Carlin Hall, Arlington, Virginia, E.H.T. Traceries, Inc., 1996

Arlington County is situated in Northern Virginia along the banks of the Potomac River. Its location, across the river from the Nation's Capital, has led the county to develop from a rural community that supported the ports of Alexandria and the District of Columbia to an integral part of the metropolitan area.

Arlington County's architectural history parallels the county's historic development with diverse architectural types and styles.

Although home to a number of vernacular 18th and 19th century houses, Arlington's 20th century boom made the county an excellent source of recent suburban construction with buildings ranging from the popular kit/mail-order houses to modern architect-designed buildings.

As part of several Virginia Department of Historic Resources grant projects from 1995-2003, EHT Traceries has completed numerous phases of a systematic, reconnaissance-level survey of Arlington County, recording and documenting 5,000 of the county's historic resources.

The 1999 and 2000 phases documented resources in the central portion of the county, along the Metro Corridor.

To provide accurate resource listings and a systemized analysis and evaluation of the surveyed properties, the information gathered from on-site, archival, and oral sources was entered into VDHR-Integrated Preservation Software (IPS) System and the DHR Data Sharing Software (DSS).

The survey data, when combined with archival research, has resulted in a final report that contains an illustrated narrative of the historic context of Arlington County, analysis of the surveyed properties within the context, and recommendations for further study and preservation planning.