Aurora Highlands Historic District

Aurora Highlands is a 128-acre residential neighborhood in southern Arlington County, Virginia, laid out on a regular grid a few miles from Washington, D.C. It grew from three subdivisions platted between 1896 and 1930: Addison Heights, Aurora Hills and Virginia Highlands. Two dwellings from around 1870 and 1880 predate the first subdivision. Most houses were built between 1911 and 1940, many as Craftsman bungalows. The area also holds seven concrete-block houses built in 1910 by architect Milton Dana Morrill, and seven houses identified as Sears, Roebuck and Company mail-order kits. Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival and mid-century Modern Movement buildings add variety, along with churches, schools, parks and a small commercial strip on 23rd Street South. The district was listed for its architecture and for what it shows about planned suburban development, which accelerated during both World Wars as middle-class families sought housing near the capital. Despite replacement materials and additions, its overall integrity remains largely intact.