What is the oldest road in Arlington County? Some may say Glebe Road, which dates back to the 1700s, as a “road to the falls” that connected the port of Alexandria to the falls of the Potomac River (connecting one part of the river with another). Another road from that century was the Georgetown-to-Falls Church Road (which is now Wilson Boulevard). But I would venture to say that the oldest thoroughfare is Columbia Pike. The location of “the Pike,” as it is commonly referred to, served as a trail centuries ago for the Indigenous people living in this area. As described in a 1989 Arlington Historical Society magazine article by Sara Collins and Ruth Stewart, this path served as high ground where travelers “… could overlook the surrounding territory and watch for enemies.”
Columbia Pike gets its name from the Columbia Turnpike Co., which was chartered in 1808 to build an east-west toll road starting from the Long Bridge (in the area of today’s 14th Street bridges). The road connected to the north-south road known as Little River Turnpike in Fairfax County. In providing a charter to the turnpike company, the Virginia General Assembly had specific requirements as to width and composition of the road: to be at least 60 feet wide, 18 feet of which “shall be well covered with gravel or stone.” Travelers would have to pay a toll at designated points along the way, with pikes (long sticks) blocking the way.
Columbia Pike stopped being a toll road in the early 1900s. With the emergence of the automobile as the main mode of transportation, Columbia Pike became a vital thoroughfare in the county in the early 20th century, with businesses, churches and residential subdivisions springing up along “the Pike.” One of those subdivisions, now known as the Penrose neighborhood, was the subject of a laudatory article in The Washington Post earlier this year.
All of this is a roundabout way of getting to my main goal in today’s column, which is to give a shoutout to the fine work of the Columbia Pike Partnership. Arlington County has a long history of assisting specific geographic areas with dedicated resources intended to address specific needs. There are various models of assistance, such as business improvement districts, known as BIDs. The Columbia Pike Partnership is a different type of model, with strong participation by businesses and residents. In 1986, the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization was created, with the help of the county, which recognized the need for revitalization of the area. The organization, now called the Columbia Pike Partnership, has had a recent rebranding that proclaims, “We are the Pike.”
One of the outstanding accomplishments of the Columbia Pike Partnership is the Columbia Pike Documentary Project, which is a long-term, multidisciplinary effort started in 2007 to document the diverse community that has been described as “the world in a ZIP code,” where residents come from more than 125 countries. This project has created videos and books that capture the vibrancy of the area, with beautiful photographs and compelling stories.
The project makes clear that locally owned businesses are vital to the success of the Columbia Pike community. The Columbia Pike Partnership advocates for the Pike’s legacy businesses and for its large employers to help all of them remain in the area with the resources they need to thrive. The partnership has a strong base of community support, reflected in its volunteer board of directors. The board includes a remarkable list of local civic representatives, business executives and property owners, with Andrew Schneider leading the group as its executive director.
The Pike also has one of the more unusual public art installations, located at the western end of the Pike, near the boundary with Fairfax County. I have run out of room to provide a more detailed description; next week I will write about public art in Arlington, which will allow me to explain the meaning of that 50-foot wind turbine located on the corner of the Pike and South Jefferson Street.