Cherrydale Library

The story of the Cherrydale Library is a collection of firsts: it began as the first community-driven library in Arlington; the current Cherrydale Library was the first purpose-built branch library building in Northern Virginia; and it had the first community group dedicated to supporting a library, which started in 1937. That tradition of community involvement continues to operate as Citizens for Cherrydale Library today. [Embree] Though it is a county government facility, the Cherrydale Library is embedded and intertwined with the Langston Boulevard community. It has become part of the cultural heritage of our corridor.

HISTORY

The Cherrydale League of Women Voters and the Patrons League (predecessor to the PTA) formed the Cherrydale Library in 1922. They organized the original collection of books and held fundraisers to expand the collection. The library was first housed in the Cherrydale Schoolhouse, which was located on North Nelson Street, where the Cherrydale Health and Rehabilitation Center sits today. Starting in the 1930s, the library was moved to several locations on and around Langston Boulevard, including a couple of years (1941-1942) on the second floor of the Cherrydale Fire Station. [Arlington] During this era, in 1936, the Arlington County Board formed the Department of Libraries for the entire county. This brought the five existing civic-led community branch libraries—Cherrydale, Arlington Community, Aurora Hills, Clarendon, and Glencarlyn—under the administration of a newly formed county department run by the County Librarian. [Arlington]

The Cherrydale Library at 4006 Langston Boulevard (then Lee Highway), showing Mrs. Jane Nida one of the first directors of Arlington County Libraries) at the center with her husband and four unidentified women. (Photo courtesy of Arlington Public Library).

Interior of the old Cherrydale Library at 4006 Langston Boulevard (Photo courtesy of Arlington Public Library).

From 1946 to 1961, the Cherrydale Library found a permanent home in a small bungalow at 4006 Langston Boulevard, where Brown’s Honda dealership sits today. During this time, support along the corridor grew for constructing a new purpose-built branch library building. In 1957, the Northeast Library Committee was formed to make that dream a reality. It was composed of representatives from eight local civic associations: Bellevue Forest, Cherrydale, Donaldson Run, Gulf Branch, Lyon Village, North Highlands, Northwest, and Parkway. Through their work, the group pressured the County Board to commission a new library building for the Cherrydale community. [Arlington]

Groundbreaking Ceremony for the “new” Cherrydale Library in 1960, showing how the hill was excavated to build the multilevel library (Photo courtesy of Arlington Public Library).

THE “NEW” LIBRARY

The groundbreaking for the new (current) Cherrydale Library took place on Sept 4, 1960, at the designated hillside lot on Military Road. The firm Bailey & Gardner was selected for the design of the building, with J. Russell Bailey serving as lead architect. Bailey & Gardner made a name for themselves, designing libraries throughout the Eastern US. Along with the Cherrydale Library, they designed around 185 libraries, including at Yale University and the University of Maryland, and four other branch libraries in Arlington. [Embree]

Pictures taken during the construction of the Cherrydale Library, showing it being built into the lot's slope (Photos courtesy of Arlington County Library).

The selected lot for the library presented some unique challenges for the building contractor, Earl K. Rosti Company, most notably its steep slope. Referring to Arlington County’s description of Cherrydale Library in the Historic and Cultural Resource Report, Bailey and his associate Judson Gardner designed the building to have multiple levels to fit into the slope and used the natural features of the lot to influence the aesthetics of the building, featuring cut stone and wood as the building materials. The library was also built within a residential community and was scaled accordingly. The architects and builders kept much of the natural terrain in place, including as many existing trees as possible, to help the building blend into the lot. [Arlington]

Grand opening of the “new” Cherrydale Library, 1961 (Photo courtesy of Arlington Public Library).

The current Cherrydale Library officially opened its doors on August 14, 1961, the first purpose-built library project in Arlington’s history. The building is remarkably designed and constructed, making the most of the hillside lot. The Arlington County Historic and Cultural Resource Report describes it as a “jewel of Mid-Century Modern architecture. [Arlington] The interior was equally notable. Bailey himself described it as “a natural complement to its exterior features; including an airy split-level floor plan, abundant natural light from ample windows, redwood ceiling trusses, and sleek walnut shelving.” [Embree] The design and construction were also celebrated by professional peers at the time, with the Northern Virginia Builders' Association awarding the Rosti company its annual "best institutional project" award for the library in 1962. [Embree]

Photo exhibit at the Cherrydale Library (Photo courtesy of Greg Embree)

THE LIBRARY TODAY

Today, the Cherrydale Library is the oldest remaining branch library in Arlington County. [Embree] It has the largest service area of any branch library in Arlington, enriching the communities along Langston Boulevard all the way down to Chain Bridge. It is as much a community center as it is a library, providing children’s programs, curated photo exhibits, author talks, and book-opening receptions. It also hosts the popular edible book contest, where contestants create something edible that relates to a book. [LBA] The library includes an upstairs meeting space that is often used for kids’ programs, and the main floor can be turned into an auditorium for community events due to the portable wheeled shelving that was part of the design. These events and capabilities are not replaceable in our community by a centralized library system. According to Citizens for Cherrydale Library President Michael Gessel, the Cherrydale Library is “much more kid-friendly than the Central Library…It is a different kind of institution; it provides a different kind of service. It’s very people-friendly and kid-friendly.” [LBA] Cherrydale resident and Friends of the Arlington Public Library Board Member Barbara Adde remembers taking her daughter to the library since she was a little girl and reiterates that the library is about community, stating “there is so much history here and its a part of the community…its part of who we are as Cherrydale.” [LBA]

An author talk upstairs at the Cherrydale Library (Photo courtesy of Greg Embree)

Despite the library’s rich history, remarkable design, and considerable community value, the County Board considered closing it in 1977, 1992, and 1998. More recently, in 2009, the County proposed opening the library for just three days a week instead of six. [Embree] Community engagement has opposed and thwarted these efforts each time. Since its beginning, the Cherrydale Library has always reflected the civic engagement of our communities. It is currently supported by two civic groups, the Friends of Arlington Public Library and the more community-focused Citizens for Cherrydale Library. The latter of the two have been directly involved in organizing our communities to support activities at the library while actively opposing county plans to close it. They continue to actively work with the library and the community to ensure that the Cherrydale Library remains part of the cultural heritage of the Langston Boulevard corridor for years to come. LBA considers community-focused buildings like the Cherrydale Library an important part of a more equitable, walkable, community-focused corridor as envisioned through Plan Langston Boulevard.

VIEW HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY: CHERRYDALE LIBRARY (LIBRARY OF CONGRESS): https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/va2131/ 

READ HISTORY OF ARLINGTON LIBRARIES (ARLINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY): https://library.arlingtonva.us/2020/08/06/the-early-history-of-arlingtons-libraries/