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Court House, also known as Courthouse, is a neighborhood in northern Arlington County, Virginia that serves as Arlington's seat of government. It is generally bounded by Arlington Boulevard, N Rhodes Street, Courthouse Road, Key Boulevard, and N Danville Street, and is located along an urban corridor that follows the Orange and
Silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
Metro lines. The site of
Fort Woodbury Fort Woodbury was a Lunette (fortification), lunette fortification built in 1861 by the 4th Michigan Infantry Regiment during the early American Civil War. It was part of the larger Arlington Line, an extensive network of fortifications erected i ...
during the
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 ...
, Court House began in the late 19th century as a small community that surrounded Arlington County's first
courthouse 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, ...
built outside of
Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...
. Population growth in Arlington in the first half of the 20th century prompted greater residential and commercial development, which was further spurred by the opening of the Court House Metro station in 1979. Court House, like other neighborhoods in the Rosslyn- Ballston corridor, has since become
mixed-use 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 ...
and transit-oriented.


History

During the colonial era,
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (22 October 16939 December 1781) was a British-born planter. The only member of the British peerage to permanently reside in British America, Fairfax owned the Northern Neck Proprietary in the Colony ...
sold 705 acres of land that includes present-day Court House to
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 ...
on September 7, 1767.Sector Plan p. 13 The area remained undeveloped until the Civil War, when it was selected as the site of Fort Woodbury. The
lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...
-type fortification, designed by Major D. P. Woodbury in 1861, was positioned on top of a hill and formed part of the Arlington Line of defenses protecting Washington, D.C. from Confederate incursions.


Establishment of Arlington courthouse

While Alexandria County, as Arlington County was then known, had legally separated from the City of Alexandria in 1870, the County's courthouse continued to be located in Alexandria. In 1896, the
Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...
passed legislation enabling residents of Alexandria County to vote whether the courthouse should remain in Alexandria or be moved to an alternative location within the County.Rose p. 32 On May 28, 1896, voters chose the former site of Fort Woodbury, which was by then within the recently platted Fort Myer Heights subdivision. The new County courthouse, a 3- story red brick structure in the
Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...
style that included a jail nearby,Webb p. 32 was completed by November 1898. It was designed by local architect Albert Goenner, an immigrant from Germany who had designed numerous buildings in the Washington metropolitan area, including the Concordia Church in
Foggy Bottom Foggy Bottom is a neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States, located in the city's northwest quadrant. It stretches west of the White House towards the Potomac River, north of the National Mall, east of Georgetown, south of the West ...
, the Arlington Brewery in Rosslyn, and the Reserve Hill estate. Virginia Governor James Hoge Tyler spoke at the opening ceremony The land surrounding the courthouse remained unoccupied until local lawyers began establishing offices across the street during the 1920s and 1930s.Dodge p. 43 This collection of buildings became known as Lawyer's Row. Arlington's population growth during the
New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
era and
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
resulted in further development, including office buildings and businesses.Sector Plan p. 14 The Colonial Village garden apartment complex, the country's first FHA-insured housing project, was constructed in the neighborhood between 1935 and 1940. Lee Gardens North, another garden apartment property designed by prominent Armenian American architect Mihran Mesrobian, was built south of the courthouse in 1950. Both are listed on the National Register for Historic Places.


Second courthouse and arrival of Metro

The 1898 courthouse had acquired two additional wings in 1950 to accommodate the County's growing needs, and in June 1956 voters approved for more improvements to the structure.Rose p. 35 The original building was demolished in 1960 to make way for a new 7-story courthouse that was dedicated the following year. In 1967, the new courthouse was the site of the trial for the murder of
George Lincoln Rockwell George Lincoln Rockwell (March 9, 1918 – August 25, 1967) was an American neo-Nazi activist who founded the American Nazi Party (ANP) and became one of the most notorious white supremacists in the United States until his murder in 1967. His b ...
, founder of the Arlington-based
American Nazi Party The American Nazi Party (ANP) is an American neo-Nazi Political parties in the United States, political party founded by George Lincoln Rockwell in 1959. In Rockwell's time, it was headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It was renamed the Natio ...
. The completion of Court House station on the new Washington Metro Orange Line on December 1, 1979 resulted in more development. This included Courthouse Plaza, a large apartment, retail, and office complex built in 1988 on a former parking lot. As a Metro stop on the Rosslyn-
Ballston, Virginia Ballston is a neighborhood in Arlington County, Virginia. Ballston is located at the western end of the Rosslyn, Virginia, Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. It is a major transportation hub and has one of the nation's highest concentrations of scientifi ...
corridor, Arlington County officials sought to encourage greater
mixed-use 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 ...
urbanization of Court House within walking distance of the station. Former single family properties were replaced with condo buildings, apartments, and townhomes.


Third courthouse and continued development

The site of Lawyer's Row was being considered for a new courthouse building by 1989.Dodge pp. 49–50 After a fire in the courthouse building in May 1990, Arlington residents voted for it to be demolished and replaced. A new 13-story complex was completed in 1995, and the 1961 courthouse was razed in 1997. The trial table from the original 1898 courthouse is preserved in one of the new courthouse's trial rooms. New construction in the neighborhood has persisted, including high-rise apartment buildings such as The Commodore, which replaced the commercial structures on Landmark Block, and The Wendy. According to the neighborhood's sector plan, County planners intend on eventually redeveloping the parking lot opposite the present courthouse, which was the site of the County's original courthouse buildings, into a
public square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...
.


Geography

As with many communities in Arlington, the exact boundaries of the Court House neighborhood are unclear. Arlington County's Court House Sector Plan includes the area roughly bounded by Arlington Boulevard, N Rhodes Street, Courthouse Road, Key Boulevard, and N Danville Street. The Clarendon-Courthouse Civic Association defines boundaries that overlap with the Clarendon neighborhood to the west. Court House is situated on a hill, and is surrounded by the following neighborhoods: * Colonial Village * Radnor/Fort Myer Heights * Lyon Village * Clarendon * Lyon Park


Economy

Court House is the seat of the Arlington County government, and hosts many of its administrative offices in the Ellen M. Bozman Government Center. It is the location of large residential and offices buildings, as well as restaurants, bars, and other retail that serves the local community. The neighborhood also has an
AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...
theater located in Courthouse Plaza.


Infrastructure

Clarendon Boulevard and Wilson Boulevard run in parallel through the middle of the neighborhood. Arlington Boulevard, a component highway of the transcontinental
U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...
and a major
arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights o ...
, is located on Court House's southern boundary. Bike lanes running through Clarendon and Rosslyn pass Court House along Clarendon and Wilson Boulevards. The Custis Trail, 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. The Arlington Boulevard Trail that follows Route 50 is accessible via Courthouse Road.


Public transit

Court House has several
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 on Wilson Boulevard, Clarendon Boulevard, N Veitch Street, and 15th Street. It is served by the Orange and Silver Metrorail lines, as well as the following Metrobus and Arlington Transit
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 61: Rosslyn-Court House Metro Shuttle * ART 62: Court House Metro-Lorcom Lane-Ballston Metro * ART 77: Shirlington-Lyon Park-Courthouse


Arts and culture

Every Saturday, the Arlington Farmer's Market and a
flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (secondhand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...
operate on N Uhle Street and 14th Street N, and 15th Street N, respectively. The Courthouse branch of the Arlington Public Library is located in the Ellen E. Bozman Government Center


Parks and recreation

Court House has the following parks: * Rocky Run Park * Barton Park * Clarendon-Barton Interim Open Space Rocky Run Park has a playground, basketball courts, a field, and fitness equipment.


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * * *


External links


Courthouse Plans and Projects

Clarendon-Courthouse Civic Association
{{Arlington County, Virginia Neighborhoods in Arlington County, Virginia Transit-oriented developments in the United States