CPHD
Our Neighborhoods
Penrose
Location
Penrose, located approximately three miles from Washington, DC, is a residential neighborhood in central Arlington County. It is bounded by Arlington Boulevard to the north, Columbia Pike to the south, Washington Boulevard to the east, and South Fillmore
Street/South Walter Reed Drive to the west. Penrose was first platted and subdivided in 1882 by William H. Butler and Henry Louis Holmes, prominent leaders in the African American community. Because of its close proximity to Freedman’s Village and the lack of restrictive covenants, Penrose was initially home to a vast number of African Americans including renowned medical researcher Dr. Charles Drew. Penrose, also once known as Central Arlington, experienced significant growth after the turn of the 20th century with the arrival of the commuter railways, the advent of the automobile and the need for housing to support the burgeoning population flocking to the nation’s capital. This population surge overwhelmed the largely rural neighborhood of Penrose, altering the demographic make-up and transforming it into a commuting suburb of Washington, D.C.
History
Arlington history begins with Native American Indian history and may date back as far as 13,500 years. Various nomadic clans established villages, raised crops and quarried stone along Four Mile Run. More than a dozen village sites have been found within the boundaries of Arlington County; eight along the shore of the Potomac River and three in the upper valley of Four Mile Run. In July 1608, Captain John Smith and fourteen other Englishmen sailed up the Potomac River from James Fort to where the present day railroad bridge and the spans for US Route 1 and Interstate 395 touch Virginia soil. There, just one mile east of Penrose’s southeast boundary of Washington Boulevard and Columbia Pike, they found a Native American village of long houses made of grass mats.
Neighborhood Landmarks
- Butler Holmes Park, located at South Barton Street and South 1st Road
- Penrose Park, located at South Wayne Street and South 6th Street
- Towers Park, located at South Scott Street and South 9th Street
PAST FEATURED AREAS
Alcova Heights
Dominion Hills
Nauck
Bellevue Forest
