1. Arlington Boulevard divides the north & south sections of the County.

2. Numbered streets run East - West, parallel to Arlington Boulevard.

They start at 1st St N and 1st St S, with the numbers going up as you get further from Arlington Boulevard. When numbers are repeated, they go Street, then Road, then Place.

3. Named streets run North - South by alphabet starting at the Potomac.

As you go away from the Potomac, there are:

• one-syllable names (Ball Street to Wayne Street)
• two-syllable names (Adams to Woodrow)
• three-syllable names (Abingdon to Yucatan)
• four-syllable names (Arizona is the only one)

4. North & South come before named streets and after numbered streets.

Examples: N. Buchanan or 31st Street South. This is the official naming adopted by the Arlington County Board, but is widely disregarded.

5. Boulevards usually run east-west and Drives run north-south.

6. Avenue, Circle, Highway, Lane, Parkway, Pike and Terrace are seldom used.

We have only one pike-Columbia Pike (originally a turnpike - toll road). There are three parkways: Spout Run, George Washington Memorial, and Custis Memorial Parkway (I-66).

7. Named Roads typically follow early winding routes and are excluded from the alphabetized pattern.

Examples include Glebe Road, Military Road and Pershing Drive.

8. Numbered and Named Streets are not through routes.

They are likely to be broken up, and only Boulevards, Drives, Highways and Roads cross the county with unbroken continuity.

Finding block numbers on named streets

Finding block numbers on numbered streets

This list belongs in the glove compartment of every Arlington car!

Here it is in .pdf format for printing out.

It's a system?

Getting around Arlington still can be a challenge. Laid out by the old metes and-bounds system of the East, the early roads wound around hills and along ridges, skirted streams and pastures, dodged estates and stores, veered toward springs and easy stream crossings, and often followed even earlier trails. Subsequent paved streets generally had to be laid over these early routes. Naturally, some boggling quirks resulted. Some streets skip along with seven or eight separate block interruptions. A visiting motorist may think they are seeing things twice when passing by two separate intersections of Glebe and Dittmar roads a mile apart. At North Taylor Street, 26th Street becomes 31st Street. Arlington's N. Vermont St Triangle where Vermont meets Vermont and Vernon, was once featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not.

What's in an Arlington Street Name?

Music--Key Boulevard and Key Bridge were named for Frances Scott Key, author of the "Star Spangled Banner."

Scene--Charming landmarks recall the land's natural beauty: Rock Spring, Carlin Springs, Little Falls, Four Mile Run, Valley, Forest.

People--Native Amercian-origin street names include Potomac, Powhatan, Pocomoke, Tuckahoe, Tacoma, Kennebec, Kennesaw, and Ottawa. Pioneer family names adorn many street-name signs: Roberts, Dittmar, Marcey, Ball, Veitch, and Lorcom (for Dr. Joseph Taber Johnson's two sons, LORen and basCOM. Famous names abound: Barton, Custis, Marshall, Harvard, Longfellow.

Colonial Memories--Williamsburg Boulevard memorializes the colonial capital. Fairfax Drive is named for Lord Fairfax, who inherited the large area known as Fairfax County from his mother, Catherine Culpeper .. there is a Culpeper Street, too.

Southern Elegance--Gracious plantation and estate names: Arlington, Wakefield, Abingdon, Kenmore. Vacation Lane was a popular street for summer-retreat homes for Washington families.

Romance--Romance and commerce blend in Rolfe and Powhatan streets. John Rolfe discovered how to cure tobacco and he also married Pocahontas, daughter of the famous Indian chief, Powhatan.

Adventure--Columbus and Peary streets.

Faith--Old-time religion gave Glebe Road its name. A glebe was a rectory on farmland for a Church of England minister.

Progress--Edison Street honors the great American inventor, and Walter Reed Drive honors the Army surgeon whose research conquered yellow fever Shirley Highway-Virginia's first limited access highway-was named m 1942 for Virginia Highway Commissioner Henry G. Shirley, internationally recognized master roadbuilder.

War & Peace--Many street-name signs commemorate war stories: Liberty, Fort Myer, Fort Scott, Lee, Pershing Rixey, Yorktown, Richmond

Drama--Patrick Henry Drive: Give me liberty or give me death.

Politics--Statesmen are remembered on many corners: Bryan, Randolph, George Mason, Dinwiddie, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock. Jefferson Davis Highway commemorates the Confederate President. And the names of 23 U.S. presidents-through Woodrow Wilson-dignify numerous street name signs. That is, all but Chester Alan Arthur, James K. Polk, and John Tyler. An oversight? Insufficient alphabetizing space? Or just politics?

Numbered and Named Streets
Are Not Through Routes

Acknowledgment

Arlington County has an abbreviated version of this page up.

Maps

This page was last revised on: February 11, 2007.