Who knew that Arlington for months has been home to a cutting-edge experiment in cinema innovation? If you’ve caught a flick recently at the AMC Courthouse theater, you couldn’t miss that you were transported to movieland while lying on a plush, Barcalounger-type recliner. Unless you fell asleep (the fault of […]
Author: Charlie Clark
Our Man in Arlington
When the comic video “Arlington: The Rap” conquered YouTube three years ago, one line that got big laughs was the tough guy’s reference to “my book club.” Last week I had the privilege—without a lick of preparatory reading—of being a barfly on the wall at one of those rare literary […]
Our Man in Arlington
On the mercifully few occasions when I engaged in boyhood fisticuffs, I had no inkling that my drama was unfolding on soil with a notable history of one-on-one violence. A few steps from my Arlington childhood home, off North Glebe Road just up from Chain Bridge, lies the probable location […]
Our Man in Arlington
It is shocking, the gasping audience clearly agreed, to learn that solid-citizen Arlington is home to crimes of human trafficking. A sobering presentation last Wednesday to the Committee of 100 shed light on a rising epidemic of below-the-radar heartbreak brought to our suburban environs in the form of sexual slavery, […]
Our Man in Arlington
My ancient grudge against the Lyon Village Community House resurfaces whenever I drive by it. True, I’ve enjoyed some private parties over the years in that quaint facility off Lee Highway. But it will forever be linked to the agonizing hours I spent there as a bewildered preteen attending Cotillion. […]
Our Man in Arlington
Of all Arlington’s neighborhoods, I nominate Hall’s Hill as the most transformed. This weekend I arranged a satisfying two-fer by taking the Walk Arlington official guided tour of that historically black area while enjoying the “Feel the Heritage Festival” celebration of African American history and culture. The annual event held […]
Our Man in Arlington
As parking grows scarcer in Arlington, normally angelic citizens get tempted to be scofflaws. The price, however, can be more than just a ticket—try a major hassle with a towing company that some call predatory. Leave it to Arlington to try to make this mess a bit more civilized. Hundreds […]
Our Man in Arlington
A frozen-in-time document capturing Arlington circa 1952 came to me through a friend. The illustrated ad from the old Washington Star proclaimed, “Now open: One of the most distinctive developments in Metropolitan Washington real estate history.” For just $19,000-$27,000 (substantial cash required), Arlingtonians aspiring to own property adjoining the Washington […]
Our Man in Arlington
The clang-clang-clang of Arlington’s streetcar debate issue won’t cease. Last week, after the county board had mapped out debate on other issues, a new group of citizen activists announced formation of Arlingtonians for Sensible Transit. The ringleader is Peter Rousselot, a retired attorney with a transportation specialty who speaks for […]
Our Man in Arlington
How better to humanize the glass canyons of Crystal City than with offerings of fine local art?