A Roar through Lyon Park with Scott Sowers
Description: a mostly architectural walk through a centrally-located, history-rich Arlington neighborhood. The full circuit takes about forty-five minutes.
Note: a video version of this walkabout is currently being shown in rotation with two others on Arlington Channel AVN74 several times a week, immediately following Update Arlington.
Hi. My name is Scott Sowers and I want to welcome you to the WALKArlington tour of Lyon Park. I'm really excited about doing this; I was born in Arlington and raised a few blocks away from the actual Lyon Park, where our tour begins. I live in New York City now; I'm an actor. But my heart remains in Lyon Park. I hope you'll enjoy this mostly-architectural tour of my neighborhood -- it's great to have you along for the ride - I mean walk!
Download Walkabout Map (404k PDF)
BEGIN HERE: Lyon Park Community Center, 414 North Fillmore Street
Since constructed in 1925, this building continues to serve as the meeting hall of the Lyon Park Community Association. Originally founded in 1919 when the subdivision was platted, the Association first met at the office of Lyon & Fitch (now the site of a gas station at the corner of Pershing Drive and Washington Boulevard). In March 1925, Lyon & Fitch donated a 20,000-square foot parcel in the central neighborhood park for use by the Association. The real estate firm also contributed funding for the construction of this building. The Lyon Park Community Center features Colonial Revival elements, including a gable roof, symmetrical arrangement of windows and doors, single and paired double-hung sash windows with multi-pane glazing, and an entrance adorned with a gabled pediment on both North Fillmore Street and North Pershing Drive. The interior layout consists of a large meeting room with a stage at one end and a kitchen and restroom at the other end. Best of all, it's available for parties, aerobics classes, whatever you got!
2. 609 North Edgewood Street
Our next stop is this substantial Colonial Revival home which was built by and for C. Walton Fitch between 1920 and 1929. A member of an established Georgetown family, Fitch was trained as an engineer at Cornell University and served in the Army during WWI. Upon returning, he partnered with Frank Lyon in 1920 to form the real estate firm of Lyon & Fitch and to develop the neighborhood of Lyon Park. Fitch also was married to Lyon's niece, Margaret Lyon Parham. Fitch left Arlington's booming early-20th century real estate market to become Director of Exhibits for the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, as well as Manager of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. Stylistic details of the home include its side gable roof, symmetrical windows and doors, decorative front entrance stoop with projecting gabled roof and plain columns, and the double-hung sash windows with multi-pane glazing.
3. and 4. Especially for Pedestrians
One of the newer additions to Lyon Park is this traffic circle at the corner of 7th Street North and North Edgewood Street. It helps to slow traffic and make things safer for pedestrians and kids on bicycles. When I was a kid, this is where the traffic cop used to stand and direct traffic -- but now, the traffic circle does the trick.
Here, crossing Washigton Boulevard on North Pershing Drive, you will notice one of the pedestrian-friendly crosswalks in Arlington County. Arlington has been identified as the most pedestrian-friendly community in Northern Virginia - in part because of amenities like this!
5. and 6. 815 and 916 North Daniel Street
815: Built in 1925, this home is an excellent example of the Bungalow form. Note the building height of one to one and one-half stories, the prominent front entrance porch with heavy piers and column supports, the steeply pitched shed-roof dormer, and the low-pitched, broadly sloping gable roof with exposed rafter tails -- all typical of the Bungalow form. Often this building form is referred to as Craftsman - a dominant style for smaller homes until the early 1920s and popularized nationwide by its presence in architectural pattern books and magazines of the era. Designed to be affordable to build and economical to maintain, the bungalow is one of the more popular house types in Lyon Park. I don't have to explain to you why this house is cool; you can see for yourself!
916: If you're thinking gingerbread; if you're thinking doll's house, if you are thinking turn of the century, you are probably thinking Queen Anne style. Built in 1911, this home is typical of the style in that it has an asymmetrical shape and decorative trim, wrap-around front entrance porch, projecting bay window on the second story, and cross-gable roof shape with dormers. Many Queen Anne houses also may feature decorative shingles in the gables and delicate wood spindle work along the porch or dormers. This home shares the same design as its neighbors at 900 and 922 North Daniel Street.
7. Northern Boundary
This is 10th Street North. It's the northern boundary between Lyon Park and Clarendon. Clarendon has grown immensely since I lived here - I hardly even recognize the place! When I was growing up, we weren't allowed to cross 10th Street on bike. But now, because the crosswalks are so clearly delineated, I imagine kids can go anywhere!
8. Henry Clay Park
Formerly the site of Henry Clay Elementary School, this is the place where I kicked my first kickball, dodged my first dodgeball, probably stole my first kiss. My father went to elementary school here. Now as you can see it's a great big open space with a basketball court, gazebo, and plenty of playground equipment for the kids.
9. and 10. Clarendon United Methodist Church and Irving Apartments
Irving Street is the western border of Lyon Park and right over the line in Ashton Heights is the Clarendon United Methodist Church. Many of my friends and family attended church here. When I was a kid we played football in the yard, and as a teenager I was hired to paint the window frames -- so -- don't look too close!
Across the street at 605 N. Irving we have the Irving Apartment Building. Built in 1926, it is an excellent example of a Colonial Revival-inspired garden apartment building. The substantial brick building features a symmetrical arrangement of casement windows, an entrance adorned by pilasters and topped with a semi-circular arched window, and a continuous decorative parapet wall along the roofline. Two-story screened porches accent the south façade and the projecting ell of the west elevation. This building is typical of the multi-family rental housing that emerged in the County between 1934 and 1954 as a result of the population explosion that occurred in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Within these two decades, a total of 176 individual apartment buildings and complexes were built in Arlington County alone. Adequate rental housing was needed to house the influx of middle class residents brought to the area as a result of the federal government's New Deal programs, the rising need for wartime workers, and the return of World War II veterans.
11. 3108 6th Street North
Across the way on 6th Street is an exceptional example of an American Foursquare. Built around 1905, and clearly exhibiting the typical simple square or rectangular shape of the type, it also has a prominent one-story front entrance porch, double-hung sash windows, and a low-pitched hipped roof with wide overhanging eaves and dormers. The American Foursquare is a simplified derivation of the Prairie architectural style, which originated in Chicago and was common nationwide from 1900 to 1920. There are many examples of Foursquares throughout Lyon Park and Arlington County.
The current owners of this home took advantage of the state's tax credit program for the rehabilitation of historic properties. Property owners in the Lyon Park Historic District -- as well as those property owners in other National Register-listed districts throughout the County - may be eligible for these financial incentives. For more information about the tax credits, please contact the staff of either the County's Historic Preservation Program or the Virginia Department of Historic Resources in Richmond.
12. Christ Church of Arlington
Walking south on Irving Street to Pershing Drive, we come to what used to be known as the Pershing Drive Christian Church -- now Christ Church of Arlington. It was founded by my grandfather, Thurman Davis ("T.D.") Sowers, Senior. He helped build it, and my father and mother were married here, as were all three of my sisters.
13. 315 North Garfield Street
Built in 1926, this Dutch-Colonial style home is an authentic example of a mail-order catalog house purchased from Sears, Roebuck & Company. Known as the Rembrandt model, the house kit -- which included all of the building plans and materials needed to build the house -- originally cost just $2,770!
The symmetrical arrangement of the windows and doors, as well as the gambrel roof line with its substantial front dormer, gives the home its Dutch-Colonial character. The home is still clad in its original wood siding and still retains its original interior floor plan and many decorative elements of the period. Check out the detached period garage that mimics the architectural style of the house.
Between 1908 and 1940, Sears offered almost 450 different house designs in ready to assemble kits. The homes were available in a range of sizes and architectural styles, with models to suit nearly every budget. The customer was at liberty to customize his order to truly personalize it to meet his personal tastes and needs. Each kit was shipped in one to two boxcars via railroad. Because of the proximity of Lyon Park to several stops along the Washington & Old Dominion Railway line, there are several examples of Sears homes in the neighborhood and dozens of others throughout Arlington County. Sears was the largest and most successful of the mail-order catalog home firms -- due to not only the sale of tens of thousands of house kits, but more importantly, due to the sale of all the latest appliances, furniture, and décor needed to properly equip these "modern" homes.
14. 3117 2nd Road North
Up the hill, I'm getting hungry for some tasty Clam Chowda'! Maybe that's because I'm standing in front of a Cape Cod style home. This one was built in 1939, but the style originated in the early-18th century and was popularized in residential suburbs from the 1920s to 1940s. Cape Cods are usually of either brick or frame construction and feature many of the same characteristics as their two-story counterparts. Key stylistic elements include a side gable roofline often pierced with dormers, a symmetrical arrangement of windows and doors, a front entrance adorned with decorative wood trim, and double-hung sash windows with multi-pane glazing. Cape Cods are very common throughout the County.
15. 3122 1st Road North
Constructed circa 1937 by local builder T.J. Brumback, this home is an example of the Tudor architectural style. Common features of the style include a steeply pitched side gable roof, massive brick chimneys, and a prominent gable across the front. Other common Tudor traits are decorative wood framing in the gables, tall and narrow windows arranged in groups, and an arched front entry door. The style is derived from Late Medieval English influences and was popular between 1890 and 1940. Tudor actually rivaled Colonial Revival in popularity for suburban homes during the 1920s and 1930s.
16. Best Kept Secret in Lyon Park
This bike path, which can also be used as a footpath, is one of the best-kept secrets in Lyon Park, or maybe even Arlington County. It's known as Mrs. Allen's field, and now it's owned by Ruth Rockwell, my aunt. Many a game of football has been played on this very spot during my younger years here in Lyon Park.
END: Back to the Community Center
Here we are back at the Lyon Park Community Center. I love Lyon Park, but there are also some other great places in Arlington for walking, too. Check them out! I'm going to -- I want to see if THEY have any Queen Anne's!
Very special thanks to Cynthia Liccese-Torres, Arlington County's Historic Preservation Planner, for her contributions to this Walkabout.
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Scott Sowers is a native of Lyon Park, moving to New York City after finishing college in 1987. Scott has performed on TV, screen and stage (his first love) including a current Broadway run in A Streetcar Named Desire at Studio 54. He has worked with a long list of playwrights from Edward Albee to Aaron Sorkin, and is a founder of The Signature Theatre in New York. Scott appeared in Erin Brockovich, Cradle Will Rock and Dead Man Walking among other films, and his TV appearances include nine episodes of Law and Order. His orange corduroys also got him an interview on a New York City news broadcast featuring the "Gates" temporary public art installation in Central Park.
Scott's first snow walk through Lyon Park, circa 1964.
