Neighborhoods
A close-in location with a short commute to downtown Washington; Braddock Heights is a developed neighborhood with a strong sense of community, mature landscaping, and houses with that "old-fashioned feel." People like the ambience.
One striking aspect of the neighborhood is its architectural diversity. Most of the lots are relatively small, giving the area a cozy feel, and the houses themselves range from modest two-bedrooms to imposing structures with high price tags.
Because the Alexandria neighborhood was developed over several years, it also blends a number of exterior styles. For instance, within a block are brick Colonials, frame Dutch Colonials and stone-and-shingle vernacular houses.
Most of the area's houses are 30 to 50 years old and the residents are a mix of newcomers and longtime residents. The range of sizes and designs means that homes in Braddock Heights carry a relatively wide range of prices. Homes sell between $650,000 and $950,000. One street, Mansion Drive, has several homes that live up to the name and prices can go up way over million dollars.
For years Braddock Heights has been filling the bill for Washington area residents searching for a home that blends the attractions of city and suburban life. With its comfortable location in the heart of Alexandria, it is not the kind of place that draws attention to itself or makes big news -- and residents like it that way.
Braddock Heights is one of several established and sought-after neighborhoods near T.C. Williams High School and the Virginia Theological Seminary.
Though boundaries between these residential areas are inexact, Braddock Heights is bounded roughly by Braddock Road on the south, Commonwealth Avenue on the east, Summit Avenue on the north and Valley Drive on the west.
To get from Braddock Heights to the District -- the nearest access to Shirley Highway is about a mile west, and two Metro stops are about two miles east.
Beverley Hills, located in Alexandria, is the former home of Admiral William Crowe, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; a place former President Richard M. Nixon lived when he was just a congressman; and the site of the makeshift Civil War hospital where poet Walt Whitman reportedly worked as a nurse.
At the height of springtime, Old Dominion Boulevard is often called the "Azalea Boulevard," its lawns blazing with the bright red, white and fuchsia flowers, its houses solid two-story structures from the 1930s and 1940s with fireplaces, hardwood floors, casement windows, built-in bookcases and other special features. They are the sort of houses that sold for $6,000 in 1934 and sell for $600,000 to $1,400,000 or more today.
Beverley Hills, in the larger Northridge community near the Arlington County line, is roughly bounded by Quaker Lane on the west, Russell Road on the east and Monticello Boulevard on the south.
It's the kind of place residents describe as a "peaceful island in an urban sea," but they also confess that they love the location -- I-395 is almost visible from the Beverley Hills streets and Crystal City and Pentagon City are just a short drive away.
According to a local publication titled "Northridge Lore," written several years ago by the Northridge Citizens Association, Beverley Hills was part of a 6,000-acre land grant awarded to an English sea captain in 1669 by the governor of Virginia.
During the Civil War, about 10,000 Union soldiers occupied the area to protect Washington, and several homes in what would later become Beverley Hills, including the house at 506 N. Overlook Dr., were converted into hospitals.
By the late 1920s, Beverley Hills and its homes began to look much as they do today. Originally lush with trees and flowers -- maples, magnolias, laurel, lady-slippers -- the area stayed that way because early residents, including some who worked for the National Arboretum, insisted that the houses be built to accommodate the trees.
The many faces of Clarendon unfold in the early evening hours with increasing commuter traffic around the Metro station, ethnic restaurants, coffee houses and other businesses that anchor this urban landscape stretched along Wilson and Clarendon boulevards in Arlington County.
South of Clarendon there is a display of a wide variety of houses--small Cape Cods, country farmhouses and grand Georgian colonials--hidden on quiet tree-lined streets that make up the area. The other residential enclaves, each with its own distinctive style, include Ashton Heights and Lyon Park. "These communities have an old-fashion charm that feels very anchored and committed to the character of days gone by."
Built in the 1930s and 1940s, the houses of Lyon Village are elegantly ensconced amid towering maple trees and winding streets. Some are brick facade Colonials with meticulously landscaped lawns. The price range for houses in Lyon Village is $750,000 to $1,000,000.
Meanwhile, Lyon Park offers a greater variety of housing styles because the neighborhood was developed over a longer period of time and houses there typically sell for less.
Ashton Heights' houses, developed in the 1940s, are a bit more uniform and slightly smaller than those at Lyon Village. Houses in Ashton Heights range in price from $750,000 to $1,000,000.
Throughout the area, renovations and upgrades to smaller houses are a common sight.
The Del Ray neighborhood in Alexandria has the small town charm of days gone by when you could buy a Sears bungalow for $10,000. Most homes boast large front porches perfect for spending an afternoon relaxing. On Saturday mornings, neighbors gather on Mount Vernon Avenue at the outdoor patio of St. Elmo's coffee shop, browse the antiques stores or admire the fresh herbs and tomatoes at the farmers market.
The neighborhood, with its vintage homes, wide porches and ample lawns, seems like a time capsule, an ideal 1950s neighborhood that has fresh appeal in the 1990s. Del Ray's boundaries are generally considered to be Route One on the east, Braddock Road on the south, Commonwealth Avenue on the west and East Glebe Road on the north. However, the Del Ray Citizens Association extends its borders to Russell Road on the west side.
The candle store is across from a florist who displays fresh flowers in buckets on the sidewalk. A block up the street are the coffee shop and antiques stores. On Saturdays, about a dozen farmers draw residents to a nearby parking lot, where they sell flowers, vegetables and fruit from tables and the back of trucks.
The sense of neighborhood is apparent at monthly association meetings, where about 100 people regularly turn out to discuss issues that affect the neighborhood.
People like Del Ray because it is reasonably priced for a close-in community within easy commuting distance of Washington. Del Ray is a neighborhood of bungalows, farmhouses, row houses and Colonials and has a long history as a strong community.
According to T. Michael Miller, research historian for the Office of Historic Alexandria, Del Ray was a well-established community by the turn of the century, when the area was known as Del Ray and St. Elmo.
Del Ray struts its community pride each year at an annual block party on Mount Vernon Avenue. Ten years ago, it was neighbors setting up grills and meeting one another. Now, the event has grown into an arts festival that spreads over eight blocks and draws visitors from the region.
Prices for a single family home in Del Ray range from $550,000 for a small house to $550,000 - $850,000 for a larger house. There are many row houses in Del Ray as well ranging in price from $400,000 to $550,000. Many people have bought older homes and have renovated them and sold them after a few years so prices are starting to rise as the renovated homes turnover.
Every year for the last 30 years Rosemont residents have had a patriotic Independence Day celebration for their neighborhood in Alexandria. Other neighborhood-wide celebrations include a Christmas door decoration contest, Halloween party and October Fest.
The setting for these activities is a neighborhood that so well fits the model of a classic, pre-World War II suburban community that about half of Rosemont has been named a national historic district. Although there was no planned architectural theme, according to the nomination form, the houses represent the popular styles of the period creating a "comfortable rather than stylish" community.
Rosemont is an old-fashioned suburb of 2,000 households a mile west of Alexandria's famous Old Town district. Young professionals are flocking to the area due to the accessibility of the metro. Rosemont offers the convenience of two Metro stops, nearby schools and the charm of an era when streetcars still ran down Commonwealth Avenue. A pedestrian feels comfortable on its well-kept sidewalks, and yards bloom with dogwoods, cherry trees, maples and azaleas.
Most of the homes in Rosemont are Colonial in design but there also is a sampling of farm houses, bungalows and cottages. Rosemont's historic district is a triangular section in the southern point of the greater neighborhood, generally recognized as a rough square that runs from King Street, the outside border of Ivy Cemetery, Ruffner Street, Braddock Road, Alexandria Street and the railroad tracks. Rosemont is roughly bounded by the Metro tracks on the east and southeast, Braddock Road to the north and northeast, Glendale Avenue on the northwest and King Street on the southwest.
Either the smaller or larger version of Rosemont is a cohesive neighborhood of mostly detached homes with porches facing quiet streets.
The neighborhood has changed in some ways since the Metro stations were built. Housing prices have soared, in some cases increasing the tax assessments eightfold or more from what was charged 25 to 30 years ago.
The prices for detached houses in Rosemont range from $700,000 to $1,200,000.
Waverly Hills has a classic suburban look with its mix of single-family homes, apartments and condos, but with interesting shopping and dining choices has an urban feel. Bounded by Lee Highway, Utah Street, I-66 and Glebe Road, Waverly Hills has approximately 600 single family homes and another 900 apartments, condos and townhouses. Styles are red-brick ramblers, Colonials, and Cape Cods, many built by M.T. Broyhill & Sons, after World War II for workers at the new Pentagon and enlarged in recent years with state-of-the-art kitchens, family rooms, and master bedroom suites. Prices range from $650,000 to $1,000,000.
Waverly Hills is a walking neighborhood anchored by two commercial shopping destinations: Lee Heights and Ballston which is the closest Metro stop. Lee Heights Shops, on Lee Highway between Woodrow and Woodstock streets, is an inviting strip of shops adorned with colorful canopies that caters to neighborhoods needs. A twenty minute walk in the other direction takes you to the Ballston shopping mall and Ballston metro.
Walking in Waverly Hills is promoted by Arlington County's neighborhood conservation program. The county has allotted $300,000 to make the neighborhood more pedestrian-friendly, with plans for better crosswalks and a raised median on Woodstock Street to narrow the street and slow down drivers. Walkers and joggers also benefit from a bike trail that parallels I-66 and serves as a weekday bike-commuting route into the District.