Commercial properties and endeavors
AL'S MOTORS BUILDING/GOLD'S GYM 
3910 Wilson Boulevard
This property is on the National Register of Historic Places.
ARLINGTON RADIO TOWERS
South Courthouse Road at the entrance of the Naval Communications
Station
Three radio towers similar to the Eiffel Tower in construction were erected
here in 1913. One stood 600 feet and the other two 450 feet above the 200-foot
elevation of the site. The word “radio” was first used, instead of “wireless”,
in the name of this Naval communications facility. The first trans-Atlantic voice
communication was made between this station and the Eiffel Tower in 1915. The
nation set its clocks by the Arlington Radio time signal and listened for its
broadcast weather reports. The towers were dismantled in 1941, as a menace to
aircraft approaching the new Washington National Airport.
ARLINGTON MILL
Columbia Pike at South Four Mile Run Drive
The land along Four Mile Run in this area belonged to George Washington and
was known as Washington Forest. Later it became part of the Arlington estate.
The Columbia Turnpike was built through here in 1808 to link the Long Bridge at
Washington with the Little River Turnpike. In 1836 G.W.P. Custis built a grist
mill here where the turnpike crossed Four Mile Run. It was destroyed during the
Civil War (as the supposed property of R. E. Lee), but was rebuilt in 1880, continued
in operation until 1906, and was destroyed by fire in 1920.
CARLIN SPRINGS
In Glencarlyn Park (approach from 2nd Street South and
South Jefferson Street entrance)
In 1872 John F. Carlin developed here a popular resort which could be reached
by train from Washington and Alexandria. His establishment included two springs,
an ice cream parlor, a restaurant, a dance pavilion, and a swimming hole at the
confluence of Four Mile Run and Lubber Run. It remained popular until about 1887,
when the property was sold to the developers of Glencarlyn. They demolished the
resort buildings, but preserved the natural park, which was acquired by Arlington
County in 1943.
CHAIN BRIDGE
Chain Bridge (Virginia end)
In 1797, the merchants of Georgetown built here the first bridge over the Potomac
River in order to compete with the Virginia port of Alexandria. The falls Bridge
allowed trade from the “upper country” of Virginia to move directly to
Georgetown over the Georgetown-Leesburg road. After the first two bridges were
destroyed by floods, a chain suspension bridge, considered a marvel of engineering
with a span of 128 feet between stone towers, was built in 1808. Although this
bridge has been replaced by other forms of construction, the popular name Chain
Bridge continues to be used. The present bridge was built following the flood
of 1936.
DAN KAIN BUILDING (1945)
3100 Washington Boulevard
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Dan Kain building
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LITTLE FALLS ROAD
Little Falls Road at George Mason Drive
Little Falls Road was originally a trail from the Indian villages at the head
of Four Mile Run to the Potomac River fisheries just below the Little Falls. Later
it was developed as a wagon road from the settlement at the Falls Church to Thomas
Lee’s landing and warehouse at the mouth of Pimmit Run.
MOUTH OF PIMMIT RUN
North Glebe Road before the Chain Bridge
Thomas Lee patented land in this area in 1719. Here at the head of navigation
of the Potomac River, he established an official tobacco inspection warehouse
in 1742, the beginning of Arlington’s first industrial complex. After 1794,
Philip Richard Fendall and Lewis Hipkins, then owners of 200 acres in the Pimmit
Run region, built a grist mill, brewery, distillery, cooper and blacksmith shops,
and other structures. After 1815 a cloth mill, woolen factory, and paper mill
were established along the Run, later to be abandoned. In the 1890’s the Columbia
Light and Power Company used Pimmit Run to generate electricity. Stone from nearby
quarries was loaded on scows moored to the iron rings that can still be seen embedded
in the rocks below.
WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT TERMINAL AND SOUTH HANGAR LINE
Thomas Avenue
This property is on the National Register of Historic Places.
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