• Presence of non-residential properties such as schools , churches , and or commercial that were incorporated into the original design
• Amenities such as club houses , community centers , and parks ;
• Landscape features such as decorative plantings , esplanades , or common garden areas , entrance plantings
• Decorative landscaped street elements including planted esplanades or medians
• Uniform setbacks , sidewalks , utilities ;
• Distinctive or decorative street signs and / or lights ; and
• Nearby industrial , commercial and or institutional focal point .
The survey fieldwork included a recordation of these elements extant within each subdivision . Following the completion of the fieldwork , the subdivisions were compared with one another and those that possessed the highest number of these elements and retained their integrity to at least a good degree were each designated a HIGH preservation priority . For example , the Clubview Subdivision is ranked in the HIGH-priority category because it displays significant communityplanning elements , including serial house plans ( 3 in total ), street signs that marked the subdivision as a discreet neighborhood , and curvilinear streets with cul-de-sacs . The residential portion of the subdivision also backs up to a golf course , which serves as the subdivision ’ s main focal point . A commercial strip on its northern edge functioned as a buffer to the adjacent main thoroughfare ( E . Abram Street ).
Still other subdivisions were given a HIGH-priority rating due primarily to the architectural significance of the individual buildings within its boundaries . These subdivisions contained distinctive examples of residential plan-types / styles commonly erected between 1945 and 1960 including Minimal Traditional , Ranch , Contemporary , or Modern . For example , the Davis Manor Subdivision , located in west Arlington , was designated in the HIGH-priority category because it contains a highly intact and cohesive grouping of custom-designed Rambling Ranch homes . Similarly , the HIGH priority Briarwood Estates subdivision in central Arlington contains sizeable , high-style Rambling Ranches on large , well-landscaped lots . This neighborhood also features curvilinear streets and is adjacent to a park and elementary school .
MEDIUM
MEDIUM-priority ratings were typically given to subdivisions feature common postwar planning principles but lack any elements that would distinguish them from other contemporaneous examples . Additionally , this category includes subdivisions whose individual components ( houses ) display little , if any , distinctive design characteristics or attributes . Also , subdivisions in this category lack significant historic associations and typically retain a moderate level of integrity . An example of a subdivision that falls into this category is the Fielder Terrace neighborhood , located in southwest Arlington . The neighborhood is dominated by ca . 1960 single-story , Ranch-style houses and is laid out according to a gridiron plan . The neighborhood has a single commercial strip on its northern edge . Although Fielder Terrace had little infill development , many of its dwellings had undergone alteration . It remains a good example of its type and represents common trends in the layout and configuration of a postwar subdivision in Arlington but lacks any distinctive or noteworthy design attributes or physical qualities .
FINAL REPORT
ARLINGTON HISTORIC RESOURCES SURVEY UPDATE
SEPTEMBER 2007
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