Buckingham Apartment Complex, Swimming Pool Complex, 525 North Glebe Road, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia

Significance: The construction of the swimming pool complex within the Buckingham community is significant as an integral component of the original plan for Buckingham. In the late 1930s, Buckingham was envisioned as a self-contained community. Buckingham offered well-designed buildings within a park-like setting in which all the amenities of a town were within walking distance. The inclusion of retail, recreational, entertainment, and educational facilities in the original scheme conceived by Henry Wright and Allie S. Freed did much to promote the impression of Buckingham as a full-service community. The abandonment of plans for a community center in the 1940s removed a significant element of the original scheme. The swimming pool complex, assumed the role of community center for the complex in the summer.
Survey number: HABS VA-1339-B