Greetings

to the citizens of Falls Church
                        in the year 2076
                                           from
the Falls Church Village
Preservation and
Improvement Society

You may gain some insight into the concerns and aspirations of our period of local history by letting us mention a few of the activities of the very active civic organization, The Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society, known more simply as "The Village Society." Its progenitor in 1885 was an earlier Village Society which raised private funds to build the first sidewalks, to provide street lights and to engage in other useful activities over several generations.

The purpose of our contemporary organization, re-established in 1965, and broadened both in name and scope is as follows:

1) To preserve the historic and predominantly single-family residential character of the City of Falls Church; 2) To preserve the historic structures of the city. 3) To promote community appreciation of the historic significance of Fall Church which was settled in 1699; to encourage construction and renovation of residences and commercial buildings in architectural harmony with its history, in order to give Falls Church a unique and distinctive style. 4) To encourage planned and continuous beautification of the community in all its areas through appropriate planting, preservation, and maintenance of trees, shrubbery and flowers. 5) To promote the development of aesthetic values and cultural activities which will contribute to making Falls Church an interesting, unique, and stimulating community in which to live. 6) To work with governmental bodies and community groups to encourage them in measures conducive the fulfillment of the above purposes.

The first major undertaking of the new Village Society- indeed the occasion of its formation at Pat and Roger Wollenberg's home, was a crisis in the area of preservation. It was suddenly revealed to the public that a street was proposed which would cut through the historic Lawton-Shepard house property. Over six hundred signatures were assembled and presented in a petition to the Planning Commission and City Council. In the same year it became necessary to organize citizen opposition to an increase in the allowable height of buildings from seven to ten stories. It was-and still is-the belief of the Village Society that high-rise construction in a community as small as two square miles and situated at the crossroads of two major highways would in due course inevitably engulf Falls Church as a viable community. In both these endeavors the Village Society was successful. Today the Lawton-Shepard House property is blessed-through the public spirit of its present owners, Louise and Ernest Shepard-with a legal covenant that should protect it ad infinitum. And today the seven-story height limit holds, sustained by public opinion and vigilance.

In the several years following 1965 much time was invested in studying the pros and cons of an annexation suit brought by Falls Church. If won, the suit would have changed the western boundaries to include our elementary and high schools-a desirable measure-but at the same time would have brought in acreage previously zoned by Fairfax County for intensive high rise development. The Village Society publicly supported the former aspect and expressed apprehension over the ultimate effects of the latter. The issue was resolved by court denial of the annexation suit.

Soon thereafter the Village Society embarked on a project known as an annual AWARDS CEREMONY, co-sponsored by the City Council and carried forward over a five-year period. Each year a bronze plaque was presented to winners of "the award for excellence" in design of buildings or landscaping. Nominations were made by the public, and jurors were drawn from the American Institute of Architects and the American Society of Landscape Architects. Presentation of the awards was made by distinguished persons from various walks of life: Mrs. John C. Connor, wife of the United States Secretary of Commerce and Special Representative of Lady Bird Johnson, wife of the then president of the United States; the Honorable Stewart L. Udall, Secretary of the Interior; the Honorable William O. Douglas, Associate Justice of the United States; Mr. John H. Kauffman, President of the Evening Star Newspaper; and the Honorable Andrew P. Miller, Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Upon completion of the five-year awards Program, The Village Society received a citation from the National Capital Area Federation of Garden Clubs "for the Society's devotion to improvement of community life and the example set for others."

Along the way the Village Society took note of the fact that its progenitor organization had been the first in the Commonwealth of Virginia to observe Arbor Day. It was considered particularly appropriate, therefore, that it revive the custom of an annual tree planting ceremony on public grounds, with participation by the young people of our elementary schools. We continue the project.

Because Falls Church at an earlier time had been known as "a community of beautiful trees," we feel responsibility for supporting public funds for municipal tree planting in the hope that some of that arboreal beauty that was destroyed by street widening can be gradually restored. In addition, the Village Society itself has engaged in planting memorial trees for deceased members. Recently it has donated substantial monies to embellishing the Falls Church section of a regional bike trail. And it is currently supporting enactment of a strong tree ordinance to protect valuable trees and provide for an arborist or landscape specialist to design public plantings and in particular provide supervision for adequate maintenance. We have also provide identification markers for numerous varieties of trees on the "Cherry Hill" grounds, and have initiated a tree recognition project along lines somewhat similar to our "Awards for Excellence" program.

Funds for the Village Society's good works are garnered from two sources: 1) dues of one dollar per year, with additional contributions from the membership and others; and 2) as the major source, an annual event known as "Attic Treasures Sale," held for a number of years.

Each year an evaluation is made by the Board of Directors to determine the community's most pressing needs in line wit the Society's purposes. For example, at an early point contribution was made to the legal fund of another organization engaged in opposing construction of a high density development, possible at that time under a so-called Planned Unit Development ordinance. In another area, The Village Society in 1976 became the first patron of Historic Falls Church, Inc. by a contribution of one thousand dollars towards preserving "The Birch House" and other threatened properties of historic value.

We monitor City Council and Planning Commission meetings in order to follow matters of concern to the Village Society. We have also taken the position that publication of relevant material is an integral educational part of furthering our goals. A handsome brochure recording the Awards for Excellence in Design project became our first publication. Others have followed, including an attractive little folder offering a guide to points of local interest and bearing the title, "Falls Church, the Evolution of a Virginia Village"; a color post-card reproducing a water-color by Carolyn Gararecki of the publicly owned and historic "Cherry Hill" farmhouse; and notepaper showing a drawing by Mel Bolster of the same farmhouse. Most recently we launched a successful money-raising project, the "Cherry Hill Cookery," a cookbook destined to become a collector's item.

The Village Society from its inception has placed stress on distinctive appearance as a clue to the true character of Falls Church. Therefore, we have supported new public programs that furthered this aspect of the community. Where a new public project has lacked funding, we have attempted to step into the breach to the extent that our means permitted. As an example, money was provided by the Society for a needed fire alarm system for the old barn on the historic "Cherry Hill" farm. The distinctiveness of this museum-farm in the heart of the city derives from the fact that it is one of the few of its kind in the county, thereby deserving protection.

Again, appropriate signs for the four major entrances to the city were long urged by the Society. A recent choice was necessary: either to erect signs of mediocre design or to go for more expensive ones which would be not only attractive but truly distinctive. The Village Society came forward with supplementary funds that enabled the city to opt for the latter. Today citizens can feel pride and passersby can take note.

In another area, we have currently obligated ourselves to one thousand dollars in seed-money, available at the appropriate time, to assist in launching a project to provide a George Mason Memorial in Falls Church. This community has special associations with that great Founding Father who gave us all our Bill of Rights. By the time you in 2076 read this, we trust the Memorial will have long been in place!

We of The Village Society, joined by many others, have tried to be good custodians of a lovely, small community lying only seven miles from the nation's capital; one which has engaged the interest and affection of so many of the twelve thousand people living in it today. The pressures of reckless development have been strong; so far in Falls Church the worst has been avoided. We make progress slowly. But we are encouraged that new forces are coming into being, reminding us that more is not always better; forces that are aware of the over-riding importance of good environment which places priority on livability.

We want to share with you a comment on the Late Greek architect and planner, Constantinos Doxiadis, highly regarded in our generation, who in his later years after settling people all over the world "in lonely skyscrapers surrounded by parks" has written what he called his "confessions of a criminal." He said that the gravest of his "crimes" was the construction of high-rise buildings which spoil the scale of the landscape and isolate people who live in them. The other "crimes" were "the design of unduly monumental buildings, the loss of human scale, and the disruption of the balance of nature." Falls Church is a pearl of great price, worthy of each generation's preservation. The Village Society welcomes as members all who share its purposes.

The Falls Church Village Preservation
and Improvement Society
Falls Church, Virginia