Historic Preservation Master Plan Update: Photo Contest
To mark the community kick off of the Arlington County Historic Preservation Master Plan (HPMP) update, the Historic Preservation Program (HPP) held the first Capture Your Heritage! photo competition. Thank you to all who participated!
The winning photos, in the gallery below, were selected blindly by three Arlington residents who served as discussion panelists at the virtual community kick off for the HPMP update on Nov. 16, 2020. The County’s Historic Preservation team selected one overall “staff pick.”
Gallery
What Is Now the Broiler, 1965
Azar Attura
Artist’s Statement: Columbia Pike and Monroe Street South. Sis, who was very bored while waiting for the bus (1966), stands in front of what is now The Broiler. But that Gulf Station had many memories too—there was Gus, the owner and chief mechanic—a very affable man who presided over some of the coolest-looking cars to grace its parking lot, including a Beebe and Mulligan dragster, and, in this photo, what looks like a 1964 Volvo 122-S. And LOOK at the cars on the street! Including a ’65 Mustang and a 1960(?) Ford Convertible.
W&OD Tracks Crossing Columbia Pike Near Four Mile Run
Azar Attura
Artist’s Statement: Railroad tracks and wooden building (depot?). These are the W&OD tracks that crossed Columbia Pike just before the bridge that goes over Four Mile Run. Photograph taken in the mid ’60s when the W&OD train was still very much a reality and ran through that area at least twice a day, with the last daily train going through that area around 10:30 p.m., its mournful whistle being heard for miles. The tracks are long gone, but the route is now a biking and hiking trail—the W&OD Trail. The wooden building was torn down, and that site now holds a small shopping center.
Untitled
Staff Pick
Nancy Iacomini
Artist’s Statement: Photograph of the Education Center undergoing renovation in preparation for adaptive re-use. Kudos to Arlington Public Schools (APS) and the County for working together to save a great Mid-Century building and give it new purpose.
Untitled
Nancy Iacomini
Artist’s Statement: These murals in the Crystal City Underground capture the sense of place that was once Mid-Century Crystal City. They were most likely created in the 1970s by Shirley Tattersfield of the Philadelphia studio Tattersfield Assoc. As we lose our Mid-Century buildings, these murals help us keep the sense of place.
Bricks, 1920s to 2020
Stefanie Pryor
Artist’s Statement: My “new” patio shows bricks from [the]1920s and 1940s saved from the landfill. A 1920s house sprouted a sign for renovation. Fortunately, the demolition guys were happy to dump all of the brick in my driveway. “Lee Savage” yellow fireplace bricks are from a company nearby in Baltimore. The dark red large ones also came from that same 1920 chimney. The smaller red bricks came from my neighbor’s 1940s duplex. He removed his old patio because it was heaving. He replaced it with new concrete pavers that were consistent and easy to install. My historic brick patio saved a small sliver of my neighborhood history with beauty and character.
About the Competition
We invited community members to submit up to three (3) original photographs, with a statement of significance for each. Photos could capture places, people, moments, or events, and could have been taken now or in the past
Although we initially set subject matter categories for the competition, we realized, when evaluating the submitted photos, that some of the images we found most compelling fit into more than one category. Hence we elected to present a small gallery of top images, which may also be included in the updated Historic Preservation Master Plan.
