Ballston is a neighborhood in

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

. Ballston is located at the western end of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. It is a major transportation hub and boasts one of the nation's highest concentrations of scientific research agencies, including the Office of Naval Research,

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

's Advanced Research Institute, and the

Air Force Office of Scientific Research The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of aerospace warfighting technologies, pl ...

. It is served by the Ballston–MU station on the

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

and Silver Lines of the Washington Metro. By some measures, Ballston is the densest neighborhood in the entire

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...

History

Ballston is named after the Ball family, one of whose family cemeteries lies in the neighborhood at N. Stafford Street and Fairfax Drive ( Virginia State Route 237). Ballston began as Birch's Crossroads, and later became Ball's Crossroads at what is now the intersection of N. Glebe Road and Wilson Boulevard. A historical marker that stands near the southeastern corner of the intersection reads:

This intersection has been a focal point since about 1740, when two roads were developed, one from the future site of
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
to the mouth of
Pimmit Run Pimmit Run is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 stream in northern Virginia that runs from Fairfax County to the Potomac River at Chain Bridge in the Arli ...
, the other from Awbury’s Ferry (at the site of Rosslyn) to
The Falls Church The Falls Church is an historic Episcopal church, from which the city of Falls Church, Virginia, near Washington, D. C., takes its name. The parish was established in 1732 and the brick church still in use today dates to 1769. History Coloni ...
. The first came to be known as the Glebe Road because it passed the glebe of Fairfax Parish and in order to distinguish it from other roads to the Falls. The second was eventually named Wilson Boulevard in honor of President Wilson. The intersection became known as Ball’s Crossroads when Ball’s Tavern was established here in the early 1800s.

In 1896, an interurban electric trolley line, the

Fairfax line The Fairfax Line was a surveyor's line run in 1746 to establish the limits of the " Northern Neck land grant" (also known as the "Fairfax Grant") in colonial Virginia. The land grant, first contrived in 1649, encompassed all lands bounded by the ...

of the Washington, Arlington and Falls Church Railway (WA&FC), began operating north of the crossroads along the present route of Fairfax Drive, whose name derives from that of the trolleys' final destination,

Fairfax City 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 p ...

. Construction of the trolley line, which branched at Clarendon to serve both Rosslyn and downtown

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, temporarily shifted much of the area's development away from the crossroads. A historical marker that stands near the northwestern corner of Fairfax Drive and N. Stafford Street, one block east of the Ballston Metrorail station (which is at the former site of the Ballston trolley station) states:

By 1900, a well-defined village called Central Ballston had developed in the area bounded by the present-day Wilson Boulevard, Taylor Street, Washington Boulevard, and Pollard Street. More diffuse settlement extended westward to Lubber Run and southward along Glebe Road to Henderson Road. The track of the Washington, Arlington, and Falls Church Electric Railroad ran along what is now Fairfax Drive; the Ballston Station was at Ballston Avenue, now North Stuart Street. Here Clements Avenue, now Stafford Street, divided to pass on either side of an old Ball family graveyard.

The Ball family burial ground on Washington Boulevard has a historical marker as well, stating:

Old Ball Family Burial Ground. This is one of Arlington's oldest family burial grounds. Ensign John Ball (1748–1814), a veteran of the American Revolution (Sixth Virginia Infantry) is buried here. John Ball was the son of Moses Ball, who was one of the pioneer settlers in the Glencarlyn area of Arlington. Also buried here in the cemetery are many of John Ball's direct and collateral descendants including John Wesley Boldin, a Civil War soldier (Company D, Third Pennsylvania Cavalry) and members of the Marcey, Stricker, Donaldson, and Croson families.

In 1912, a competing interurban electric trolley line, the

Washington and Old Dominion Railway The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad (colloquially referred to as the W&OD) was an intrastate short-line railroad located in Northern Virginia, United States. The rail transport, railroad was a successor to the bankruptcy, bankrupt Washingto ...

constructed a branch that crossed the WA&FC near the west end of Ballston (then called Lacey), near a WA&FC car barn and railyard.

Interstate 66 Interstate 66 (I-66) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It 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 Washing ...

and the Bluemont Junction Trail now follow the route of this railroad branch between Rosslyn and the

Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park is a linear regional park in Northern Virginia. The park's primary feature is the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Trail (abbreviated as W&OD Trail), an asphalt-surfaced paved rail trail ...

in Bluemont Park. A historical marker entitled "Lacey Car Barn" located near the northwest corner of N. Glebe Road and Faifax Drive states:

In 1896, the Washington, Arlington & Falls Church Railway began running electric trolleys from Rosslyn to Falls Church on the present routes of Fairfax Drive and I-66. By 1907, the Fairfax trolley linked Fairfax, Vienna, and Ballston with downtown Washington. In 1910, at this location, the railway built a car barn, railyard, workshops, electrical substation, and general office. In 1912, the rival Washington & Old Dominion Railway began crossing the tracks on a bridge 200 yards west of here, following the present route of I-66 from Rosslyn. The Fairfax trolley closed in 1939, but Metrorail’s Orange Line follows its route through Arlington.

In 1951, the Parkington Shopping Center opened at the intersection formerly known as Balls Crossroads on the site of the present Ballston Quarter. Parkington was anchored by the headquarters location of the

Hecht Company Hecht's, also known as Hecht Brothers, Hecht Bros. and the Hecht Company, was a large chain of department stores that operated mainly in the mid-Atlantic and southern region of the United States. The firm originated in Baltimore, Maryland. By 20 ...

, and was reputed to have the largest parking garage in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

when it opened. Ballston began to redevelop rapidly after the

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...

opened the Orange Line's Ballston Metrorail station on December 1, 1979, and when an entrance to

(I-66) opened on December 22, 1982. Now highly

urbanized ''Urbanized'' is a documentary film directed by Gary Hustwit and released on 26 October 2011. It is considered the third of a three-part series on design known as the Design Trilogy; the first being ''Helvetica'', about the typeface, and the seco ...

, Ballston contains highrise apartment, condominium, and commercial buildings, and a number of bars and

restaurants A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

Shopping and recreation

Ballston Quarter, a shopping, entertainment and residential complex, reopened in 2019 after being closed for two years of renovations. The

MedStar Capitals Iceplex MedStar Capitals Iceplex is the practice arena of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League. The highest ice rink above street-level in the United States, it is located on the eighth floor atop the parking garage adjoining the Ballston ...

, constructed on top of the Ballston Quarter parking garage, houses a

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) office and training facility. In addition to the

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team's training center, the Iceplex features two indoor NHL-sized ice rinks, office space, locker rooms, a full-service pro-shop, a Capitals team store, a snack bar, and space for special events. The facility provides public skating, figure skating, and hockey programs for youths and adults. Ballston hosts the annual Taste of Arlington

food festival A food festival is a festival, that uses food, often produce, as its central theme. These festivals have always been a means of uniting communities through celebrations of harvests and giving thanks for a plentiful growing season. History Food ...

, a street fair which has been produced each spring since 1987. The 2009 Taste of Arlington event featured over 40 area restaurants offering portions of their cuisine to ticket-holders, and drew approximately 15,000 people. The regional business development organization, the Ballston Business Improvement District (Ballston BID), (formerly the Ballston-Virginia Square Partnership), other area community development organizations, and the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

organize the festival. Ticket sales at the event raise funds for area charities.

Economy

Major employers in Ballston. * The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) * The Nature Conservancy * The Office of Naval Research * The DHS National Protection and Programs Directorate * Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society * National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) * National Highway Institute * Software Engineering Institute * CACI International * E*Trade * AvalonBay Communities * Evolent Health * WeWork * Industrious * Booz Allen Hamilton * Applied Predictive Technologies * Privia Health * Prudential * Willis Towers Watson * Deloitte * Accenture(HQ) In 2011, Accenture agreed to move its offices from Reston, Virginia to a new facility in Ballston.

Education

The neighborhood is home to

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 A ...

. Ballston is also home to several university facilities, including: * A

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 an ...

(MU) satellite campus. ::In January 2014, the Arlington County Board approved MU's

site plan A site plan or a plot plan is a type of drawing used by architects, landscape architects, urban planners, and engineers which shows existing and proposed conditions for a given area, typically a parcel of land which is to be modified. Sites pl ...

application to redevelop the campus with two new buildings, a nine-story office and educational building for Marymount University and a 15-story multifamily building with 272 residential units, by Arlington developer, the Shooshan Company. The new campus opened in August 2017. * A

research center. * A

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

graduate education center.

Notes

External links

Why Is It Named Ballston?
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20051213200207/http://www.commuterpage.com/art/villages/Ballston.htm Arlington's Urban Villages – Ballstonbr>MedStar Capitals IceplexTaste of Arlington
{{Authority control Neighborhoods in Arlington County, Virginia Transit-oriented developments in the United States Edge cities in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area