Arlington Farms
Wartime government housing, nicknamed "Girl Town"
Alex Q. Arbuckle
1943
Years before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States government began planning for its entry into World War II, and the subsequent influx of new government workers into Washington, D.C. In 1943, 7,000 units of temporary housing for wartime workers were opened at Arlington Farms, just over the Potomac River from the center of government. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt presided over the dedication of the facilities on Oct. 15, 1943.The 28 acres of buildings on the campus held 10 dormitories, each named after a U.S. state. Four of the dorms were reserved for female military personnel, mostly Naval Reserve WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services), while the other six housed select government employees. The single and double rooms were small but comfortable, with simple furniture and weekly maid service. The spartan construction of the buildings was livened by bright decorations applied by artists from the Works Projects Administration. The housing complex became somewhat famous, earning the nickname “Girl Town,” and attracting sailors and soldiers from nearby bases looking for dates. A patronizing Reader’s Digest article from November 1944 described its residents not as the driven and invaluable professionals they were, but as small-town girls in “a daze of excitement.”With the victory of the Allies and the end of the wartime economy, Arlington Farms slowly emptied out and was appropriated for other government uses. The buildings were demolished in the 1960s, and the site is now a part of Arlington National Cemetery.
There's a new army on the Potomac – the bright-eyed, fresh-faced young Americans who have poured into Washington from remote farms, sleepy little towns, and the confusion of cities, to work for the government in a time of national emergency. - Good Housekeeping, January 1942
So popular are its glamorous buildings, full of Venetian blinds and the chintz dear to so many female hearts, that 90 percent of new Government girls want to move in. - Reader's Digest, "28 Acres of Girls," November 1944
