Arlington Hall Station, 4000 Arlington Boulevard, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia

Significance: Arlington Hall Station is significant as the location of both Arlington Hall Junior College, a women's educational institution established in 1927, and as the headquarters of United States Army intelligence activities from 1942 to 1989. Arlington Hall Junior College was one of the first post-secondary women's educational institutions established in the Washington, D.C. area. The school provided both liberal arts and home economics-oriented curriculum. The school's founder, Dr. William E. Martin, stressed the importance of physical activity in conjunction with education and, as a result, Arlington Hall Junior College included an active program of physical education, most notably an award-winning riding club. Arlington Hall Junior College also provided social opportunities for its students with an active schedule of dinners, teas, balls, and formal dances. In 1942 the United States Army took over Arlington Hall Junior College and established its Signal Intelligence Service (SIS) at the former campus. The SIS had responsibility for cryptoanalysis of intercepted enemy messages, development of codes and ciphers for the Army, and production of Army cipher machines. The SIS scored several significant intelligence success during World War II, including the breaking of the Japanese military and diplomatic cipher systems. This work provided crucial intelligence information to Allied leaders. Army intelligence agencies remained at Arlington Hall Station until 1989, when they were relocated to Fort Belvoir, Virginia. At that date Arlington Hall Station was turned over to the Department of State for use as a training center.
Survey number: HABS VA-1270