At 1000 N. Glebe Road, pieces of the original “Blue Goose” building were salvaged to create markers with information about Arlington to surround the new building. One of these incredibly interesting markers gives a brief history of the Ballston Metro station and how it came to be:

This marker reads:

Ballston Metro

“The expansion of the Federal government and the increase of the population in the mid-20th century led to the dramatic changes to the region. After the closure of the trolley lines in Arlington County, buses were the primary means of public transportation.

In the mid-1960s, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) originally proposed a rapid rail system that had two lines in Arlington County, one line following I-66 to Fairfax and another line servicing the Pentagon, National Airport, and Crystal City. Arlington County officials, however, successfully lobbied for the proposed I-66 line to follow Wilson Boulevard and Fairfax Drive instead (the former route of the WA&FC trolley line) to stimulate development along the aging corridors.

The Ballston Metro Station, located four blocks from here on Fairfax Drive, opened in 1979 and transformed the community from small shops and businesses to a thriving urban village.”

It’s always interesting to learn the history behind our community and the new Marymount campus found and interesting way of incorporating this into the overall design.