Cherrydale Library has always reflected the civic engagement of its neighborhood. It was formed in 1922 by the Cherrydale League of Women Voters and the Patrons League (the old name for the Parent-Teachers' Association), making it the oldest community-initiated Library in Arlington County. Many of the founders or their spouses were members of the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department, which held several fund-raising events to establish and later enlarge the original 1922 book collection. Until 1938, the library occupied a room in the old Cherrydale Schoolhouse, site of today's Cherrydale Health and Rehabilitation Center on N. Nelson Street. In 1938 Cherrydale Library moved to a little building at 3828 Lee Highway, site of The Bromptons today.

From January 1941 until October 1942, the library was located in a corner of the room above the Cherrydale Fire House. It then moved to 4010 Lee Highway, where Essy's Carriage House now stands. The library was here only until 1946.

During 1946-61, Cherrydale Library occupied the former Cherrydale Children's Clinic at 4006 Lee Highway, which, if it were still standing, would sit to the east of N. Quincy Street, on the site of today's Brown's Honda dealership. The building was demolished in 1961.

The campaign to build a new library building began in 1957, when eight north Arlington PTA's and eight local civic associations formed a Northeast Library Committee. These civic associations were Bellevue Forest, Cherrydale (which then included Maywood), Donaldson Run, Gulf Branch, Lyon Village, North Highlands, Northwest, and Parkway. Led by Harvey Lampshire, president of the Cherrydale Citizens Association, the committee's representatives -- between 1957 and the groundbreaking for the current Cherrydale Library building on September 4, 1960 -- made over 50 presentations before the County Board to press for a new library building.

The architect chosen for the new building was J. Russell Bailey of Orange, Virginia, a specialist in library design. Bailey identified his chief challenges as building into a steeply sloped wooded site and maintaining the residential scale of the surrounding neighborhood. He and his associate Judson Gardner strove to save all the trees they could and to leave as much natural terrain as possible. Their enduringly attractive design has been remarkably energy efficient, making Cherrydale Library one of the "greenest" buildings in the Arlington government inventory to this day. The Bailey and Gardner firm ultimately designed some 185 libraries throughout the eastern United States, including those of Yale University, the University of Maryland, the University of Virginia, the original Arlington Central Library (1961-90) on Quincy Street, the original Westover Library, the original Shirlington Library, and Glencarlyn Library.

The building contractor for the new Cherrydale Library building was the Earl K. Rosti Company. The chief construction challenge was the carefully engineered retaining wall that forms the rear wall of the library. It has endured for 50 years. On January 13, 1962, the Northern Virginia Builders' Association gave the Rosti company its annual "best institutional project" award.

When the new building for Cherrydale Library opened at its current location on August 14, 1961, it became the first purpose-built branch library in Northern Virginia (Arlington and Fairfax counties and the cities of Falls Church and Alexandria). Today it remains the oldest existing library in Arlington County. Throughout its existence, few Arlington government institutions have provided more hours of pleasure to more North Arlington families for less taxpayer money than Cherrydale Library.

Greg Embree and Kathryn Holt Springston
May 2011

Sources:

• Adcock, Hazel Ward, "Library Walk Is Beautiful," Northern Virginia Sun, July 24, 1961.

• "Another First for Arlington," Washington Post, September 5, 1960, p. B9.

• "Another Winner in Northern Virginia," Washington Post, February 24, 1962, p. B4.

• "Awards Go To Northern Va. Builders," Washington Post, January 14, 1962, p. B11.

• Bailey, J. Russell and J. Morgan Gardner, "Cherrydale Branch Library in Arlington," Virginia Record, May 1964, pp. 14-15.

• Gardner, Judson M., telephone conversation with Greg Embree, July 2010.

• Holt, Kathryn, Cherries, Characters, and Characteristics: A History of Cherrydale (Sterling, Virginia: Sterling Press, 1986).

• O'Neill, Jeff, "Ceremony Signals Start on Cherrydale Library," Washington Post, September 5, 1960.

• Rose, Jeanne, "A Brief History of the Arlington County Libraries," Arlington Historical Society pamphlet, AHS-1,4 28-38, October 1960.

The County Government contemplated closing Cherrydale Library in 1977, 1992, and 1998, but each time the Board reconsidered after citizens registered their opposition. In 1992, the County Board removed the proposal from consideration at the February public budget hearing. In 1998, the proposal remained under consideration throughout the budget process.

During the election campaign for the County Board in the fall of 1998, the citizen volunteers who organized the defense of the library formed themselves into Citizens for Cherrydale Library (CCL) and asked each candidate for his or her views about library funding, neighborhood LIBRARies, and Cherrydale Library in particular. CCL conducted identical pre-election queries in later years. Click on the year to read each candidate's answers in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, February 2003, October 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 .

In 2009, the county government sought to reduce Cherrydale Library's operation to three days per week. The proposal remained under consideration throughout the budget process. At its final public meeting on the FY2010 Budget, the County Board decided to reduce Cherrydale Library's weekly schedule by eight hours.

Since 2009, CCL has discontinued its written preelection queries of County Board candidates and instead has sought to note their positions on Cherrydale Library as reflected in their public remarks.

In the budget for Fiscal Year 2011 that Arlington County adopted on April 24, 2010, Cherrydale Library was closed on Tuesdays but regained its pre-2010 schedule on Thursdays and Fridays. This new schedule began on July 1, 2010. In the FY2011 budget, every branch library except Cherrydale and Glencarlyn absorbed a cut of eight hours per week in its operation. Because Cherrydale and Glencarlyn LIBRARies had already suffered an eight-hour loss in last year's budget cycle, they were exempt from additional cuts in FY2011. The Citizens for Cherrydale Library regretted the necessity of these cuts but endorsed the fairness of how they were apportioned in a letter to each member of the County Board and in remarks by CCL President Michael Gessel at the Public Budget Hearing on March 23, 2010.

During the budget process for FY2012, CCL President Gessel spoke at the public budget hearing on March 22, 2011. Click here to read his remarks. The budget that was ultimately adopted gave Cherrydale Library three more hours per week. On April 23, 2011, the LIBRARies Department announced that Cherrydale Library would get these three hours added to its Thursday schedule, allowing it to stay open until 9 pm on Thursday evenings.

Pictures of the National Rally for Libraries, June 29, 2010 Library advocates from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. met on June 29, 2010 on the U.S. Capitol grounds. Representatives of Citizens for Cherrydale Library were there! Click here to see a few photos of the event.

Cherrydale Library Celebrates Its 50th Year on Military Road! Read the Letter of Commendation that was presented during the anniversary celebration to Cherrydale Library by Elenor Hodges, Executive Director of Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment. Read Rep. James Moran's speech on the importance of libraries to vibrant neighborhoods and a healthy democracy. See what Charlie Clark of the Falls Church News-Press wrote about the celebration on July 12, 2011. Here's the write-up by Michael McMorrow in the Arlington Connection, July 13-19, 2011. The story spreads! The Orange County Review noted our celebration in an article published on September 15, 2011.

50th-Anniversary Tee Shirt Installed Over Library Entrance in 2011 Look for it above the front exit of the library, next to the clock. If you'd like to own a piece of community history, here's your chance. These tee shirts are available in Small, Medium, Large, and Extra Large, for the low price of $15. You can also buy a cap for $10 to complete the ensemble. Contact us at suza1@comcast.net to order yours today. Free delivery to anyone in the 22201, 22203, or 22207 zip code areas. All proceeds go to Citizens for Cherrydale Library.

County Board Candidates Support Libraries in January 2012 Debate At the candidates' debate at the Old Cherrydale Firehouse on Wednesday evening, January 18, 2012, six County Board candidates addressed the issue of funding for Arlington County's public libraries. Green Party candidate Audrey Clement specified in her opening and closing remarks that she believed all public libraries in Arlington should be kept open seven days a week and fully funded. During the Q & A, she and Democratic Party Candidate Libby Garvey identified public Libraries as core functions of local government whose funding and maintenance should take precedence over new public projects. Democratic Party Candidate Peter Fallon and Democratic Candidate Terron Sims each stressed that the County Board should not try to balance a billion-dollar budget by nickel and diming public libraries. Melissa Bondi said Arlington's Libraries--which she strongly supported--need to be maintained and improved; she specifically advocated an overall capital improvement of Cherrydale Library. Democratic Party Candidate Kim Klingler recounted that the first library she used after moving to Arlington was the Cherrydale Branch. To pay for the weeklong operation of Arlington's libraries, Audrey Clement would cut funding from such projects as the proposed Columbia Pike streetcar line and the Artisphere. The remaining candidates shared the view that adequate funding for libraries could be gained by better overall strategic planning and greater efficiencies in County management.

Exemplary Photo Exhibit "The Wired Photography of Ron Cogswell" was on exhibit at Cherrydale Library from January 3 to April 3, 2012. Click here to see photos taken during the spectacular opening reception for the public on the library's balcony on January 5. On February 24, Ron spoke about his exhibit to photography students from neighboring H-B Woodlawn School. Here's a photo. "Cathedral of Flight - Terminal C, National Airport"

Cherrydale Library Gets Its Tuesday Hours Back! Note: This text box ran on the home page of this site from April 29 to May 17, 2012. According to the proposed FY 2013 budget recently adopted by the County Board, Cherrydale Library--starting on July 1--will again be open on Tuesdays. The published schedule indicates the library will be in operation Monday through Saturday, with evening hours Monday through Thursday. You owe this victory all to yourselves. This restoration stems from your letters, e-mails, and phone calls to the County Board; from your having signed the on-line petition; from your attendance at successive public budget hearings; and, for several of you, from your speeches at the public budget hearing in March 2009. Congratulations! You won! A quick message from you to the County Board thanking them for adopting the Libraries Department's proposed budget would help bolster Cherrydale Library's cause even further. Here's their contact info: Arlington County Board 2100 Clarendon Blvd. Suite 300 Arlington, VA 22201 TEL 703-228-3130 FAX 703-228-7430 countyboard@arlingtonva.us

"Taste of Cherrydale" a Huge Success It started at Cherrydale Library on Saturday, May 26, 2012, and drew over 200 participants. For photos of the fun, click on Taste of Cherrydale. Participants received a nice book bag with the "Friends of the Library" logo and were entered into the drawing for a grand prize from Lebanese Taverna, a fifty-dollar gift certificate.

"Eternal Washington" Photo Exhibit, April 3-July 3, 2012 "Eternal Washington: Black and White Photographs by Greg Embree" was on exhibit at Cherrydale Library from April 3 through July 3. More photos by Greg appear in his book, Eternal Washington, available at Blurb.com. Grant Memorial, June 18, 2008 The opening reception on April 12 on the Library's balcony was a lot of fun.

The Edible Book Contest on Saturday, December 1, 2012, Was an Incredible Success and Lots of Fun! See the photos of the contest winners and the creative entries from all age groups.

Cherrydale Library Commemorated on Lee Highway Art Panels, February 18, 2013 These historic art panels, located on the median strip of Lee Highway at Monroe Street, were created by local artist Jarrett Ferrier, whose design was selected by neighborhood voters after a lengthy competition organized by Maureen Ross, president of the Cherrydale Citizens Association. The panels depict the past and celebrate the present of the Cherrydale and Maywood neighborhoods. To view more photos of the art panels, click here. To see additional information about Cherrydale Branch Library that supplements what's on the art panel sign, click here. To learn more about Harvey Lampshire, the gentleman depicted on the Cherrydale Branch Library panel, click here.

2013 Reading and Running Program at Cherrydale Library Cherrydale Library and DC Road Runners partnered in the spring of 2013 to offer the second annual "Reading and Running" program. It was geared for virtually any healthy adult looking to slowly build from walking to running a 5K race in just nine weeks! The goal was participation in the DC Road Runners 2013 Bluemont 5K, which took place July 17. Taking part in "Reading and Running" cost nothing and included: Starting on May 14, group run/walks on Tuesday & Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. from Cherrydale Library. Complete training plan and training tips from RRCA-certified coaches. Seminars and discussions on nutrition and physical activity. Inspirational reading list & book discussion. Families were welcome! Motivation and camaraderie only found in a training group!

Candidates for County Board Affirm Support for Branch Libraries, February 19, 2014 Before and after the candidates' debate at the original Cherrydale firehouse on Wednesday, February 19, 2014, several officers of Citizens for Cherrydale Library spoke with candidates Alan Howze (D) and John Vihstadt (I), each of whom expressed his support for Arlington's system of branch libraries. Each lives near Westover Library, which they say they and their families use regularly.

The Second Edible Book Contest on Saturday, March 1, 2014, Was Another Day of Family Fun! See the photos of the contest winners and other pictures of the event.