FairlingTon.org
Title
Fairlington Historic District
Description
Fairlington is a unique and historically significant community conveniently located just five minutes from downtown Washington, DC. The community was constructed for defense workers and their families by order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the DC housing shortage brought on by World War II.
On the eve of America’s entry into World War 11, President Roosevelt called in Houston architect Kenneth Franzheim to design housing for the wartime executives who would soon be working in and around Washington. Franzheim, joined by architect Alan B. Mills, was given his pick of skilled workers, and he had first crack at scarce building materials. He also had the money to do a first-rate job. Average cost per unit came to $10,300.
On a 340-acre site in Arlington, Franzheim and Mills created a rental project that, at 10 units per acre, avoided most of the sins of wartime emergency housing. Instead of designing a grid, he clustered units in varied patterns. Predominant is a square U cluster enclosing a courtyard, there are also long rows of units with varied roof lines and entrance ways, alternating with short rows often set at angles to the longer rows. Between the clusters are expanses of lawn and scattered trees.
Languages
English
