Lyon Village is a neighborhood in

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

. It is roughly bounded by Langston Boulevard, North Veitch Street, North Franklin Road, North Highland Street, North Fillmore Street, and North Kirkwood Road, and is positioned next to the urbanized Rosslyn- Ballston corridor. Lyon Village was established in 1923 after real estate developer

Frank Lyon Frank Lyon (December 30, 1867 – November 29, 1955) was an American lawyer, newspaper publisher and land developer in Arlington County, Virginia. He developed the land in modern-day Clarendon, Virginia, Lyon Park and Lyon Village. Early life ...

purchased farmland from the Cruit family directly north of the growing Clarendon community, which had been platted in 1900. It was built as a

middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

and

upper-middle class In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term ''lower middle class'', which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class strat ...

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of nearby

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and was located along Virginia's

interurban trolley Interurban Trolley is an Elkhart County regional public bus service operated by the Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG). It was originally known as the BUS system. The system serves the city of Elkhart and neighboring Goshen, Osceol ...

lines. Lyon's real estate company, Lyon & Fitch, split the development into 9 sections that incorporated preexisting homes from the Clarendon and Aurora Heights subdivisions. The neighborhood was mostly complete by the early 1950s, and contains many examples of

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

Craftsman Craftsman may refer to: A profession *Artisan, a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative *Master craftsman, an artisan who has achieved such a standard that he may establish his own workshop and take o ...

, Spanish Mission Revival,

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

, and

Classical Revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...

architecture. Lyon Village was listed on the National Register for Historic Places in 2002 as a well preserved community built during Arlington's early 20th century suburbanization. Despite its proximity to the higher-density Clarendon,

Court House A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

, and Virginia Square neighborhoods, it has generally retained its low-density character and landscaping.

History

During the

colonial era Colonial period (a period in a country's history where it was subject to management by a colonial power) may refer to: Continents *European colonization of the Americas * Colonisation of Africa * Western imperialism in Asia Countries * Col ...

, present-day Lyon Village was part of the larger Northern Neck land grant. William Struttfield of

Westmoreland County, Virginia Westmoreland County is a County (United States), county located in the Northern Neck of the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population sits at 18,477. Its county seat is Montross, Virginia, Montross ...

purchased 500 acres of this property in 1709 from

Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron Major-General Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (16 April 1657 – 6 January 1710) was an English Army officer and politician. Early life Fairfax was born on April 16, 1657, the great-grandson of Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of ...

. The land passed through a series of owners during the 18th and 19th centuries, including

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, where he was one of three delegates who refused to sign the Constitution. His wr ...

and his son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

. One of them, Robert Cruit, a butter merchant from Washington who bought the property from Robert and Mary Witticomb in July 1846, used it as a summer retreat and

dairy farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...

. Cruit and his family ran the farm with enslaved labor between 1847 and the early

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. The Cruit's farmhouse, which still stand today on North Highland Street, was used as a hospital during the war for 6 months by the 3rd and 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiments.Trieschmann p. 119

Planning and development

The Cruit family maintained ownership over their farmland until 1912, when Robert Cruit's granddaughters began subdividing it for prospective residential development.

, a newspaper publisher and land developer from

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority bla ...

, purchased 165 acres of the Cruit's property in 1923 for $185,000, intending to develop it into his planned Lyon Village subdivision. Lyon had earlier developed neighboring Lyon Park in 1922. He and his partners envisioned Lyon Village as a more upper-middle class development informed by the tenants and aesthetics of the

City Beautiful movement The City Beautiful movement was a reform philosophy of North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of introducing beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. It was a part of th ...

.Bestebreurtje p. 74 Lyon VIllage ad

Advertising for Lyon Village emphasized its proximity to planned infrastructure like the

Arlington Memorial Bridge The Arlington Memorial Bridge, often shortened to Memorial Bridge, is a Neoclassical masonry, steel, and stone arch bridge with a central bascule (or drawbridge) that crosses the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United Sta ...

and easy commutes into Washington by car as well as trolley. This reflected the broader movement towards car-based transit and away from the trains and trolley lines that had served as the dominant forms of transportation in Arlington. Also highlighted in Lyon Village's promotional materials was its

racial segregation Racial segregation is the separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, ...

that only permitted

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

buyers to purchase property.Bestebreurtje p. 80

Racially restrictive covenants A covenant, in its most general and historical sense, is a solemn promise to engage in or refrain from a specified action. Under historical English common law, a covenant was distinguished from an ordinary contract by the presence of a seal. Be ...

, which are known to have existed in Lyon Village and were common in

Jim Crow era The Jim Crow laws were U.S. state, state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, "Jim Crow (character), Ji ...

Arlington County, prevented

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

and other minority groups from owning homes. The first section of Lyon Village, which consisted of 148 acres of the original parcel, were platted for the neighborhood by Lyon & Fitch, Lyon's development company, in 1923. William F. Sunderland, who served as Lyon Village's landscape architect, divided the property into 9 sections. Parts of the adjacent Clarendon community, platted in 1900, and Aurora Heights, which was partially developed starting in 1906, were incorporated into Lyon Village.Trieschmann p. 113 Most of the lots were sold during the 1920s, with demand driven by the growth in the Federal workforce. Around 134 buildings were completed to the east of North Highland Street by 1929, and the old Aurora Heights section contained over 135 buildings, including stores and a school. Development slowed during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, but increased again after the economic recovery. By 1950, Lyon Village was mostly developed with over 800 buildings. Further additions and lots continued to be built into the mid-1960s. Provisions promised by Lyon's firm to Lyon Village residents included a trust fund retaining 10% of the purchase price of each lot, which was used for regular maintenance of neighborhood infrastructure. This was to be kept under Lyon's firm until 75% of the lots were sold. The Lyon Village Citizens Association, a

neighborhood association A neighborhood association (NA) is a group of residents or property owners who advocate to organize activities within a neighborhood. An association may have elected leaders and voluntary dues. Some neighborhood associations in the United State ...

established in 1926, sought to claim this fund for the construction of a community center, a public park, and other amenities in 1940. Lyon Incorporated, renamed after Frank Lyon's partner C. Walton Fitch left the firm, refused to provide the funds. The Association sued Lyon and ultimately prevailed at the

Supreme Court of Virginia The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrativ ...

, reaching an agreement in October 1944 that Lyon would provide $20,000 and 8 lots for the community center and park facilities. The community house, a 1-story Colonial Revival building completed in December 1949, was designed by Lyon Village resident Eimer Cappelmann.

Recent history

Lyon Village was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register on December 5, 2001 and the National Register of Historic Places on May 10, 2002. At the time of designation, non-contributing properties included infill development from the 1990s.Trieschmann p. 4 Lyon Village's historic designations do not mandate architectural restrictions, which has enabled property owners to substantially renovate or demolish historic homes. While currently under

single-family zoning Single-family zoning is a type of planning restriction applied to certain residential zones in the United States and Canada in order to restrict development to only allow single-family detached homes. It disallows townhomes, duplexes, and ...

, Lyon Village has faced development pressures given its proximity to Clarendon, which has urbanized since the 2000s, and the Orange and Silver lines. This has in part taken the form of

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...

projects pursued by its religious communities, including the First Baptist Church, which demolished most of their sanctuary to construct a 10-story low-income apartment building in 2011. The Clarendon Presbyterian Church on North Jackson Street tried to implement a similar 6-story affordable housing project for

LGBTQ community The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ individuals united by a common culture and social movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individu ...

seniors in the early 2020s. This was challenged by neighborhood groups as undermining Lyon Village's character, infrastructure, and the County's General Land Use Plan. The church later canceled the project, citing rising construction costs resulting from the Trump Administration's tariff policies. These developments have occurred during a County-wide controversy over missing middle housing policies pursued by the County Board.

Architecture

19th through early 20th centuries

Within its boundaries, Lyon Village contains buildings that were constructed before its platting in 1923. The oldest of these is the Cruit farmhouse on North Highland Street, a wood-frame home Robert Cruit built in 1846 as a summer retreat. It has been extensively modified since the Cruit family's ownership, including renovations by Frank Lyon that added the current gabled

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

with Classical columns, and later modifications that encased the exterior in

vinyl siding Vinyl siding is plastic exterior siding for houses and small apartment buildings, used for decoration and weatherproofing, imitating wood clapboard, batten board and batten or shakes, and used instead of other materials such as aluminum or fiber ...

. Other pre-1923 buildings include dwellings built as a part of the earlier Clarendon and Aurora Heights communities. These structures, which range from the 1880s to the 1920s, are built in the Queen Anne and Craftsman styles with varying levels of

ornamentation An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration * Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts * Ornamental turning * Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals ...

; those of the latter style exhibit

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is typically single or one and a half storey, if a smaller upper storey exists it is frequently set in the roof and Roof window, windows that come out from the roof, and may be surrounded by wide ve ...

and

American Foursquare The American Foursquare (also American Four Square or American 4 Square) is an American house vernacular under the Arts and Crafts style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass-produced elements of the ...

layouts. Cruit farmhouse.jpg, Cruit farmhouse, c. 1846 Lyon Village Queen Anne.jpg, Queen Anne, c. 1925 and c. 1903 Lyon Village bungalow 2.jpg, Craftsman Bungalow, c. 1915-1930

1923-1950

Homes that were part of Lyon Village's first section east of North Highland Street are mostly wood-frame, brick-faced structures built in the Colonial Revival, Craftsman, Spanish Mission Revival, Tudor Revival, and Classical Revival styles. Many of them represent more standardized, diluted forms designed for mass suburbanization; the neighborhood contains numerous examples of

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

kit houses Kit may refer to: People and fictional characters * Kit (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Kit (surname), a list of people Places * Kit, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province * Kit Hill, Co ...

.Trieschmann p. 9 Houses of this period are set on lots of less than an acre along tree-lined, curvilinear streets.Trieschmann p. 3 Buildings constructed after the first phase of development between 1930 and 1950 include

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

style cottages, larger Colonial Revival homes, and several

garden apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement ( Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) th ...

complexes that have

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

and Classical Revival elements. These properties are arranged in a more grid-like street pattern. The Lyon Village Citizen's Association was particularly insistent on advocating for the Colonial Revival style during Lyon Village's initial development. Hence, over 60% of houses in the neighborhood contain Colonial Revival elements. Lyon Village also has 3 churches that were all established in the first quarter of the 20th century. The church buildings, which were constructed in the Colonial Revival and

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

styles, generally date between 1929 and 1950. Lyon Village Tudor Revival.jpg, High-style Tudor Revival, c. 1927 Lyon Village Colonial Revival.jpg, Colonial Revival, c. 1937 Lyon Village Foursquare.jpg, American Foursquare, c. 1939 Lyon Village Mission Revival.jpg, Mission Revival, c. 1925-1930

Geography

Lyon Village is bounded by Langston Boulevard, North Veitch Street, North Franklin Road, North Highland Street, North Fillmore Street, and North Kirkwood Road. It is bordered by the neighborhoods of Clarendon, Court House, Colonial Village, Virginia Square, Cherrydale, and Maywood.

Infrastructure

Colonial Village is adjacent to Langston Boulevard, which is a component highway of

U.S. Route 29 U.S. Route 29 or U.S. Highway 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida, to Ellicott City, Maryland, just west of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, in the Eastern United Stat ...

, and

Interstate 66 Interstate 66 (I-66) is a 76.32 mile east–west Interstate Highway in the East Coast of the United States, eastern United States. The highway runs from an interchange with Interstate 81 in Virginia, I-81 near Middletown, Virginia, on its w ...

. Wilson Boulevard runs to the south of the neighborhood. The

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

, a

shared-use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is "designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists". Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, Bridle path, bridleways and ra ...

, is accessible through N Veitch Street.

Public transit

Capital Bikeshare Capital Bikeshare (also abbreviated CaBi) is a bicycle-sharing system that serves Washington, D.C., and certain counties of the Washington metropolitan area, larger metropolitan area. it had 700+ stations and more than 5,400 bicycles. The memb ...

stations are located near Lyon Village on N Kirkwood Road, Langston Boulevard, Wilson Boulevard, and N Veitch Street. The Clarendon and

Metro stations along the Orange and Silver Metrorail lines are to Lyon Village's south and southeast in the adjacent Clarendon and Court House neighborhoods, as well as the following

Metrobus Metrobus may refer to: Transport services Bus Rapid Transit *MetroBus (Bristol), a bus rapid transit system in Bristol, England, United Kingdom *Metrobus (Buenos Aires), a bus rapid transit system in Buenos Aires, Argentina *Metrobus (Istanbul), a ...

and

Arlington Transit Arlington Transit (ART) is a bus transit system that operates in Arlington County, Virginia, and is managed by the county government. The bus system provides service within Arlington County, and connects to Metrobus, nearby Metrorail stations ...

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

routes: * Metrobus 4AB: Pershing Drive-Arlington Boulevard * Metrobus 38B: Ballston-Farragut Square * ART 41: Columbia Pike-Ballston-Courthouse * ART 43: Courthouse-Rosslyn-Crystal City * ART 45: Columbia Pike-DHS/Sequoia-Rosslyn * ART 55: Rosslyn-East Falls Church * ART 61: Rosslyn-Court House Metro Shuttle

Arts and culture

The Lyon Village Citizens' Association organizes a variety of annual neighborhood gatherings, including an

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

parade, and

Easter egg hunt An egg hunt is a treasure hunt played at Easter during which children look for hidden decorated eggs or Easter eggs. Real hard-boiled eggs, which are typically dyed or painted, artificial eggs made of plastic filled with chocolate or candies, ...

, and December holiday party. The neighborhood's community house has a hall with a stage for hosting meetings, classes, and other social events.

Parks and recreation

Lyon Village Park, a 2-acre park located on North Highland Street, has a playground, tennis and basketball courts, and a sprayground open between

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

and

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Lyon Village Citizens AssociationLyon Village Community House
{{Authority control Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Historic districts in Arlington County, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Arlington County, Virginia Neighborhoods in Arlington County, Virginia Houses in Arlington County, Virginia