Virginia are the areas into which the Commonwealth of Virginia, a U.S. state, is divided for political and administrative purposes. Some are local governments; others are not. However, all local governments are political subdivisions of the state.

Incorporated town

Incorporated town

An incorporated town is a town that is a municipal corporation.

Independent city (United States)

Independent city (United States)

In the United States, an independent city is a city that is not in the territory of any county or counties and is considered a primary administrative division of its state. Independent cities are classified by the United States Census Bureau as "county equivalents" and may also have similar governmental powers to a consolidated city-county. However, in the case of a consolidated city-county, a city and a county were merged into a unified jurisdiction in which the county at least nominally exists to this day, whereas an independent city was legally separated from any county or merged with a county that simultaneously ceased to exist even in name.

1812 N Moore (right) and Turnberry Tower (left)

Arlington has consistently had the lowest unemployment rate of any jurisdiction in Virginia.^[103] The unemployment rate in Arlington was 4.2% in August 2009.^[104] 60% of office space in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor is leased to government agencies and government contractors.^[105] There were an estimated 205,300 jobs in the county in 2008. About 28.7% of these were with the federal, state or local government; 19.1% technical and professional; 28.9% accommodation, food and other services.^[106]

In October 2008, BusinessWeek ranked Arlington as the safest city in which to weather a recession, with a 49.4% share of jobs in "strong industries".^[107] In October 2009, during the economic downturn, the unemployment in the county reached 4.2%. This was the lowest in the state, which averaged 6.6% for the same time period, and among the lowest in the nation, which averaged 9.5% for the same time.^[108]

In 2021, there were an estimated 119,447 housing units in the county.^[109] In 2010, there were an estimated 90,842 residences in the county.^[110] In 2019, the median home was worth $610,000.^[111] 4,721 houses, about 10% of all stand-alone homes, were worth $1 million or more. By comparison, in 2000, the median single family home price was $262,400. About 123 homes were worth $1 million or more.^[112]

In 2010, 0.9% of the homes were in foreclosure. This was the lowest rate in the DC area.^[113]

14% of the nearly 150,000 people working in Arlington live in the county, while 86% commute in, with 27% commuting from Fairfax County. An additional 90,000 people commute out for work, with 42% commuting to DC, and 29% commuting to Fairfax County.^[114]

Federal government

A number of federal agencies are headquartered in Arlington, including the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, American Battle Monuments Commission, DARPA, Diplomatic Security Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Foreign Service Institute, the DHS National Protection and Programs Directorate, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, Office of Naval Research, Transportation Security Administration, United States Department of Defense, United States Marshals Service, the United States Trade and Development Agency, and the U.S. AbilityOne Commission.

Companies and organizations

Park Four, former US Airways headquarters in Crystal City

Companies headquartered in Arlington include Amazon (its second headquarters), AES, Alcalde and Fay, Arlington Asset Investment, AvalonBay Communities, CACI, Corporate Executive Board, FBR Capital Markets, Interstate Hotels & Resorts, Pacific Architects and Engineers, Rosetta Stone, and Nestlé USA. Boeing announced on May 5, 2022, that it would be moving its global headquarters to Arlington.^[115] On June 7, 2022, Raytheon announced its global headquarters relocation to Arlington.^[116]

Organizations located here include the American Institute in Taiwan, Army Emergency Relief, The Conservation Fund, Conservation International, the Consumer Electronics Association, The Fellowship, the Feminist Majority Foundation, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, The Nature Conservancy, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, the Public Broadcasting Service, United Service Organizations, and the US-Taiwan Business Council.

Arlington also has an annex of the South Korean embassy.^[117]

Largest employers

Virginia Hospital Center, the fifth^[update] largest employer in Arlington County

According to the county's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,^[118] the top employers in the county, comprising 27.6% of total county employment are:

Entrepreneurship

Arlington has been recognized as a strong incubator for start-up businesses, with a number of public/private incubators and resources dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship in the county.^[119]

Discover more about Economy related topics

List of federal agencies in Northern Virginia

List of federal agencies in Northern Virginia

The following Federal Agencies are headquartered in Northern Virginia. Agencies with approximately 10,000+ employees, or a $10 billion+ budget are in bold.

List of companies headquartered in Northern Virginia

List of companies headquartered in Northern Virginia

This is a list of notable companies headquartered in Northern Virginia. The majority of the following companies are located in Fairfax County and Loudoun County the most populous jurisdictions in Northern Virginia, Virginia state, and the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. Companies with a McLean or Vienna address are often located in Tysons Corner; "Tysons Corner" was not available as a postal address until 2011.

1812 N Moore

1812 N Moore

1812 North Moore is an office building in Arlington, Virginia, developed by Monday Properties. It was topped out in March 2013, surpassing the nearby Rosslyn Twin Towers as the tallest building in the Washington metropolitan area.

American Battle Monuments Commission

American Battle Monuments Commission

The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) is an independent agency of the United States government that administers, operates, and maintains permanent U.S. military cemeteries, memorials and monuments primarily outside the United States.

DARPA

DARPA

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.

Diplomatic Security Service

Diplomatic Security Service

The Diplomatic Security Service is the principal security and law enforcement agency of the United States Department of State. As the operational division of State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, its primary mission is to protect diplomatic assets, personnel, and information and to combat visa and passport fraud. DSS also undertakes counterterrorism, counterintelligence, cybersecurity and criminal investigations, both domestically and abroad.

Drug Enforcement Administration

Drug Enforcement Administration

The Drug Enforcement Administration is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act, sharing concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection although the DEA has sole responsibility for coordinating and pursuing U.S. drug investigations both domestically and abroad. It was established in 1973 as part of the U.S. government's War on Drugs. The DEA has an intelligence unit that is also a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community. While the unit is part of the DEA chain-of-command, it also reports to the Director of National Intelligence. The DEA has been criticized for scheduling drugs that have medical uses, and for focusing on operations that allow it to seize money rather than those involving drugs that cause more harm.

Foreign Service Institute

Foreign Service Institute

The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is the United States federal government's primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats as well as other professionals to advance U.S. foreign affairs interests overseas and in Washington. FSI provides more than 800 courses—including up to 70 foreign languages—to more than 225,000 enrollees a year from the U.S. Department of State and more than 50 other government agencies and the military service branches. FSI is based at the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center in Arlington, Virginia.

Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board

Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board

The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board was established in the 1987 Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act (NWPAA) to "...evaluate the technical and scientific validity of activities [related to managing and disposing of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste] undertaken by the Secretary [of Energy], includingsite characterization activities; and activities relating to the packaging or transportation of high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel."

Office of Naval Research

Office of Naval Research

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan, foster, and encourage scientific research to maintain future naval power and preserve national security. It carries this out through funding and collaboration with schools, universities, government laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit organizations, and overseeing the Naval Research Laboratory, the corporate research laboratory for the Navy and Marine Corps. NRL conducts a broad program of scientific research, technology and advanced development.

Transportation Security Administration

Transportation Security Administration

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within, and connecting to the United States. It was created as a response to the September 11 attacks to improve airport security procedures and consolidate air travel security under a dedicated federal administrative law enforcement agency.

United States Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is an executive branch department of the federal government of the United States charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the U.S. government directly related to national security and the United States Armed Forces. The DoD is the largest employer in the world, with over 1.34 million active-duty service members as of June 2022. The DoD also maintains over 778,000 National Guard and reservists, and over 747,000 civilians bringing the total to over 2.87 million employees. Headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., the DoD's stated mission is to provide "the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security".

Arlington Memorial Amphitheater hosts major Veterans Day and Memorial Day events.

Marine Corps War Memorial, commonly known as the Iwo Jima Memorial, at Arlington Ridge Park

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery is an American military cemetery established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's home, Arlington House (also known as the Custis-Lee Mansion). It is directly across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., north of the Pentagon. With nearly 300,000 graves, Arlington National Cemetery is the second-largest national cemetery in the United States.

Arlington House was named after the Custis family's homestead on Virginia's Eastern Shore. It is associated with the families of Washington, Custis, and Lee. Begun in 1802 and completed in 1817, it was built by George Washington Parke Custis. After his father died, young Custis was raised by his grandmother and her second husband, the first US President George Washington, at Mount Vernon. Custis, a far-sighted agricultural pioneer, painter, playwright, and orator, was interested in perpetuating the memory and principles of George Washington. His house became a "treasury" of Washington heirlooms.

In 1804, Custis married Mary Lee Fitzhugh. Their only child to survive infancy was Mary Anna Randolph Custis, born in 1808. Young Robert E. Lee, whose mother was a cousin of Mrs. Custis, frequently visited Arlington. Two years after graduating from West Point, Lieutenant Lee married Mary Custis at Arlington on June 30, 1831. For 30 years, Arlington House was home to the Lees. They spent much of their married life traveling between U.S. Army duty stations and Arlington, where six of their seven children were born. They shared this home with Mary's parents, the Custis family.

When George Washington Parke Custis died in 1857, he left the Arlington estate to Mrs. Lee for her lifetime and afterward to the Lees' eldest son, George Washington Custis Lee.

The U.S. government confiscated Arlington House and 200 acres (81 ha) of ground immediately from the wife of General Robert E. Lee during the Civil War. The government designated the grounds as a military cemetery on June 15, 1864, by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. In 1882, after many years in the lower courts, the matter of the ownership of Arlington National Cemetery was brought before the United States Supreme Court. The Court decided that the property rightfully belonged to the Lee family. The United States Congress then appropriated the sum of $150,000 for the purchase of the property from the Lee family.

Veterans from all the nation's wars are buried in the cemetery, from the American Revolution through the military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Pre-Civil War dead were re-interred after 1900.

The Tomb of the Unknowns, also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, stands atop a hill overlooking Washington, DC. President John F. Kennedy is buried in Arlington National Cemetery with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and some of their children. His grave is marked with an eternal flame. His brothers, Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy, are also buried nearby. William Howard Taft, who was also a Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, is the only other President buried at Arlington.

Other frequently visited sites near the cemetery are the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, commonly known as the Iwo Jima Memorial, the U.S. Air Force Memorial, the Women in Military Service for America Memorial, the Netherlands Carillon and the U.S. Army's Fort Myer.

The Pentagon

The Pentagon looking northeast with the Potomac River and Washington Monument in the distance

The 9/11 Pentagon Memorial

The Pentagon in Arlington is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense. It was dedicated on January 15, 1943, and it is the world's largest office building. Although it is located in Arlington, the United States Postal Service requires that "Washington, D.C." be used as the place name in mail addressed to the six ZIP codes assigned to The Pentagon.^[120]

The building is pentagon-shaped and houses about 23,000 military and civilian employees and about 3,000 non-defense support personnel. It has five floors and each floor has five ring corridors. The Pentagon's principal law enforcement arm is the United States Pentagon Police, the agency that protects the Pentagon and various other DoD jurisdictions throughout the National Capital Region.

Built during World War II, the Pentagon is the world's largest low-rise office building with 17.5 miles (28.2 km) of corridors, yet it takes only seven minutes to walk between its furthest two points.^[121]

It was built from 689,000 short tons (625,000 t) of sand and gravel dredged from the nearby Potomac River^[121] that were processed into 435,000 cubic yards (330,000 m³) of concrete and molded into the pentagon shape. Very little steel was used in its design due to the needs of the war effort.^[122]

The open-air central plaza in the Pentagon is the world's largest "no-salute, no-cover" area (where U.S. servicemembers need not wear hats nor salute). The snack bar in the center is informally known as the Ground Zero Cafe, a nickname originating during the Cold War when the Pentagon was targeted by Soviet nuclear missiles.

During World War II, the earliest portion of the Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway was built in Arlington in conjunction with the parking and traffic plan for the Pentagon. This early freeway, opened in 1943 and completed to Woodbridge, Virginia, in 1952, is now part of Interstate 395.

The 9/11 Pentagon Memorial is located outside of the Pentagon and is a major tourist attraction.

Discover more about Landmarks related topics

Arlington Memorial Amphitheater

Arlington Memorial Amphitheater

Memorial Amphitheater is an outdoor amphitheater, exhibit hall, and nonsectarian chapel located in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. Designed in 1913 as a replacement for the older, wooden amphitheater near Arlington House, ground was broken for its construction in March 1915 and it was dedicated in May 1920. In the center of its eastern steps is the Tomb of the Unknowns, dedicated in 1921. It has served as the site for numerous Veterans Day and Memorial Day services, as well as for memorial services and funerals for many individuals.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. From 1868 to 1970 it was observed on May 30.

Marine Corps War Memorial

Marine Corps War Memorial

The United States Marine Corps War Memorial is a national memorial located in Arlington County, Virginia. The memorial was dedicated in 1954 to all Marines who have given their lives in defense of the United States since 1775. It is located in Arlington Ridge Park within the George Washington Memorial Parkway, near the Ord-Weitzel Gate to Arlington National Cemetery and the Netherlands Carillon. The memorial was turned over to the National Park Service in 1955.

Arlington Ridge Park

Arlington Ridge Park

Arlington Ridge Park, also known as the Nevius Tract, is a historic park property located in Arlington, Virginia. The property lies within the boundaries of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. It includes the Marine Corps War Memorial (1954), also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial; and the Netherlands Carillon (1960).

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Saturday. The other Army cemetery is in Washington, D.C. and is called the U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery. All other national cemeteries are run by the National Cemetery System of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union and the Confederacy, the latter formed by states that had seceded. The central cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing so, which was widely believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction.

Confederate States of America

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy, was an unrecognized breakaway herrenvolk republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confederacy comprised U.S. states that declared secession and warred against the United States during the American Civil War: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial

Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial

Arlington House is the historic family residence of Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Army, and a national memorial in his honor serving as a museum, located in Arlington, Virginia. It is situated in the middle of Arlington National Cemetery, overlooking the Potomac River and the National Mall.

George Washington Parke Custis

George Washington Parke Custis

George Washington Parke Custis was an American plantation owner, antiquarian, author, and playwright. His father John Parke Custis was the stepson of George Washington. He and his sister Eleanor grew up at Mount Vernon and in the Washington presidential household.

George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War and served as president of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which created and ratified the Constitution of the United States and the American federal government. Washington has been called the "Father of his Country" for his manifold leadership in the nation's founding.

Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on the banks of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia. It is located south of Washington, D.C., and Alexandria, Virginia, and is across the river from Prince George's County, Maryland.

Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis

Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis

Mary Lee "Molly" Fitzhugh Custis was an Episcopal lay leader in Alexandria County. She was the mother of Mary Anna Randolph Custis who was the wife of Robert E. Lee. Early in the 1820s, Molly Custis helped form a coalition of women who hoped to eradicate slavery.

I-395 southbound in Arlington, near The Pentagon

Streets and roads

Arlington forms part of the region's core transportation network. The county is traversed by two interstate highways, Interstate 66 in the northern part of the county and Interstate 395 in the eastern part, both with high-occupancy vehicle lanes or restrictions. In addition, the county is served by the George Washington Memorial Parkway. In total, Arlington County maintains 376 miles (605 km) of roads.^[123]

The street names in Arlington generally follow a unified countywide convention. The north–south streets are generally alphabetical, starting with one-syllable names, then two-, three- and four-syllable names. The first alphabetical street is Ball Street. The last is Arizona. Many east–west streets are numbered. Route 50 divides Arlington County. Streets are generally labeled North above Route 50, and South below.

Arlington has more than 100 miles (160 km) of on-street and paved off-road bicycle trails.^[124] Off-road trails travel along the Potomac River or its tributaries, abandoned railroad beds, or major highways, including: Four Mile Run Trail that travels the length of the county; the Custis Trail, which runs the width of the county from Rosslyn; the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail (W&OD Trail) that travels 45 miles (72 km) from the Shirlington neighborhood out to western Loudoun County; the Mount Vernon Trail that runs for 17 miles (27 km) along the Potomac, continuing through Alexandria to Mount Vernon. In Fall 2015, Arlington was awarded a Silver ranking by the League of American Bicyclists for its bike infrastructure.

Public transport

Arlington is home to the first suburban Washington Metro stations.

Forty percent of Virginia's transit trips begin or end in Arlington, with the vast majority originating from Washington Metro rail stations.^[125]

Arlington is served by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA or Metro), the regional transit agency covering parts of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Arlington has stations on the Orange, Blue, Yellow, and Silver lines of the Washington Metro rail system. Arlington is also served by WMATA's regional Metrobus service. This includes Metroway, the first bus rapid transit (BRT) in the D.C. area, a joint project between WMATA, Arlington County, and Alexandria, with wait times similar to those of Metro trains. Metroway began service in August 2014.^[126]

Arlington also operates its own county bus system, Arlington Transit (ART), which supplements Metrobus service with in-county routes and connections to the rail system.^[127]

The Virginia Railway Express commuter rail system has one station in Arlington County, at Crystal City. Additionally, public bus services operated by other Northern Virginia jurisdictions include some stops in Arlington, most commonly at the Pentagon. These services include DASH (Alexandria Transit Company), Fairfax Connector, PRTC OmniRide (Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission), and the Loudoun County Commuter Bus.^[128][129]

Other

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

Arlington's bicycle sharing service provided by Capital Bikeshare located near Pentagon City

Several hybrid taxis at Pentagon City

Capital Bikeshare, a bicycle sharing system, began operations in September 2010 with 14 rental locations primarily around Washington Metro stations throughout the county.^[130]

Arlington County is home to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which provides domestic air services to the Washington, D.C., area. In 2009, Condé Nast Traveler readers voted it the country's best airport.^[131] Nearby international airports are Washington Dulles International Airport, located in Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia, and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, located in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

In 2007, the county authorized EnviroCAB, a new taxi company, to operate exclusively with a hybrid-electric fleet of 50 vehicles and also issued permits for existing companies to add 35 hybrid cabs to their fleets. As operations began in 2008, EnvironCab became the first all-hybrid taxicab fleet in the United States, and the company not only offset the emissions generated by its fleet of hybrids, but also the equivalent emissions of 100 non-hybrid taxis in service in the metropolitan area.^[132][133] The green taxi expansion was part of a county campaign known as Fresh AIRE, or Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions, that aimed to cut production of greenhouse gases from county buildings and vehicles by 10 percent by 2012.^[132] Arlington has a higher than average percentage of households without a car. In 2015, 13.4 percent of Arlington households lacked a car, and dropped slightly to 12.7 percent in 2016. The national average is 8.7 percent in 2016. Arlington averaged 1.40 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.^[134]

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Interstate 395 (Virginia–District of Columbia)

Interstate 395 (Virginia–District of Columbia)

Interstate 395 (I-395) in Washington D.C. and Virginia is a 13.79-mile-long (22.19 km) spur route of I-95 that begins at an interchange with I-95 in Springfield and ends at an interchange with US Route 50 (US 50) in Northwest Washington, D.C. It passes underneath the National Mall near the US Capitol and ends at a junction with US 50 at New York Avenue, roughly one mile (1.6 km) north of the 3rd Street Tunnel. Despite its proximity to I-395 in Maryland, the route is unrelated and unconnected.

Arlington County, Virginia, street-naming system

Arlington County, Virginia, street-naming system

This article details the street-naming system of Arlington County, Virginia in the United States.

Interstate Highway System

Interstate Highway System

The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. The system extends throughout the contiguous United States and has routes in Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico.

Interstate 66

Interstate 66

Interstate 66 (I-66) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. The highway runs from an interchange with I-81 near Middletown, Virginia, on its western end to an interchange with U.S. Route 29 (US 29) in Washington, D.C., at the eastern terminus. Much of the route parallels US 29 or State Route 55 (SR 55) in Virginia. I-66 has no physical or historical connection to the famous US 66, which was located in a different region of the United States.

High-occupancy vehicle lane

High-occupancy vehicle lane

A high-occupancy vehicle lane is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and one or more passengers, including carpools, vanpools, and transit buses. These restrictions may be only imposed during peak travel times or may apply at all times. According to the criteria used there are different types of lanes: temporary or permanent with concrete barriers; two-directional or reversible; and exclusive, concurrent or contraflow lanes working in peak periods. The normal minimum occupancy level is 2 or 3 occupants. Many jurisdictions exempt other vehicles, including motorcycles, charter buses, emergency and law enforcement vehicles, low-emission and other green vehicles, and/or single-occupancy vehicles paying a toll. HOV lanes are normally introduced to increase average vehicle occupancy and persons traveling with the goal of reducing traffic congestion and air pollution.

George Washington Memorial Parkway

George Washington Memorial Parkway

The George Washington Memorial Parkway, colloquially the G.W. Parkway, is a 25-mile-long (40 km) parkway that runs along the south bank of the Potomac River from Mount Vernon, Virginia, northwest to McLean, Virginia, and is maintained by the National Park Service (NPS). It is located almost entirely within Virginia, except for a short portion of the parkway northwest of the Arlington Memorial Bridge that passes over Columbia Island within the District of Columbia.

Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States that flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is 405 miles (652 km) long, with a drainage area of 14,700 square miles (38,000 km2), and is the fourth-largest river along the East Coast of the United States and the 21st-largest in the United States. Over 5 million people live within its watershed.

Four Mile Run Trail

Four Mile Run Trail

The Four Mile Run Trail is a 7-mile long, paved shared use path in Arlington County, Virginia. It runs along Four Mile Run from Benjamin Banneker Park in Falls Church to the Mount Vernon Trail near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, where Four Mile Run empties into the Potomac River. The trail runs roughly parallel to parts of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail as it follows Four Mile Run, sometimes on the other side of the stream.

Custis Trail

Custis Trail

The Custis Trail is a hilly 4.5 miles (7.2 km)-long shared use path in Arlington County, Virginia. The asphalt-paved trail travels along Interstate 66 (I-66) between Rosslyn and the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail at Bon Air Park.

Mount Vernon Trail

Mount Vernon Trail

The Mount Vernon Trail (MVT) is a 17-mile (27 km) long shared use path that travels along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Northern Virginia between Rosslyn and George Washington's home at Mount Vernon. The trail connects the easternmost portions of Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, and Fairfax County, and travels mostly on dedicated trail with a small portion on city streets. As part of U.S. Bike Route 1, the Potomac Heritage Trail and the East Coast Greenway, the MVT opened in April 1972 as a gravel path and was subsequently expanded and paved.

Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on the banks of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia. It is located south of Washington, D.C., and Alexandria, Virginia, and is across the river from Prince George's County, Maryland.

League of American Bicyclists

League of American Bicyclists

The League of American Bicyclists (LAB), officially the League of American Wheelmen, is a membership organization that promotes cycling for fun, fitness and transportation through advocacy and education. A Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the League is one of the largest membership organizations of cyclists in the United States.

George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School

Arlington Public Schools operates the county's public K-12 education system of 22 elementary schools; 6 middle schools (Dorothy Hamm Middle School, Gunston Middle School, Kenmore Middle School, Swanson Middle School, Thomas Jefferson Middle School, and Williamsburg Middle School); and 3 public high schools (Wakefield High School, Washington-Liberty High School, and Yorktown High School). H-B Woodlawn and Arlington Tech are alternative public schools. Arlington County spends about half of its local revenues on education. For the FY2013 budget, 83 percent of funding was from local revenues, and 12 percent from the state. Per pupil expenditures are expected to average $18,700, well above its neighbors, Fairfax County ($13,600) and Montgomery County ($14,900).^[135]

Arlington has an elected five-person school board whose members are elected to four-year terms. Virginia law does not permit political parties to place school board candidates on the ballot.^[136]

Through an agreement with Fairfax County Public Schools approved by the school board in 1999, up to 26 students residing in Arlington per grade level may be enrolled at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax at a cost to Arlington of approximately $8,000 per student. For the first time in 2006, more students (36) were offered admission in the selective high school than allowed by the previously established enrollment cap.^[137]

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington helps provide Catholic education in northern Virginia, with early learning centers, elementary and middle schools at the parish level. Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School is the diocese's Catholic high school within Arlington County.

Marymount University is the only university with its main campus located in Arlington. Founded in 1950 by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary as Marymount College of Virginia, both its main campus and its Ballston Center are located on North Glebe Road, with a shuttle service connecting the two.

George Mason University operates an Arlington campus in the Virginia Square area between Clarendon and Ballston. The campus houses the Antonin Scalia Law School, School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs and the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

In June 2011, Virginia Tech opened the Virginia Tech Research Center - Arlington in Ballston, providing a teaching and research base for graduate students in computer research and engineering to interact with organizations and research agencies in the National Capital area.^[138]

Rosslyn is a location for some of the University of Virginia's business programs, including McIntire School of Commerce Master of Science in the Management of Information Technology, and Darden School of Business Master of Business Administration (Executive/Global Executive).

Other private and technical schools maintain a campus in Arlington, including the Institute for the Psychological Sciences, the John Leland Center for Theological Studies, the University of Management and Technology, DeVry University. Strayer University has a campus in Arlington as well as its corporate headquarters.

In addition, Argosy University, Banner College, Everest College, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Northern Virginia Community College, Troy University, the University of New Haven, and the University of Oklahoma all have campuses in Arlington.

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George Mason University

George Mason University

George Mason University is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, with an independent City of Fairfax postal address in the Washington metropolitan area. The university was originally founded in 1949 as a Northern Virginia regional branch of the University of Virginia. Named after Founding Father of the United States George Mason in 1959, it became an independent university in 1972. The school has since grown into the largest public university in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Mason operates four campuses in Virginia, as well as a campus in Incheon, South Korea. The flagship campus is in Fairfax.

Antonin Scalia Law School

Antonin Scalia Law School

The Antonin Scalia Law School is the law school of George Mason University, a public research university in Virginia. It is located in Arlington, Virginia, roughly 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Washington, D.C., and 15 miles (24 km) east-northeast of George Mason University's main campus in Fairfax, Virginia.

Arlington Public Schools

Arlington Public Schools

Arlington Public Schools is a public school division in Arlington County, Virginia. In 2019, student enrollment was 28,020 students, with students coming from more than 146 countries. In 2015, there were 2,166 teachers. There are 24 elementary schools, 6 middle schools, 4 high schools, 1 secondary institution and 4 other educational programs within the school district.

Wakefield High School (Arlington County, Virginia)

Wakefield High School (Arlington County, Virginia)

Wakefield High School is one of three public high schools located in Arlington, Virginia, United States, closely bordering Alexandria. It has 140 teachers and 2,561 students in grades 9–12 as of the 2020–2021 academic year.

Washington-Liberty High School

Washington-Liberty High School

Washington-Liberty High School, formerly known as Washington-Lee High School, is a public high school in the Arlington Public Schools district in Arlington, Virginia, covering grades 9–12. Its attendance area serves the central third of Arlington, and it also offers the International Baccalaureate Program countywide.

H-B Woodlawn

H-B Woodlawn

The H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program, commonly referred to as H-B, or HBW, is a democratic alternative all-county public school located in Arlington County, Virginia, United States based on the liberal educational movements of the 1960s and 1970s. The school, which serves grades 6 through 12, is a part of the Arlington Public Schools district.

Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. The county is predominantly suburban in character with some urban and rural pockets.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology is a Virginia state-chartered magnet high school in Fairfax County, Virginia operated by Fairfax County Public Schools.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington

Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington

The Diocese of Arlington is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the state of Virginia in the United States. The diocese comprises 70 parishes across 21 counties and seven independent cities. The Diocese of Arlington is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Marymount University

Marymount University

Marymount University is a private Catholic university with its main campus in Arlington, Virginia. Marymount offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. It has approximately 3,897 students enrolled, representing approximately 45 states and 79 countries.

Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary

Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary

The Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary are a global Roman Catholic community of about 900 apostolic religious women. Today the diversity of ministries include educational, pastoral and social services. RSHM work in colleges and universities, secondary and elementary schools. RSHM serve in parishes and prisons, in hospitals and nursing homes, in studios and social centers, in retreat houses and retirement homes. Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary are administrators, teachers, social workers, artists, lawyers, health care personnel, musicians, librarians, spiritual directors, and others.

Arlington Sister City Association (ASCA) is a nonprofit organization affiliated with Arlington County, Virginia. ASCA works to enhance and promote the region's international profile and foster productive exchanges in education, commerce, culture and the arts through a series of activities. Established in 1993, ASCA supports and coordinates the activities of Arlington County's five sister cities:^[139]

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Germany

Germany

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second-most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between the Baltic and North seas to the north, and the Alps to the south; it covers an area of 357,022 square kilometres (137,847 sq mi), with a population of over 84 million within its 16 constituent states. Germany borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west. The nation's capital and most populous city is Berlin and its main financial centre is Frankfurt; the largest urban area is the Ruhr.

Aachen

Aachen

Aachen is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th-largest city of Germany.

Mexico

Mexico

Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Mexico covers 1,972,550 km2, making it the world's 13th-largest country by area; with a population of over 126 million, it is the 10th-most-populous country and has the most Spanish-speakers. Mexico is organized as a federal republic comprising 31 states and Mexico City, its capital. Other major urban areas include Monterrey, Guadalajara, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, and León.

Coyoacán

Coyoacán

Coyoacán is a borough in Mexico City. The former village is now the borough's "historic center". The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means "place of coyotes", when the Aztecs named a pre-Hispanic village on the southern shore of Lake Texcoco dominated by the Tepanec people. Against Aztec domination, these people welcomed Hernán Cortés and the Spanish, who used the area as a headquarters during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and made it the first capital of New Spain between 1521 and 1523.

Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately 600,000 square kilometres (230,000 sq mi). Prior to the ongoing Russian invasion, it was the eighth-most populous country in Europe, with a population of around 41 million people. On 1 January 2023, the United Nations estimated the Ukrainian population to be 34.1 million, with record low birth rates. It is also bordered by Belarus to the north; by Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; and by Romania and Moldova to the southwest; with a coastline along the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south and southeast. Kyiv is the nation's capital and largest city. Ukraine's state language is Ukrainian; Russian is also widely spoken, especially in the east and south.

Ivano-Frankivsk

Ivano-Frankivsk

Ivano-Frankivsk, formerly Stanyslaviv and Stanislav, is a city in western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast and Ivano-Frankivsk Raion. Ivano-Frankivsk hosts the administration of Ivano-Frankivsk urban hromada. Its population is 238,196.

France

France

France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. It also includes overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Its eighteen integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi) and had a total population of over 68 million as of January 2023. France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre; other major urban areas include Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille, Bordeaux, and Nice.

Reims

Reims

Reims is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies 129 km (80 mi) northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.

El Salvador

El Salvador

El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is San Salvador. The country's population in 2023 was estimated to be 6.5 million.

San Miguel, El Salvador

San Miguel, El Salvador

San Miguel is a city in eastern El Salvador. It is the country's third most populous city. It is located 138 km east of the capital, San Salvador. It is also the capital of the department of San Miguel and a municipality. The population of the city in 2017 was 518,410.

USS Arlington (LPD-24) is the third US Navy ship named for Arlington.^[140]

Notable individuals who were born in and/or have lived in Arlington include The Doors frontman Jim Morrison; former vice president Al Gore; Confederate general Robert E. Lee; U.S. Army general George S. Patton, Jr.; astronaut John Glenn; actors Warren Beatty, Sandra Bullock, and Shirley MacLaine; journalist Katie Couric; musicians Roberta Flack and Zac Hanson; American-Australian footy player Bruce Djite; social commentary YouTuber and activist Natalie Wynn;^[141] physician and social activist Patch Adams; Soviet double agent Aldrich Ames; and scientist Grace Hopper.^[142]

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List of people from Arlington, Virginia

List of people from Arlington, Virginia

The following is a list of notable individuals who were born in and/or have lived in Arlington County, Virginia.

Jim Morrison

Jim Morrison

James Douglas Morrison was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and erratic performances, and the dramatic circumstances surrounding his life and early death, Morrison is regarded by music critics and fans as one of the most influential frontmen in rock history. Since his death, Morrison's fame has endured as one of popular culture's top rebellious and oft-displayed icons, representing the generation gap and youth counterculture.

Al Gore

Al Gore

Albert Arnold Gore Jr. is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic nominee for the 2000 presidential election, losing to George W. Bush in a very close race after a Florida recount.

Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Northern Virginia—the Confederacy's most powerful army—from 1862 until its surrender in 1865, earning a reputation as a skilled tactician.

George S. Patton

George S. Patton

George Smith Patton Jr. was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France and Germany after the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944.

John Glenn

John Glenn

John Herschel Glenn Jr. was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1962. Following his retirement from NASA, he served from 1974 to 1999 as a Democratic United States Senator from Ohio; in 1998, he flew into space again at age 77.

Katie Couric

Katie Couric

Katherine Anne Couric is an American journalist and presenter. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia news and production company. She also publishes a daily newsletter, Wake Up Call. From 2013 to 2017, she was Yahoo's Global News Anchor. Couric has been a television host at all of the Big Three television networks in the United States, and in her early career she was an assignment editor for CNN. She worked for NBC News from 1989 to 2006, CBS News from 2006 to 2011, and ABC News from 2011 to 2014. In 2021, she appeared as a guest host for the game show Jeopardy!, the first woman to host the flagship American version of the show in its history.

Bruce Djite

Bruce Djite

Bruce José Djité is an Australian executive and former association football (soccer) player. As a player, Djite is known for his speed, strength and good height with ball heading skills and previously played in Turkey for professional football team, Gençlerbirliği S.K. of the Süper Lig.

ContraPoints

ContraPoints

Natalie Wynn is an American YouTuber, political commentator, and cultural critic. She is best known for her YouTube channel, ContraPoints, where she creates video essays exploring a wide range of topics such as politics, gender, ethics, race, and philosophy.

Patch Adams

Patch Adams

Hunter Doherty "Patch" Adams is an American physician, comedian, social activist, clown, and author. He founded the Gesundheit! Institute in 1971. Each year he also organizes volunteers from around the world to travel to various countries where they dress as clowns to bring humor to orphans, patients, and other people.

Aldrich Ames

Aldrich Ames

Aldrich Hazen "Rick" Ames is a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer turned KGB double agent, who was convicted of espionage in 1994. He is serving a life sentence, without the possibility of parole, in the Federal Correctional Institution in Terre Haute, Indiana. Ames was a 31-year CIA counterintelligence officer who committed espionage against the U.S. by spying for the Soviet Union and Russia. Ames was known to have compromised more highly classified CIA assets than any other officer until Robert Hanssen, who was arrested seven years later in 2001.

Grace Hopper

Grace Hopper

Grace Brewster Hopper was an American computer scientist, mathematician, and United States Navy rear admiral. One of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer, she was a pioneer of computer programming who invented one of the first linkers. Hopper was the first to devise the theory of machine-independent programming languages, and the FLOW-MATIC programming language she created using this theory was later extended to create COBOL, an early high-level programming language still in use today.