Arlington Favorites

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Favorite thing: Shirlington, like the Rosslyn, Courthouse, Ballston, Crystal City, Pentagon City, and other urban communities in Arlington County, is not an actual city, but defined as an urban village under the county's administration. Unlike most of these other urban villages, Shirlington does not lie on the Metro, but rather on busy I-395, also called the "Shirley Highway," hence the community's name.

Shirlington boasts a population of about 10,000, mostly in the 25 to 35 year old age group. This area is younger with more unmarried people than most of Arlington. While Shirlington is popular and trendy, real estate is a little cheaper here than most of Arlington, probably because of the absence of a convenient Metro stop.

The areas businesses, restaurants, nightlife, and theaters are centered around Shirlington Village, a compact, three street area that is one of the busiest little spots in all of Northern Virginia. Shirlington Village began in the 1940s, and was completely revamped in the 1980s, and expanded in 2005 to its current pedestrian-friendly designed with plenty of free parking in the surrounding garages. Shirlington is serviced by the Shirlington Bus Station, a transport hub in southern Arlington that handles some 2,000 commuters daily.

Fondest memory: During our visits we have ventured into several of the bars and restaurants including Busboys and Poets, Ping, Guapos, Carlyle, and the Bungalow. My personal favorite place to eat was Ping, theough the food was cheap and good at Busboys and Poets, and the service was better.

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Favorite thing: Clarendon boasts some 60 restaurants and more than 80 shops. This neighborhood is one of several unincorporated urban centers in Arlington County, and it is located on the Metro's Orange Line. Some of the core businesses are giant chains like Whole Foods and Barnes and Noble, but there are dozens of smaller little places tucked in and around these corporate giants like local chain Hard Times Cafe, King Street Blues, and Kitty O'Shea's Irish Pub. Clarendon also has a weekly Wednesday Farmers Market in the summer months with organic produce, baked goods, plants, and other items.

Clarendon is located between the Rosslyn and Ballston areas, with the majority of businesses on Wilson and Clarendon Blvds.

http://www.clarendon.org/home.html

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Favorite thing: Rosslyn, an unincorporated urban district in Arlington, VA is one of the densest areas of skyscrapers and office buildings in the DC metro area, really only comparable to nearby Crystal City. This neighborhood is accessible via Rosslyn Station on the Metro Blue and Orange Lines, making it popular for commuters coming or going.

During the day the neighborhood is packed with businessmen and military who frequent the area's dozens of cafe's and sandwich shops. While it gets quieter at night, there is still a lot of pedestrian traffic hitting a few of the big restaurants and handful of bars. This area has a surprising number of residential apartments and condos that actually make up about two-thirds of the Rosslyn area.

I have spent quite a bit of time in Rosslyn for business. In fact I worked here from 2008 into 2009... I have previously stayed in the Holiday Inn and the Residence Inn, and I have eaten at a few of the local restaurants including Ray's Hell Burger, Cafe Asia, Red Hot and Blue BBQ, Spice of Life Cafe, Cu Cu's Cafeteria, Kanpai Sushi, and about a dozens little local cafes.

Rosslyn is home to the Marine Corps Iwo Jima Monument, the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial, and it borders Arlington National Cemetery. This is also the location of historic Fort Corcoran, numerous trails, lots of public art, and a few small neighborhood parks. This area was also once the area's red light district.

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Favorite thing: Virginia Square is a small are in Arlington along the Metro's Orange Line. This are is most famous as home to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and George Mason University's Arlington Campus.

This area also has a collection of new apartment buildings, small churches, small cafes and some larger bars and restaurants. Here you will also find Quincy Park and the Arlington Arts Center.

Virginia Square is between Ballston and Clarendon Metro Stations.

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Favorite thing: Fort Meyer, along with Arlington Cemetery, was once part of the estate of George Washington's heirs. Just before the Civil War, Robert E. Lee married into the family and took ownership of this plantation. When the war began, the US government confiscated these lands for military purposes; this was one of many sites used for the ring of forts that defended the capital city. After the Civil War, this became a major signal corps installation, then a cavalry headquarters.

A significant portion of the north end of the post is designated as a historical area, as many of the buildings here, mostly large general officers' quarters, were constructed between 1895 and 1908. The most famous is called Quarters One; built in 1899 it has been home to the Chief of Staff of the Army, including Generals George C. Marshall, Omar N. Bradley, Douglas MacArthur and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

This post is also the site of the the first military aircraft flight, when in 1908 Orville Wright flew for over a minute in one flight, then crashed his aircraft the second time it was off the ground. Wright survived, but his passenger, Lt Selfridge, was killed, become the military's first death in powered flight.

Favorite thing: Arlington County has 55 locations on the National Register of Historic Places that cover over 9,000 buildings.

The county's newest historic neighborhood is the Claremont Historic District. It was designated on August 31, 2006 and includes 125 cade cod style houses and 114 colonial revival style houses built from 1946 to 1949 as well as 36 ranch houses constructed in 1934.

Claremont is located in southwestern Arlington County just north of the King Street-Interstate 395 interchange along the borders of Fairfax County and Alexandria. This area is bounded by South Dinwiddie Street, South Chesterfield Road, South Buchanan Street, South Culpeper Street, 25th Street South, 24th Street South, 23rd Street South, and 22nd Street South. The neighborhood is marked at the entrances by signs displaying this historic designation.

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Favorite thing: Sure Arlington has a lot of history, touristy sites, restaurants, and nightlife, but I prefer Washington DC. Washington DC, the Capital City of the US, is a diverse city of monuments, historic sites, and government buildings, along with good nightlife, nice restaurants, and a variety of outdoor activities.

During my visits, I always loved to see the major memorials, such as the Vietnam War Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and the new World War II Memorial. I also enjoy the diverse neighborhoods such as Chinatown, Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, Adams Morgan, DuPont Circle, and across the river, Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia. Now that I live here in the city I am trying to find all of the good hole-in-the-wall restaurants and off-the-beaten-path attractions throughout the city that are overlooked by visitors who are here for just a short time.

Best touristy things to do in Washington DC: visit the numerous monuments and memorials on the mall, see the dozens of museums of the Smithsonian Institution, maybe shop in Georgetown, see the famous government buildings like the White House and Capitol, and maybe check out a few other historic sites like Ford's Theater. Many visitors will also want to see some of the nearby areas like Arlington National Cemetery, Old Town Alexandria, and Mount Vernon.

My favorite not-so-touristy things to do in Washington DC: shop at Eastern Market and the Maine Avenue Fish Market, wander the historic streets and parks of Capitol Hill, eat in Chinatown or Barracks Row, go out for the nightlife at Adams Morgan, enjoy an afternoon at Rock Creek Park, hike or bike the C&O Canal, check out the view from the Old Post Office Tower, visit the Shakespeare Theater, and see some of the non-touristy monuments like the National Law Enforcement Monument and the Navy Memorial.

In November of 2008 I brought an Afghan friend to the Mall for a quick afternoon visit that was cut short buy the cold wind and blowing snow flurries. He was amazed at the size of the Washington Monument and impressed by the White House and Capitol Building. I was a little surprised that he had never heard of Lincoln, but then again they have been dealing with other problems in Afghanistan since well before he was born. I was glad to hear him say, upon his first glimpse of the National Mall, "Wow, for the first time I really feel like I am in America." Makes you proud to be an American.

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Favorite thing: As the name implies, the Court House Station area is home to courts--Arlington's county courts as well as the rest of the county government. This neighborhood also has plentiful shopping, dining, and nightlife options, just two stops from DC on the Metro. Furthermore, the Washington Post calls this neighborhood home.

One of the centerpieces of the neighborhood is Courthouse Plaza, a pedestrian mall with 19 shops and restaurants, and outdoor concerts in the summer. This area also has a movie theaters with six screens and a Saturday farmers market. For dining, not many places in the entire DC area beat Ray's The Steaks or Ray's Hell Burger. For nightlife, Court House has several Irish pubs including Kitty O'Shea's and Ireland's Four Courts.

This area also has some small historic sites such as remnants of the Civil War forts that once formed a defensive ring around the capital city. Fort Woodbury once stood near the site of the current Arlington County Courthouse, where Woodbury Heights, a high-rise condominium, now stands.