Evening star., 1951-02-19
By. George Kennedy

One of the most beautiful river
areas in America, the George
Washington country south of
Alexandria, is becoming rapidly
suburbanized.
The area is familiar to millions
of motorists who have made the
pilgrimage to Mount Vernon, and
the wonder is that its development
has come so late.
In part the delay was due to the
fact that the George Washington
Memorial Boulevard was opened
in 1882, the depth Of the depres-
sion.
But now the builders are fast
making up for the lag. Ramblers,
those one story structures with
the picture window in the living
room whether or not there is a
picture outside, are sprouting up
all over Washington's River Farm.
Shrine Is Protected.
Mount Vernon itself is protected
from neighbors who might mar
the landscape by hanging up
washing on Mondays. The shrine
has 427 acres of Washington's
original 5000.
I 1t is now estimated that $4,000
persons are living in the Mount
Vernon district of Fairfax County,
which only contained a few hun
dred a few years ago.
That population seems on the
way to doubling. Today's resi-
dents are what city planners term
pioneers. They have gone beyond
those conveniences of water and
sewer systems considered so nee
eSSary for urban civilization.
However, steps are being taken to
bring these to them. After that
the big migration.
On the approach of Washing
tons birthday (Thursday) this
asked Charles C. Wall,
superintendent of Mount Vernon,
to show him over the old Washing
ton holdings.
View Covers Miles.
Washington's River Farm
started at Hunting Creek, now
dominated by three large apart
ment buildings on the Alexandria
side, which afford tenants view
several miles down river to Fort
Washington on the Maryland side.
The Belle View apartments, two
or three story brick buildings on
the right side of the boulevard,
are a familiar sight to any one
who has been to Mount Vernon
in these postwar years. To see
what is going on calls for travers-
ing the roads between the boule-
ward and Route /.
There is Tauxemont, built be-
fore World War II and named
after an Indian village that was
on the site, and postwar develop
ments such as wellington Heights
and Wellington Estates and Hol-
lin Hall Village and Holm Hills.
But it would be much more in
teresting to turn to the left near
the bridge, which carries a little
used road across the Memorial.
The bridge was built
SO that residents of the little
trolley suburbs on the Potomac
shore. wellington View. Arcturus
and Herbert Springs would not
with boulevard traffic in
crossing the new highway. There
on a promontory into the Potomac
are some Of the most charmingly
situated homes in the Washington
area.
Credit to Sol Bloom.
The George Washington Me-
mortal Highway was opened in
1882, the bicentenary OF WASH
ington's birth. It's construction
was largely due to that colorful
figure. the late Representative Sol
Bloom Of New York. who, as
chairman of the Congressional
Bicentennial Committee had an
idea that as many Americans as
possible should know about
George Washington. One way to
accomplish that was to build a
motor highway direct to Mount
Vernon for the American vaca-
tion tourist who learns about his
country, not by reading books, but
by travelling in it. Mr.. Bloom was
aided by the late Walton Moore
of Fairfax and his successor in
the House, Representative Howard
Smith.
Before that the popular way
to Mount Vernon was a trolley