Rosemont in the 1950s

  • The February 12, 1950 edition of the Post reported that Rosemont Homes, Inc. was to construct 38 row houses at East Rosemont Street and Mount Vernon Avenue, with a second project of 35 homes possibly to follow, with Banks & Lee as the general contractor. Homes without basements would be priced at $9,150 to $9,750; homes with basements would be priced at $9,900 to $10,500.
  • The March 21, 1950 edition of the Post reported that Sue Ellen Arbogast, 5, had won a “little sister” beauty contest sponsored by the Alexandria Boys’ Club, accompanied by her brother, Timothy Thomas, 11, and her parents Mr. and Mrs. William Arbogast of 205 Summers Drive
  • The September 17, 1950 edition of the Post reported that Banks & Lee, Tower Building was to construct 20 two-story houses on East Rosemont Avenue.
  • The November 27, 1950 edition of the Star reported a two-hour blackout in Rosemont after the failure of a cable at Commonwealth Avenue and Mason Street.
  • The November 30, 1950 edition of the Post reported that Martha Jane Pendell of 25 East Oak Street, a student at George Washington University, was a candidate to be a “princess” at the Presidential Cup football game between the University of Georgia and the Texas Aggies.
  • The February 9, 1951 edition of the Star, in reporting on a rail strike, interviewed Alexandria Station Agent S. D. Shelton, who was noted to live at 20 Rosemont Avenue.
  • The March 3, 1951 edition of the Post reported that Rosemont residents had complained about rumored plans to transfer some elementary students from Maury to the Jefferson elementary school in order to resolve congestion problems. A similar report appeared in the March 2, 1951 edition of the Star.
  • The March 14, 1951 edition of the Star reported that the City Council had rejected plans to build a pedestrian tunnel under the R., F. & P. railroad tracks, which had been proposed in connection with a proposal to transfer some Maury School students to the Jefferson School.
  • The July 12, 1951 edition of the Star reported that changes in school boundaries would move 44 students from the Maury zone to the Mount Vernon zone.
  • The August 16, 1951 edition of the Post reported that the city health officer, T.B. McGough, had found that some Rosemont residents were providing “free hotel and dining accommodations for rats” through the use of inadequate garbage cans and home incinerators. A similar report appeared in the August 22, 1951 edition of the Gazette, adding that Rosemont residents led by Jack Flowers objected to the City’s claims, and blamed the Health Department itself for inadequate efforts.
  • The February 27, 1952 edition of the Star reported that Charles Henry Mason of 4 West Walnut Street had been named chairman of the 1952 Cancer Crusade in Alexandria.
  • The May 26, 1952 edition of the Post reported on damage caused by a thunderstorm, including trees down at Russell Road and Cedar Street.
  • The June 12, 1952 edition of the Post reported that Rita K. Alexander and Feed W. Alexander of 8 West Oak Street were among those sworn in as U.S. citizens at a ceremony in Alexandria.
  • The August 14, 1952 edition of the Star reported that Alexandria’s new city manager, Ira F. Willard, had purchased a house at 304 West Myrtle Street.
  • The September 10, 1952 edition of the Star reported that the City had granted a use permit for a parking lot for 10 cars in Rosemont.
  • The December 19, 1952 edition of the Post reported on plans for new roads in Alexandria, including improvements of the King Street-Russell Road connection.
  • The July 26, 1953 edition of the Star reported that the new Alexandria Sanitation Authority was planning to construct an intercept sewer along Commonwealth Avenue that would pick up sewage that currently emptied into the Hooff’s Run sewer.
  • The July 29, 1953 edition of the Star reported that John F. Hunter of 14 West Oak Street (and a former member of Congress form Ohio) had been appointed as one of Alexandria’s two representatives on the Virginia National Capital Park Authority.
  • The August 23, 1953 edition of the Star reported that Mrs. W.E. Sherman of 103 East Maple Street had won a new car at the Kena Temple Shrine Circus held at George Washington High School.
  • The January 23, 1954 edition of the Post reported that Rucker Place was one of the streets in the area that had been closed off for sledding.
  • The January 31, 1954 edition of the Post reported that five Rosemont youngsters (Philip Leslie of 15 Russell Road, Larry Davis of 902 Junior Street, Tim Arbogast of 205 Summers Drive, Charlotte Wydra of Mount Vernon Avenue, and Billie Coonley of 908 Commonwealth Avenue), who had walked through a covered culvert at Commonwealth Avenue and Spring Street, watched rescue workers mistakenly search for them, after other youngsters did not see them come out.
  • The February 2, 1954 edition of the Gazette reported that residents of Myrtle Street were protesting tap fees for a newly installed sewer, which averaged $300 per household. The city position was that it was legally allowed to charge for construction work performed after a sewer constructed by a private developer became unusable
  • The March 12, 1954 edition of the Post include an ad which noted that the Rosemont Park Market at 2 East Walnut Street was now affiliated with District Grocery Stores. A similar ad appeared in the March 11, 1954 edition of the Star.
  • The April 3, 1954 edition of the Post reported that Linda Eunice Moore of 60 East Rosemont Avenue had donated her $1 birthday present to the campaign for Radio Free Europe, and had received a letter of thanks from the crusade’s leader, Henry Ford II.
  • The April 4, 1954 edition of the Star reported that Mrs. Charles F. Holden of 100 West Rosemont Avenue had been awarded highest honors for her “Doncklari” flower at the Takoma Horticultural Club’s camellia show. A subsequent article in the April 11, 1954 edition of the Star profiled her greenhouse and her and her husband’s interest in camellias.
  • The June 30, 1954 edition of the Star reported that Fred Pullman, Jr. of 114 East Rosemont Avenue was one of two interior decorators who almost suffocated while using a steam wallpaper removal device and had been taken to Arlington Hospital.
  • The September 1, 1954 edition of the Gazette reported that ten Gazette paperboys had been taken on a two-day trip to Atlantic City, including Kenneth Hart of 21 West Rosemont Avenue.
  • The September 15, 1954 edition of the Star reported that the City Council had voted to approve the closure of Johnson Place between Rucker Place and East Masonic View Avenue, to provide children safe passage between two playgrounds in the area.
  • The September 18, 1954 edition of the Star reported that at a meeting at the Maury School, the Coordinating Committee of the Alexandria PTA requested that the state PTA conduct a study of school integration problems.
  • The February 24, 1955 edition of the Star reported that Cullen Jones of 34 East Rosemont Avenue had announced his candidacy for the state senate.
  • The May 25, 1955 edition of the Post reported that the house at 2207 King Street had been indicted as a public nuisance, due to its dilapidated condition and its non-responsive out of state owner. The April 14, 1957 edition of the Star reported that the owner eventually was contacted, who had the house demolished.
  • The June 16, 1955 edition of the Post reported that a representative of the Rosemont Citizens Association opposed a City Council proposal to reduce trash collection from twice per week to once per week.
  • The June 16, 1955 edition of the Star reported that the Rosemont Citizens Association had endorsed the reappointment of two incumbents, Mr. Leonard Knight and Mrs. Dan Kerbel, to the School Board.
  • The October 8, 1955 edition of the Star profiled paperboy Jack Lee Flowers, Jr. of 31 East Rosemont Street.
  • The October 27, 1955 edition of the Post reported that the Alexandria League of Women Voters heard from four candidates for the General Assembly at an open meeting at the Maury School.
  • The February 12, 1956 edition of the Star reported that one of the gardens open to the public for Alexandria’s Historic Garden Week was that at “Eastern View,” 2525 King Street.
  • The February 20, 1956 edition of the Post included an advertisement for its classified ads in which Ruth E. Shreve of 5 West Oak Street recounted that she rented both rooms she advertised the first day her ad appeared.
  • The March 11, 1956 edition of the Star reported that Darlene Moore of 60 East Rosemont Avenue had been crowned Miss Northern Virginia at the Alexandria Junior Chamber of Commerce trade show at the Alexandria Roller Skating Arena.
  • The July 3, 1956 edition of the Star reported that Alexandria representatives at the Virginia Girls State program would include Vida Kenk of 810 Ramsey Street and Barbara Ann Swartzman of 16 West Chapman Street.
  • The August 21, 1956 edition of the Post reported that Jay Jennings of 29 East Linden Street had been named “Outstanding All-Season Camper” at the YMCA’s Camp Letts.
  • The October 10, 1956 edition of the Post reported that more than 1200 residents of Rosemont had petitioned the City Council to cover the residential section of Hooff’s Run.
  • The October 10, 1956 edition of the Star reported that the AB&W Bus Company had distributed safety posters to all schools in Alexandria, and included a photo of a poster being tacked up by Sally Fitzpatrick of 71 Commonwealth Avenue, a third-grader at the Maury School.
  • The March 3, 1957 edition of the Star reported that the Camellia Society of the Potomac Valley would hold an amateur flower show, and noted that the Chair of its Placement Committee was Charles Holden of 100 West Rosemont Avenue.
  • The March 4, 1957 edition of the Star reported that a federal grand jury led by Herbert W. O’Meara of 12 West Walnut Street was hearing claims that an inter-company agreement was behind a recent increase in oil prices.
  • The November 26, 1957 edition of the Star reported that the Rosemont Citizens Association spoke in favor of the adoption of the City’s first minimum housing code, which would apply both to owner- and tenant-occupied homes.
  • The November 27, 1957 edition of the Post reported that Gay Cameron of 427 Summers Drive would be crowned Football Queen at the annual game between George Washington High School and Washington High School.
  • The December 20, 1957 edition of the Star reported that one of the candidates for a vacant city council seat was Daniel Macklin of Rosemont.
  • The December 21, 1957 edition of the Post reported the death of John F. Hunter, a member of Congress from Ohio in the late 1930s and early 1940s who subsequently lived at 14 West Oak Street.
  • The March 12, 1958 edition of the Star reported that Mrs. Charles Holden of 100 West Rosemont Avenue had received awards for the best horticultural exhibit of the day and of the week at the National Capital Flower and Garden Show.
  • The October 31, 1958 edition of the Star reported the death of Frank L. Slaymaker, who had been instrumental in Rosemont’s early development but joined the Army in 1917 and did not reside in the area again until late in life. A similar report appeared in the October 31, 1958 edition of the Post.
  • The March 1, 1959 edition of the Star listed Charles F. Holden of 100 West Rosemont Avenue as being one of the members of the Camellia Society of the Potomac Valley that had under-glass greenhouse facilities.
  • The April 1, 1959 edition of the Star reported that City Treasurer Roger Sullivan of 203 West Rosemont Avenue had been honored for 50 years of service to the City.
  • The April 12, 1959 edition of the Star reported that a tour of gardens of Virginia would include 100 West Rosemont Avenue.
  • The April 28, 1959 edition of the Star reported that Norman Schrott of 6-A East Myrtle Street had been elected president of the Alexandria Junior Chamber of Commerce.
  • The July 14, 1959 edition of the Post reported that Burger Chef had opened its first drive-in in the region at 706 Mount Vernon Avenue and was serving about 2,000 hamburgers per day.A similar reported appeared in the July 12, 1959 edition of the Star.
  • The August 22, 1959 edition of the Daily News reported that the cannon at the intersection of Braddock Road and Russell Road “has become the target of pranksters who festoon and paint it. Yesterday the cannon was painted pink and white, decorated with balloons, and had inane signs hung on it.”
  • The October 22, 1959 edition of the Post reported that Rosemont residents had opposed a traffic study that would have routed northbound traffic from Duke Street onto Callahan Drive instead of Route 1, because it would route heavy traffic through the neighborhood. A similar report appeared in the October 22, 1959 edition of the Star.

 

Greenhouse at 100 West Rosemont Avenue, 1954 (Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Holden were well known at this time as camellia gardeners):

Greenhouse at 100 West Rosemont Avenue, 1954

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