The Connection

Young or old, splashing or swinging, strumming, playing bridge, roasting marshmallows, bird walk, road trip — Arlington Parks and Recreation offers an array of activities in its 148 parks and 13 community centers — always something to do, rain or shine.

Special celebrations could have you churning butter, tapping your foot to bluegrass music, hunting Easter eggs, netting frogs in a vernal pond or eating turkey at the annual community Thanksgiving dinners.

This year Arlington Department of Parks and Recreation is celebrating its 75th anniversary. In 1933 the formal public recreation programs were introduced to Arlington County with a $500 appropriation from the County Board for the development of county parks and playgrounds.

The first staffing for summer playground programs followed in 1935, and the first therapeutic playground for children with special needs was opened in 1960.

It wasn't until 9 years later in 1944 that the Department of Parks and Playgrounds (PRCR) was established.

It took another 7 years until the first recreation center was established when they bought Henderson House at 4811 Third Street N. Today the county has 13 community centers.

The first Silver Age Club was established in 1954 as the first public recreation senior adult program in Virginia with 44 members. Today there are five senior centers. The 33-page July-August senior 55-plus catalogue offers programs, activities and trips that range from duplicate bridge, basketball, foreign languages, healthy cooking demonstrations, arts and crafts and mountain music as well as contra and ballroom dancing.

The first community center opened at Lubber Run in 1956 with Gulf Branch opening in 1966 and Thomas Jefferson Community Center and Long Branch Nature Center in 1972 and Long Bridge Park in 2011. It has run full circle as Lubber Run closed in 2018 to make way for a new state of the art facility.

A grant in 1967 allowed for the construction of the first off-street bike trail in the Four Mile Run Stream Valley, and in 1973 the I-66 bike trail opened from Rosslyn to Spout Run Parkway.

An important development took place in 1962 when the Department desegregated, allowing participation by all the community in the parks and recreation centers, and in 1969 Arlington began the annual tribute to Martin Luther King.

Along the way PRCR established the first community garden with 70 plots, began outdoor concerts, started day camps for children, held the first county fair in 1977 and established the first farmer's market in 1979. Today there are 17 community gardens, and 14 farmer's markets dot the county.

In 2005 they received one of the few national accreditations by the Commission for Accreditation of Parks and Recreation Agencies.

In 2012 the current Department of Parks and Recreation was born. As they move forward, the county has approved the updated Public Spaces master plan on April 25, 2019 with the new Long Bridge Fitness and Aquatics Center approved and expected to be open in 2021.