Mount Vernon Memorial Highway – North of Alexandria: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, George Washington Memorial Parkway

Traucht, Matthew; Watts, Katie; González, Kerry; Albee, Carrie; Polglase, Christopher

The Mount Vernon Memorial Highway - North of Alexandria (MVMH-North) cultural landscape consists of an approximately 4.45-mile long, 813-acre parcel that extends from the intersection of First and North Washington Streets in Alexandria, Virginia to the Boundary Channel in Arlington, Virginia. A small section of the Alexandria Waterfront is also included in the cultural landscape boundary, although this area is not physically connected to the larger parcel. MVMH-North is a component landscape of the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway (MVMH) parent landscape. MVMH extends along the Virginia shoreline of the Potomac River from Mount Vernon at its southern terminus to the Arlington Memorial Bridge (Memorial Bridge). MVMH-North is located just south of Lady Bird Johnson Park. Both MVMH-North and Lady Bird Johnson Park are administered by the George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP), a unit of the National Park Service. The MVMH-North cultural landscape abuts the City of Alexandria at its southern limits. Washington National Airport is located adjacent to MVMH-North, on its eastern boundary. The developed areas of Pentagon City and Crystal City in Arlington and Potomac Yard in Alexandria are located along portions of MVMH-North’s western boundaries. The MVMH–North cultural landscape is comprised of a linear park that includes a limited-access, four-lane highway, divided by a central median, that provides unparalleled views of the Potomac River and nationally significant landmarks. It is the first comprehensively designed modern motorway constructed by the federal government and among the first roadways that combined transportation, recreation, and commemoration into one coherent design. The engineers and landscape architects of the highway utilized state of the art technology and created detailed plans and models to ensure that the roadway would be well-integrated into the existing topography and to maximize its scenic qualities. Just as great efforts were made to preserve and enhance the natural character of the river’s shoreline and the undulating topography along its banks, an equally significant undertaking resulted in the reclamation of the river’s tidal flats and the creation of new land, as nearly 20 percent of the full length of the MVMH-North was built on imported fill (EDAW 1992, 7). In addition to the use of the roadway for recreational driving and general transportation, MVMH-North provides myriad recreational opportunities including wildlife and wildflower viewing, organized sports, hiking, bicycling, kayaking and canoeing, picnicking, fishing, and enjoying cultural activities. Picnic areas, boat launches and a marina, multipurpose playfields, natural areas, access to the shoreline, and the Mount Vernon Trail all support passive and active recreational needs. MVMH, in its entirety, bears the distinction of being, at once, a recreational parkway designed to be a pleasurable driving experience and a commemorative memorial meant to celebrate the life and significance of George Washington. The earliest organized efforts to build a roadway from Mount Vernon to Washington, DC originated with the efforts of the Mount Vernon Avenue Association in 1888, with the first congressional appropriation of funds for construction of the highway coming 40 years later. Construction on the MVMH commenced in 1929 and the highway was opened in 1932, the bicentennial of George Washington’s birth.

Mount Vernon Memorial Highway – North of Alexandria: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, George Washington Memorial Parkway

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