Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 08/13/1985
NRHP Listing Date 02/07/1986
NRHP Reference Number 86000151
Built in 1937, the Arlington Post Office was the county’s first federal building and represented an important milestone in the development of Arlington from an agglomeration of disparate suburban villages to the urban community is today. With its opening, this post office, located on Washington Boulevard in Clarendon, assumed the services that had been provided by the Rosslyn, South Washington, Glen Carlyn, Ballston, and Georgetown (D.C.) post offices. A modernistic interpretation of Georgian classicism, the deftly handled composition was designed by Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect of the Department of the Treasury. The Arlington Post Office building is also an exemplar of the fine quality and attention to detail given to federal works in the 1930s, works intended to instill pride in the institutions of government. The exterior is distinguished by it elegant domed portico. The interior murals of traditional Virginia scenes by Washington, D.C. artist Auriel Bessemer, are important survivors of the Depression-era program of enhancing Federal projects with works of art.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: April 22, 2023
