33-642: Virginia Square is a section in the Ballston neighborhood of Arlington County, Virginia . It is centered at the Virginia Square–GMU station on the Orange and Silver lines of the Washington Metro subway system between Clarendon and Ballston . The neighborhood consists of a mix of high-rise apartments , garden apartments, and single-family homes that date back to the 1930s. Virginia Square
66-399: A brick church building that remains in use today. The forerunner to The Falls Church appears to have been founded by landowner William Gunnell, who had moved from Westmoreland County, Virginia , in 1729. In the spring of 1730, he secured a minister and convened a congregation, which met in his home until 1733, when the first building was constructed. Until that time, this area was served by
99-405: A clergyman who lived near present-day Quantico , and the nearest church was Pohick Church near Lorton . Known as "William Gunnell's Church", the new wooden structure was designed and built by Colonel Richard Blackburn, who was directed to construct a weatherboarded building forty feet by twenty-two feet, with a 13:12 pitch roof, and with interior work modeled on that of Pohick Church; the cost
132-725: A competing interurban electric trolley line, the Washington and Old Dominion Railway constructed a branch that crossed the WA&;FC near the west end of Ballston, then called Lacey, near a WA&FC car barn and railyard. Interstate 66 and the Bluemont Junction Trail now follow the route of this railroad branch between Rosslyn and the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park in Bluemont Park. A historical marker entitled "Lacey Car Barn" located near
165-479: A local court to transfer ownership of the property to CANA. The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia , of The Episcopal Church , intervened in the case and resisted the transfer. After a series of trial court rulings and appeals, the Virginia Supreme Court affirmed a trial court decision that left the church property in the hands of The Episcopal Church. The Episcopal parish returned to worshiping at
198-472: A new 360,000 square feet (33,000 m ) facility in Ballston. The neighborhood is home to Washington-Liberty High School . Ballston is also home to several university facilities, including: The Falls Church The Falls Church is an historic Episcopal church, from which the city of Falls Church, Virginia , near Washington, D.C. , takes its name. Established in 1732, the parish in 1769 built
231-605: A section known as Virginia Square and sometimes the area is collectively known as Ballston-Virginia Square. Ballston proper is served by the Ballston–MU station , and the Virginia Square section of Ballston is served by the Virginia Square-GMU station , both of which are on the Orange and Silver Lines of the Washington Metro with a 1/2 mile walking distance from each other. By some measures, Ballston
264-649: A section known as Virginia Square , which takes its name from the Virginia Square Shopping Center that once stood there. Virginia Square is served by the Virginia Square–GMU station . Ballston and Virginia Square-GMU metro stations are within a 1/2 mile walking distance from each other. The area is sometimes collectively known as Ballston-Virginia Square. Ballston Quarter , a shopping, entertainment and residential complex, reopened in 2019 after being closed for two years of renovations. The MedStar Capitals Iceplex , constructed on top of
297-638: A veteran of the American Revolution ( Sixth Virginia Infantry ) is buried here. John Ball was the son of Moses Ball, who was one of the pioneer settlers in the Glencarlyn area of Arlington. Also buried here in the cemetery are many of John Ball's direct and collateral descendants including John Wesley Boldin, a Civil War soldier (Company D, Third Pennsylvania Cavalry ) and members of the Marcey, Stricker, Donaldson, and Croson families. In 1912,
330-855: Is a neighborhood in Arlington County, Virginia . Ballston is located at the western end of the Rosslyn -Ballston corridor. It is a major transportation hub and has one of the nation's highest concentrations of scientific research institutes and research and development agencies, including DARPA , the Office of Naval Research , the Advanced Research Institute of Virginia Tech , the Air Force Research Laboratory , and engineering , management, and public sector consulting firms. Ballston also includes
363-777: Is home to the Arlington campus of George Mason University , including its Law School and the Schar School of Policy and Government , the Arlington Arts Center , some offices of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the main branch of the Arlington Public Library . The area's name is derived from the former Virginia Square Shopping Center , now occupied mainly by a major satellite office of
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#1732772618541396-480: Is now Fairfax Drive; the Ballston Station was at Ballston Avenue, now North Stuart Street. Here Clements Avenue, now Stafford Street, divided to pass on either side of an old Ball family graveyard. The Ball family burial ground on Washington Boulevard has a historical marker, which states: Old Ball Family Burial Ground. This is one of Arlington's oldest family burial grounds. Ensign John Ball (1748–1814),
429-489: Is the densest neighborhood in the Washington metropolitan area . Ballston is named after the Ball family, and one of their family cemeteries lies in the neighborhood at N. Stafford Street and Fairfax Drive, also known as VA State Route 237 . Ballston began as Birch's Crossroads, and later became Ball's Crossroads at what is now the intersection of N. Glebe Road and Wilson Boulevard . A historical marker that stands near
462-1143: The Ballston Business Improvement District (Ballston BID), (formerly the Ballston-Virginia Square Partnership which is inclusive of the Virginia Square district of Ballston), other area community development organizations, and the National Science Foundation organize the festival. Ticket sales at the event raise funds for area charities. The neighborhood has a concentrations of scientific research institutes , research and development agencies, think tanks , lobbying - advocacy groups , trade associations , government agencies , and aerospace manufacturing and defense industry companies, as well as engineering , management , and public sector consulting firms . Major employers in Ballston include: In 2011, Accenture agreed to move its offices from Reston, Virginia to
495-825: The Ballston Quarter parking garage, houses the offices, 20,000 square feet (1,900 m ) training facility, for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL)y. In addition to the ice hockey team's training center, the Iceplex features two indoor NHL-sized ice rinks, office space, locker rooms, a full-service pro-shop, a Capitals team store, a snack bar, and space for special events. The facility provides public skating, figure skating, and hockey programs for youths and adults. Virginia Square Shopping Center once operated in
528-481: The Ballston trolley station, states: By 1900, a well-defined village called Central Ballston had developed in the area bounded by the present-day Wilson Boulevard, Taylor Street, Washington Boulevard, and Pollard Street. More diffuse settlement extended westward to Lubber Run and southward along Glebe Road to Henderson Road. The track of the Washington, Arlington, and Falls Church Electric Railroad ran along what
561-513: The FDIC with a Giant supermarket on part of the property. Among local restaurants, Mario's Pizza has been a landmark since 1957 and El Pollo Rico since 1988. Ballston-Virginia Square Partnership was a business development organization inclusive of both Ballston proper and the Virginia Square section. This Arlington County, Virginia state location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ballston, Virginia Ballston
594-556: The Falls. The second was eventually named Wilson Boulevard in honor of President Wilson. The intersection became known as Ball’s Crossroads when Ball’s Tavern was established here in the early 1800s. In 1896, an interurban electric trolley line, the Fairfax line of the Washington, Arlington and Falls Church Railway (WA&FC), began operating north of the crossroads along the present route of Fairfax Drive, whose name derives from that of
627-741: The United States . The Fairfax Militia recruited from the church during the Revolutionary War , and it is said that at the war's end, the Declaration of Independence was read to citizens from the steps of the south doors. In 1784, the Commonwealth of Virginia revoked the status of the Anglican Church as state church. In 1789, The Falls Church was abandoned and remained unoccupied for almost 50 years; in 1836, it
660-638: The United States of America (ECUSA) (a member of the Anglican Communion ), and join the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). The minority group reorganized itself as The Falls Church (Episcopal), and began holding services across the street at Falls Church Presbyterian Church. The disaffiliating majority renamed itself The Falls Church (Anglican) and continued to worship at The Falls Church property, and later petitioned
693-825: The church, the churchyard , and a spring, to the vestry of Truro Parish. By this point, it was known as the Upper Church. The Vestry Book first referred to it as the "Falls Church" on November 28, 1757, owing to its location at the intersection of the road to the Little Falls of the Potomac River (upstream of the Chain Bridge ) and the Middle Turnpike (leading from Alexandria to Leesburg, now Virginia Route 7 or Leesburg Pike, called West Broad Street in downtown Falls Church City ). George Mason
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#1732772618541726-521: The northwest corner of N. Glebe Road and Fairfax Drive states: In 1896, the Washington, Arlington & Falls Church Railway began running electric trolleys from Rosslyn to Falls Church on the present routes of Fairfax Drive and I-66. By 1907, the Fairfax trolley linked Fairfax, Vienna, and Ballston with downtown Washington, D.C. In 1910, at this location, the railway built a car barn, railyard, workshops, electrical substation, and general office. In 1912,
759-407: The now named Virginia Square section of the Ballston neighborhood. Ballston hosts the annual Taste of Arlington food festival , a street fair which has been produced each spring since 1987. The 2009 Taste of Arlington event featured over 40 area restaurants offering portions of their cuisine to ticket-holders, and drew approximately 15,000 people. The regional business development organization,
792-506: The rival Washington and Old Dominion Railroad began crossing the tracks on a bridge 200 yards west of here, following the present route of I-66 from Rosslyn. The Fairfax trolley closed in 1939, but Metrorail’s Orange Line follows its route through Arlington. In 1951, the Parkington Shopping Center opened at the intersection, formerly known as Balls Crossroads on the site of present-day Ballston Quarter . Parkington
825-495: The southeastern corner of the intersection reads: This intersection has been a focal point since about 1740, when two roads were developed, one from the future site of Alexandria to the mouth of Pimmit Run , the other from Awbury’s Ferry (at the site of Rosslyn) to The Falls Church . The first came to be known as the Glebe Road because it passed the glebe of Fairfax Parish and in order to distinguish it from other roads to
858-407: The trolleys' final destination, Fairfax City . Construction of the trolley line, which branched at Clarendon to serve both Rosslyn and downtown Washington, D.C. , temporarily shifted much of the area's development away from the crossroads. A historical marker near the northwestern corner of Fairfax Drive and N. Stafford Street, one block east of the Ballston–MU station , at the former site of
891-592: Was 33,500 pounds of tobacco. Like Pohick Church, the new church served Truro Parish , which had been established by the colonial Virginia Assembly in May 1732 for the land north of the Occoquan River ; Truro's first vestry met in November 1732. Michael Reagan allowed the church to be built on his land, but failed to grant the deed. John Trammell later bought the land and, in 1746, sold the two acre lot, including
924-469: Was added. Other than repairs of war damage and the chancel addition, the structure reflects the original 1769 construction. Between 2006 and 2014 the congregation became divided on religious issues , and the buildings and property of the congregation became the subject of protracted litigation. In December 2006, about 90% of the congregation voted to disaffiliate from the Episcopal Church in
957-660: Was anchored by the headquarters location of the Hecht Company , and was reputed to have the largest parking garage in the nation when it opened. Ballston began to redevelop rapidly after the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) opened the Orange Line 's Ballston Metrorail station on December 1, 1979, and when an entrance to Interstate 66 (I-66) opened on December 22, 1982. Ballston also contains
990-473: Was designed by Colonel James Wren , a member of the vestry. Work commenced in 1767 and completed in late fall 1769. Wren, a slaveowner, used enslaved people to do the work. The Wren building remains on the site, between S. Washington, E. Broad, and E. Fairfax Streets. The 1769 structure is the oldest remaining church building north of Quantico in Virginia and is one of the oldest church structures in
1023-425: Was elected vestryman in 1748, as was George Washington in 1762. By 1762, the wood building had fallen into decay and the vestry ordered a new brick building to be constructed on the same site. The next year, George Washington and George William Fairfax, as church wardens, assumed responsibility to contract for the new building. After 1765, this church became the seat of the new Fairfax Parish. The new church
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1056-517: Was reoccupied by an Episcopal congregation. Francis Scott Key was a lay reader of this congregation, as was Henry Fairfax, who used his own funds to restore the building during 1838 and 1839. During the American Civil War the church was used by Union troops as a hospital and later as a stable. Use of the building for worship services resumed after the war; the sanctuary has now been in continuous use since about 1873. The interior
1089-509: Was repaired after the war, with the Federal government paying for damage caused by Union forces. Some of these repairs can be discerned in brickwork below the windows and in the lower part of the brick doorway at the west end of the church. The church was remodeled in 1908 and extensively renovated in 1959. Galleries in Wren's original design but never constructed were installed, and a new chancel
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