Post Article Features Wonders of Fairlington

This past Saturday, the Washington Post had a nice feature on Fairlington, written by Amanda Abrams.  The story, titled "Where We Live: Fairlington, in Northern Virginia," discusses the history of Fairlington as well as the charms of the neighborhood.

I learned a few things from the article, for example:

Despite wartime supply shortages, the buildings -- a mix of townhouses and apartments -- were made with sturdy materials: solid brick exteriors, oak floors and slate roofs. Photos from that time show steep-roofed, austere buildings clustered around central courts and surrounded by flat, largely treeless lots.
Fairlington became a conventional apartment complex after the war. In the 1970s, all of the units were fully renovated and converted into condominiums. Each unit belongs to one of seven condo associations.
Around 1990, though, homeowners began to worry about the sweeping development that was radically changing the character of other Arlington neighborhoods. 

The article also talks about how, to preserve Fairlington as it was/is, historic registration was necessary:

The community responded by seeking historic designation, a process that took a decade, including three years of particularly intensive work. Each building had to be photographed and all architectural elements documented. But the effort was fruitful: In 1998, Fairlington was certified by Virginia as a historic district, and in 1999 it received a federal designation. In 2000, the neighborhood's historic society was launched, an event whose 10-year anniversary will be celebrated in October.
The historic designation accomplishes just what the neighborhood's residents were aiming for: Homes cannot be modified externally, replacement features must match the old ones, and nothing new can be built within the area's boundaries.

So, now we know why Fairlington looks the way it does.  Having a federal designation is fantastic for the community and will ensure that the charms and beauty of the area will continue on.

If there's something hypnotic about the neighborhood's sameness, it's nonetheless a pleasant trance. The barren plots from the 1940s photos have become verdant yards shaded by massive willow oaks and large pink and purple crepe myrtles. Roll down a car window and the dominant sounds are the singing of birds and the loud trilling of cicadas. 

I think that is why I like living here!


Read Abrams's article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/12/AR2010081207242.html

Back in Action!!!

It has been a while, but we are back in action here at the Irlingtons.  This summer has seen some extremely heavy storms hit the area, we have been baked in record-setting heat, and the pool at Fairlington Meadows has been child-poop free for almost two months now.

But while I was busy here:

Playing with these:  

Life continued back in the Irlingtons...

As I said, the place got walloped in the beginning of August as winds up to 70mph torn down trees, broke windows and gutters, and made dogs go crazy everywhere (except my house...I think Hannah is deaf or something).  What the storm didn't do (cue music by Hans Zimmer) was break or tear our spirits.

Where we live, Fairlington Meadows, got off the easiest.  Of the many trees that fell, there were only a few broken windows, gutters, and smushed cars.  Other villages were not so lucky as giant 70-80 oaks toppled onto cars and homes.  What was more impressive than the storm was the clean-up effort.  It took crews less than one week to almost completely remove any remnants of what the storm did.  Other than a few gutters being askew, you would never had known that a terrible storm rolled through.  Kudos clean up crews and Arlington county.

Changing the subject, we will be hopefully having more restaurant and shop reviews coming in the next few months and will try to update the site at least once a day.

Glad to be back and hope you enjoy!

The Great Hannah Surprise

I love that my first blog post gets to be about one of the best moments I have ever had the joy of being part of. As Nathan has discussed, we are the soon to be proud owners of a gorgeous little flashy brindle boxer girl named Hannah (or Banana). With so much work to be done on the place and the hassle of moving, I had Nathan under the impression that we would not be getting Hannah until late June. However, the moment my mother gave me the news that Miss Banana would not be following in her champion dad's showdog footsteps, an elaborate surprise plan was hatched.

Hiatus for Few Days

As we continue putting the important and time-consuming touches on our new place, we will wait on posting more about the area.  Once we are done with the big stuff - we will make sure to be back with you sharing what is going on in the Irlingtons.  Look out for restaurant reviews/meet-and-greets, pictures of the various goings-ons and, of course pictures of our new pup when she arrives.

New Place Sans Back Patio

Here are some pictures of the new place in Fairlington!  Aida is going to do a post featuring the patio soon, so I have left those pictures out.  The outside pictures are a good representation of the facade and structure of the buildings in Fairlington.  Built Pentagon tough in 1940.

Outside:

Summer Calendar!

My good friend Joe Lampert (seen here) compiled a non-exhaustive list of upcoming events in the D.C. area this summer.  Most are sporting events, but there are some really good festivals, etc. on the list as well.  

AND don't forget folks, the 2010 World Cup in South Africa starts on June 11.  The countdown clock is here: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/index.html 

Thanks Joe for sending this out!

APRIL

• Fri, Apr 16 (7PM) - Nats vs Brewers
• Sat, Apr 17 (1PM) - Nats vs Brewers
• Sat, Apr 17 (7:30PM) - United vs Fire
• Sun, Apr 18 (1:35PM) - Nats vs Brewers
• April 19-22 - Nats vs Rockies
• Fri, Apr 23 (7PM) - Nats vs Dodgers
• Apr 23-25 - Nation's Gun Show - Chantilly
• Sat, Apr 24 (1PM) - Nats vs Dodgers
• Sun, Apr 25 (1:35PM) - Nats vs Dodgers
• Sun, Apr 25- Earth Day Festival w/ John Legend, Sting, The Roots, Passion Pit, Q-Tip, Mavis Staples, Patrick Stump and Bob Weir
• Wed, Apr 28 (7:30PM) - United vs FC Dallas

Keeping You Up to Date on the Events in Shirlington

We try to keep you up-to-date here at The Irlingtons (as often as we can...since we do have jobs other than this - but would rather be blogging), and we are going to try to update you as to what is going on in the area as daily as we can get!

If we happen to miss a day due to sickness, tiredness, plain doing-something-else-and-didn't-have-time-so-lay-off-me-ness, and want to know what is happening in Shirlington, check out this Shirlington page with a calendar of events: http://yourshirlingtonconnection.com/Events.aspx

In the meantime, make sure to get your umbrella ready - as Tuesday is supposed to be raintown USA.

Shredding...and Not on the Ski Slopes

In not so exciting news, Fairlington has announced that that there will be free paper shredding available on the first Saturday of every month. People are limited to 2 garbage bags (is this a lot or a little...either way seems kind of weird).

Acceptable: Paper (staples, paper clips are ok), checks/check books.
Unacceptable: Credit cards, 3-ring binders, phone book sized material, human hands.

You can take your shreddings to 4300 29th St. S.

...and no you cannot use the shredder to go all Fargo on Fairlington.

Gardening Tips

For all those who have a garden or wish to start one, Tom Corbin--"A Fairlington Gardener"--wrote a nice column to help you get a move on.


He suggests, "As temperatures rise, begin to remove any protective mulch applied last fall, and gently work the soil around emerging plants. Apply slow release fertilizer to shrubs and perennials." Of course, you will have needed to have "applied" mulch last fall - which of course we have not done...

What's New in the Irlingtons?

After a weekend hiatus in the midwest, the Irlingtons is back in action this week.

A new store has opened in Shirlington: Periwinkle.  It is next to Johnny Rockets and sells women's clothing.  This is the second location for Periwinkle (the first being in Alexandria).  Make sure to check it out ladies...and those men who like to dress pretty too.

The look ahead:

The weather should be great the next seven days except for Tuesday and Friday.  Lets hope if there is some rain, it shows up before the weekend.

Hope everyone has a great beginning of the week!

What a Beautiful Day!

Wow what a beautiful day out today right?  Decided this evening (around 5pm) to drive around the area and get a few pictures.  Also, saw a parking enforcement guy really confused as to what to do with a double parked mail van.  After about 3 min of pacing around the car and looking around, he finally gave the mailman a ticket.  I always thought mail carriers were basically immune to any parking laws.  Maybe the Irlingtons can teach me all sorts of new things about the law.

WaPo Article on Campbell Ave.

This March 18 Washington Post "Trend Report" about Shirlington left something be desired.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/03/18/GA2010031804897.html


I understand the point was to find boutiques that create "a destination for both the casual browser and the treasure hunter," but what about Mill End Shops, Periwinkle and Viera Italy? Further, how can you mention the stores in Shirlington without mentioning the movie theater (one of the few in the area to actually show independent films)?

Welcome!

As a new resident of the Fairlington/Shirlington area of Arlington, Virginia, I wanted to make sure to be as much a part of the community as possible. And what better way to do it than to blog about it?!

I have lived in the area all of my life and have gone to Shirlington to watch artsy movies and go out to dinner since high school. Since 2005, however, The Village at Shirlington has undergone an incredible expansion - with new restaurants, shops, and residences. The goal of the expansion was "to increase the number of people in Shirlington to create a round-the-clock environment there."

Round-the-clock indeed. Shirlington is no longer the place to go with your grandparents when you know you can be home by 9pm! It touts some of the better restaurants that the DC area has to offer and the new home of the Signature theater and Shirlington library creates a very different vibe from the Shirlington of the 1990's.

Right next door to this little piece of Arlington pie is a residential community that has been around, in its current non-Union occupied state, since the beginning of World War II: Fairlington.

Now I will admit from the outset, that I did not know much about Fairlington during my formative years. Even though I went to school only a mile or so away, a residential community is not usually on the top of your interests list when in the teen years.

But I have grown up, finished schooling, found a great girlfriend, and bought a condominium in Fairlington Meadows.

My goal for this blog is to inform whoever is interested in what is happening in Fairlington and Shirlington. I hope to cover the positives and the negatives. If you read "Prince of Petworth" or my former high school classmate's "And Now Anacostia," you will know the meat of what this blog is.

I keep saying "I," but in reality it is a multi-part effort. My girlfriend, Aida, will be joining me on the blogging adventure (as a writer and frequent subject of pictures, I am sure). In addition, our roommate, Kyle, will hopefully be featured in funny ways and, of course, our boxer, Hannah, will probably get some good pictures in. We hope to bring you stories about events in the area, crime beats, announcements, and pictures of people, places, puppies, parades, and...I ran out of "p" words.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the blog and please let us know how we can make the site better!