Alexandria Library's Blog: The West End Goes Platinum

Press release from Alexandria Library's Blog:

2021-11-03

Celebrating 70 Years in The City of Alexandria

Throughout the City’s history, many areas have been referred to as the West End. This post focuses on the present-day West End. Learn about the sections of the City referred to as the West End prior to 1951.

In December of 1951, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals upheld a ruling by a lower court awarding the City of Alexandria 7.65 miles of Fairfax County territory. This newly annexed land, which more than doubled the size of the City and increased its population by 11,000, would eventually become what we know today as the West End. The parcel of land included the Fruit Growers Express Company, Cameron Station Quartermaster Depot, Episcopal Theology Seminary, and High School, Shirley-Duke Apartments, Virginia Construction Company, a section of Fairlington, and over three miles of Shirley Highway.

Below are some notable milestones in the West End.

1964- Fort Ward Museum and Park opens. Restoration of the Civil War fort was the city’s first museum project.

1968- Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch opens for business. Branch named after long serving director and native Alexandrian, Ellen Coolidge Burke.

2000- New Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library opens for business. Named after City of Alexandria Mayor, Charles E. Beatley (served 1967-1976).

2000- Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School opens and is named after Samuel Wilbert Tucker, a lawyer, whose civil rights career began as he organized a 1939 sit-in at the then segregated Alexandria public library.

2021- “Confluent Threads”- New Permanent Public Art Installed at the Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library

The West End continues to evolve. Residents enjoy major transportation routes, new architecture, and commercial corridors and embrace the cultural and linguistic diversity in this community. As you lift your glasses on December 31st to celebrate the end of 2021 and the ushering in of 2022, don’t forget to give a special platinum toast to the West End on its 70th anniversary.

*Annexation is the process by which new territory is incorporated into a city, county, or town’s limits. In the state of Virginia, any city, county, town, voter, or taxpayer that proposes annexation must submit evidence that addresses all required sections of administrative code 1VAC50-20-540.

References

Alexandriava.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/historic/info/archaeology/SiteReportSchweigertWestEnd.pdf

Daily Sun, volume 16, number 194, 3 december 1951. Daily Sun 3 December 1951 – Virginia Chronicle: Digital Newspaper Archive. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=TDS19511203.1.1&e=——-en-20–1–txt-txIN——–;.

Ellen Coolidge Burke. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://web.archive.org/web/20160129025403/https://www.alexandria.lib.va.us/client/en_US/home/?rm=ELLEN%2BCOOLIDGE1%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C0%7C%7C%7Ctrue&dt=list.

Fort Ward Museum & Historic Site. Fort Ward Museum & Historic Site | City of Alexandria, VA. (2021, October 21). Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://www.alexandriava.gov/FortWard.

History of ACPS / Samuel W. Tucker. / Samuel W. Tucker. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://www.acps.k12.va.us/Page/3451.

Miles, V. (n.d.). How alexandria got its shape. How Alexandria Got Its Shape. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2017/aug/29/how-alexandria-got-its-shape/.

Out of the Attic – alexandria, VA. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/historic/info/attic/2016/Attic20160908Streets.pdf.

Title 1. administration. 1VAC50-20-540. Annexation. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title1/agency50/chapter20/section540/.

West End Business Association. West End Business Association – Home. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://www.alexandriaweba.com/.

Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, April 14). Charles E. Beatley. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_E._Beatley.

Genelle S.

This press release was produced by Alexandria Library's Blog. The views expressed here are the author’s own.