Arlington Historical Museum

On June 24th, a Saturday, I was given a day off. As a Part Timer getting a day off on a weekend was something that happened, maybe, once a month. I was very pleased because it meant I could go see the Arlington History Museum. Now its hours were from 1 PM to 4 PM on Saturday and Sunday. So I planned to see others thing during the early hours and have lunch at noon at Pentagon City. In fact I visited the nearby park, library, and the DEA Museum. Then, after lunch, tried to walk to the Hume School I tried to use my phone to map out a pathway to the museum and it kind of worked right up to when the Google Map stopped working. I guess there are Wi-Fi blind spots? So I ended up taking a long way around, following streets, till I got to the museum about 15 minutes before opening. I didn’t know about the stairs until later. I took some photos - the area is very nice and I love the tiny library. And then found some shade. When the staff showed she went right to the gate of the building and….have problems with the lock. It didn’t wish to work. I waited 29 minutes on a bench while she, and a co-worker who showed up later, called everybody they knew to try to solve the issue. IT wasn’t they were using the wrong code. It was the lock - one of the buttons didn’t wish to work. So after being told it might take another 29 minutes I decided to come back another time. I was told that next time I should call ahead and make sure the museum is open. Well, at least the stairs made the return to the metro easier. But now I have a problem. I don’t know when my next free weekend will be. Also it takes about an hour and a half to go from my condo to the museum. At best. So next time do I call them and then get to the museum with barely enough time to enjoy? I know it does not take long to go through but I am a reader. Or next time just show up around 1 PM and hope the same thing does not happen? The staff was nice but I still have to give a two out of five. Also the hidden stairway that goes up and down the hill starts at the west end of 16th street. For those of you who don’t wish to hike all over like I did. The street starts near the Virginia Highlands Park which is a good center of operations if visiting the area. Update - On the 2nd of September I was able to visit again. It was open early and there was two gentlemen, one elderly one and one young one, both who knew a lot of the history. And I even got to ring the school bell. And, yes, I found two pricy books I could not live without. So I had to give it five stars. As you see I also had to add to the photos.

David gave the best tour. If you're lucky you get to ring the school bell! As a DC native I will attest to learning something new today.

The Arlington Historical Society has done a wonderful job with this museum, the volunteers really make the visit special!Visited onWeekendWait timeNo waitReservation recommendedNoPrice for adult entryFree

Former Volunteer. I helped out a small group to sort out artefacts in 2019. I don’t know how the society is surviving through the pandemic because when I was there helping at the most 2 people from the General public came to see it. Its a nice small museum but I’m a native born Arlingtonian and I didn’t know it existed until 2019 and that’s sad since every Arlingtonian should know where there history is located but its also pathetic that the museum is only open weekends for 3 hours that is just sad. The society needs to do a better job of advertising where they are located so more people will know where it is

An absolute gem huddled among the mansions of Arlington Ridge, the Arlington Historical Museum offers artifacts and information you might not find at some of the larger museums in the D.C. area. To see video go to my YouTube channel Subrina W my world

This is a fantastic small, local museum with some amazing artifacts and incredible local volunteers who are eager to help visitors maximize their time. My favorite piece is the former roof spire of the 19th? century jail. If you look closely you can see the long ago holes likely made by a shotgun fired from the ground. You can tell this by looking at the entry and exit holes. Only a few pellets went all the way through the spire! I wonder if anyone knows that story?? Check the place out!

Nice place to learn about Arlington's historyVisited onWeekendWait timeNo waitReservation recommendedNoPrice for adult entryFree

Very small but very interesting. The gentleman who run it are very knowledgeable and fun to talk to.Visited onWeekendWait timeNo waitReservation recommendedYesPrice for adult entry$1–5

This old school is very cool to see it is almost all original and very cool to see like nothing has been tuched. They can show you cool old toys and many tell you many things the kids learned. It is very cool to see.

It's about what you'd expect from a community museum. A few interesting artifacts and stories but not terribly impressive either. Only really need about a half hour to see it all