News

Though it hasn’t served a drink since Lyndon B. Johnson was in the White House, the historic Dranesville Tavern appears to have retained its appeal as a lodging destination.

Where other sites in its Resident Curator Program might attract a single offer, the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) received three proposals from community members looking to restore the 19th-century property in Herndon in exchange for a rent-free stay.


News

After two years of renovations, the first and second floors of George and Martha Washington’s mansion at Mount Vernon reopened to visitors on Wednesday (Dec. 10).

The $40 million preservation project at the first president’s home included designing and installing a new HVAC system, major infrastructure repairs, and improving drainage in and around the mansion’s cellar, and Washington’s newly restored bedroom.


News

The historic A. Smith Bowman Distillery building in Reston remains one of the county’s most endangered properties, the Fairfax County History Commission warned leaders in its annual report.

The building, which dates to the 1880s, is among four properties the advisory panel sees as most imperiled, commission chair Gretchen Bulova told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Oct. 28).


News

A historic house in the Wolf Trap area that has previously served as a plantation home and an art studio could soon take on new life once again, thanks to the Fairfax County Park Authority’s Resident Curator Program.

An application submitted through the program this summer proposes to restore not only the vacant Lahey Lost Valley House at 9750 Brookmeadow Drive, but also the trails and parkland surrounding it.


News

A Fairfax County residential community built primarily for middle-class African American families in the 1960s and 1970s has been officially recognized by Virginia as a historic property.

William H. Randall Estates is one of 10 new inclusions on the Virginia Landmarks Register approved by members of the Virginia Board of Historic Resources at their Sept. 18 meeting.


News

As Northern Virginia continues to grapple with the limited supply and high cost of housing, a pair of 18th and 19th-century taverns that were later converted into homes could present an unique opportunity for some preservation-minded residents.

The Fairfax County Park Authority is currently looking for resident curators for the rehabilitation and long-term maintenance of the Dranesville Tavern and Fairfax Arms.


News

The American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association (AAFMAA) is no longer planning to transform its administrative offices in Reston into a new headquarters.

With its office needs declining, the member-owned nonprofit, which provides life insurance, mortgages and other financial services to members of the U.S. military community, has shifted its focus instead to housing, according to a rezoning application submitted to Fairfax County on June 24.


News

As a designated national historic place, Sully Historic Site’s backstory likely doesn’t qualify as obscure, but it may be incomplete, the Fairfax County Park Authority says.

The agency hopes to fill in some of those gaps with a new “Reimagining Sully” project expected to kick off this spring. The initiative will aim to tell “more complete and accurate and authentic stories” about the former plantation, according to FCPA Resource Management and Interpretation Division Director Laura Grape.


News

Fairfax County Public Schools has received the zoning changes necessary to build a future Dunn Loring Elementary School.

The unanimous vote yesterday (Tuesday) by the Board of Supervisors doesn’t mean a school will necessarily be built at the site of the current Dunn Loring Administrative Center, but a four-story building to serve nearly 1,000 students is now allowed, if the Fairfax County School Board ultimately opts to move forward.


Countywide

New Year’s Day will bring a number of new laws and regulations into effect across Virginia.

While legislation passed by the General Assembly and signed by the governor typically has an effective date of the start of the state government’s fiscal year on July 1, some measures are delayed until Jan. 1 each year.


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