ARLINGTON, VA — A large Victorian-style home on Washington Blvd., where the first chairman of the Arlington County Board once lived, was demolished earlier this month to make way for the construction of new homes on the site.
The Fellows-McGrath House, built in 1889, was formerly the residence of Harry Andrew Fellows, who was mayor of Falls Church and in 1932 became the first chairman of the newly formed Arlington County Board. The home, at 6404 Washington Blvd., was later a bed and breakfast known as Memory House.
With a plot of land big enough to build two new homes, the buyer of the Fellows-McGrath house likely got a bargain when they paid slightly more than $1 million for the home.
The land, which is in the process of being graded, is expected to become the site for two new homes. With Arlington the hottest residential housing market in Northern Virginia, the new homes could easily sell for $2 million to $3 million each.
Preservation Arlington tracks tear-down permits and, as of the end of September, the group found that more than 15 other homes, on single lots, in Arlington had sold for more than $1 million in 2021 and then were torn down. The Fellows-McGrath House, though, was on a double lot, as were several other homes in 2021 that sold for over $1 million.
Many Arlington residents and historic preservations had hoped the county would do more to save the Fellows-McGrath House.
Arlington County approved a Land Disturbing Activity permit in August for the Fellows-McGrath House and approved a demolition permit in September. The home, which was located a short walk to the East Falls Church Metro station, was demolished on Dec. 6.
Arlington County approved a Land Disturbing Activity permit in August for the Fellows-McGrath House and approved a demolition permit in September. The home was demolished on Dec. 6. (Mark Hand/Patch)
“I wish the county were more willing to invest in rescue of historic homes as they have in the past,” Charlie Clark, a columnist for the Falls Church News-Press who is also chair of the Arlington Historical Society’s Preservation Committee, said in an email to Patch. “But elected officials are still feeling burned by what they saw ultimately as the wasteful 2001 purchase of the Reeves Farmhouse.”
After purchasing the Reeves Farmhouse 20 years ago, Arlington officials never were able to find a sufficient use for it.
“While activists cannot totally overrule the market laws of supply and demand, preservationists both on county staff and volunteers such as those with the Arlington Historical Society and Preservation Arlington can track developments and better sound early-warning alarms when an important property is threatened,” said Clark, whose new book, “Lost Arlington County,” provides readers with a look at businesses, homes and amusements that have come and gone in Arlington as the county emerged in the 1900s as a vibrant suburb of the nation’s capital.
After eight months on the market, the Fellows-McGrath home was sold in February to FNM Investments LLC for $1,088,295, according to Arlington County real estate records.
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Manassas realtor Masum Kahn, who owns FNM Investments, bought the house to build modern homes, Clark reported in a column for the Falls Church News-Press.
Tearing down the home “would be a shame,” Clark wrote.
“The green with red trim home (3221 square feet, with built-in china cabinets) is not only a landmark, it was for 43 years home to the only man to be chief executive for both Falls Church and Arlington County,” he wrote.
Harry Andrew Fellows bought the house in 1900 with his wife Alice. Harry died in 1943, while Alice died in 1971 at the age of 105, according to Clark. The home was then bought by John and Marlys McGrath.
“Most builders (indeed, most Arlingtonians) are not that interested in history,” Clark said in his email to Patch. “So the trick is to network and find the right buyers and construction contractors, while perhaps educating to change a few minds along the way.”
