This cache is a tribute to the "A Little Local History" (ALLH) series of caches that cphug184 created all over Northern Virginia. I discovered them before I understood the concept of a caching "series" and when I probably had fewer than 100 finds. It became like the first time you hear some musician you never knew about before and decide you really like their music. So you start listening to more of their stuff, expanding your musical horizon all the while. The ALLH series was like that for me. I finally got them all.
Each cache in the TRIBUTES17can be found individually, but make sure you collect the clue inside. You'll need it to find theTRIBUTES17 BONUS!Each 3 letter digit character clue is hidden in plain sight in each container and is in the format "Z = A1!". More details can be found on the Bonus cache page GC7CXFE.
This is a multi-step cache. You can walk or bike it easily enough and all of the locations are within easy walking distance of each other. It is wheelchair accessible except for the actual grab. From the reference coordinates we will travel to three different locations to see examples of the architecture of this development. Attempts were made to find houses that had not been significantly modified and still reflected the original character and look of the development when it was first built. At each of these locations you will be required to gather information that will lead you to the final. Specifically what information is required is for you to determine. All locations are on sidewalks, so please be safe out there.
West Falls Church is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County. It is an area roughly bounded by Lee Highway, Annandale Rd, Gallows Rd, and the Beltway. Colloquilly it is often referred to as "the part of Falls Church that is in the County." Before 2010, West Falls Church was officially named Jefferson, although outside of the Jefferson Village neighborhood, the name was little used by the locals. The bulk of the area is made of subdivisions built in the late 1940s and 1950s, including Jefferson Village, Westlawn, Hillwood, Sleepy Hollow, Woodley, Raymondale and Broyhill Park, the object of today's history lesson. A large number of developments were built in Northern Virginia during the expansion after WWII and prior to the 1960's. While each has its own unique story, Broyhill Park is reasonably representative of all of them.
Broyhill Park is a subdivision generally bounded by Annandale Rd, Holmes Run (the stream), a line just to the east of the current Falls Church High School, US 50 down to Graham Rd (the former location of a small airport), Strathmore Rd to Wayne Rd then back to Annandale Rd.
The neighborhood is at the site of part of Camp Harries, later renamed Camp Alger, a training camp during the Spanish-American War. The camp did not last long (May-August 1898) as the resources available (e.g. fresh water and sanitary facilities) were insufficient for the purposes and typhoid fever broke out in the camp. However, it did managed to train 23,500 men, primarily from Washington DC, for the Spanish-American War. Check out the historical marker on Arlington Boulevard near the library. Camp headquarters was approximately where the marker is today.
Prior to roughly the mid 1960's, this area was considered quite rural and many of the early residents speak of moving to an area that was well out in the country.
Broyhill Park was built by Marvin T. Broyhill, Sr. (1888-1966) and planned, designed and created by the Broyhill Company. M.T. Broyhill and Sons Corporation (also known as Broyhill and Sons) was a brick-and-mortar housing company based around Washington, D.C. Broyhill and Sons successfully capitalized on the post World War II housing boom to become the largest builder of brick and motor homes in the United States during the 1950s. By 1953, Broyhill and Sons was building 3,000 homes a year and the company become the biggest customer of General Electric appliances.
Beginning in 1950, Broyhill began building houses in the general vicinity of Annandale and Graham Roads, two existing roads in this area. This lead into the development of several subdivisions, one of which was Broyhill Park, which consisted of about 500 homes. The section of Broyhill Park south of Annandale Road is known as "Old Broyhill Park". The homes there were built in 1950. Addresses in the main part of Broyhill Park were built in 1954 and 1955. The older section of the main part of Broyhill Park are the streets closer to Graham Road. The houses closer to the current Falls Church High School were built last.
A typical house would feature an Interior Décor by Colony House and modern General Electric Kitchens in mix-or-match colors with dishwashers and metal cabinets. All homes had air conditioning which was uncommon in homes of that price range at the time. There were three different styles of house available: a ranch, a rambler, and a two level rambler. Some variation was available in each style. Prices increased during the life of the various subdivisions around Washington DC. Between 1979 and 2007, while the Consumer Price Index increased by 2.8 times, the assessed value of a typical home increased by nearly 9 times, land by 15 times ($20,0 00 to $300,000 per quarter acre) and improvements by 5 to 10 times.
Many of the neighborhood streets were named for Broyhill Company employees. The "girl" streets (Alice, Brandy and Sherry Courts as well as Carol Lane) were named after secretaries who worked in the engineering department. Unfortunately, their last names have been long forgotten. Some other streets (Hewitt Street, Jacks Lane, Kenney Drive, Nealon Drive, Siron Street (pronounced like the word "siren"), and Dye Drive) were all named after Broyhill design engineers. Marc Drive was named after the young son of the chief engineer, and Korte Court (pronounced "Korty") was named after the chief surveyor.
The reference coordinates bring you to a small "park" area at the corner of Graham Rd and Marc Drive. Historically this has been the "center" of Broyhill Park. A number of oral histories of the area speak of children playing football in this open area. With the small sized area and the large trees, these stories might be taken with a small grain of salt.
Stop 1. Two Level Rambler.
For our first stop, go to N 38 51.671 W 077 11.724 (South corner of Marc Drive and Dye Drive). Directly across Marc Drive are examples of the Two Level Rambler, generally the most expensive models in this development. These houses closely resembled what later came to be known as the Split Level and featured three bedrooms upstairs, a finished rec room, a laundry/work area/storage area downstairs, and a one car garage (few people had a need for a two car garage in those days). These houses were approximately 2300 square feet in size and the base price for this model was $20,500, about $215,000 in 2016 dollars.
Information to gather:
ABCD = SW
EFGH = NE
Stop 2. Eastern Rambler
Next, go to N 38 51.518 W 077 11.676 (North corner of Carol Lane and Korte Court). Directly north is an example this development's "Eastern Rambler", a 42 foot mid priced design. It is a three bedroom house with a basement. They were slightly over 2000 square feet in size and the base price was $18,325, roughly $190,000 in 2016 dollars. This specific house came with an attached garage which was an add-on.
Information to gather:
JKLM = NE
NPQR = NW
Stop 3. Eastern Ranch
For the final stop, go to N 38 51.541 W 077 12.229 (NE corner of Holly Hill Drive and Kenney Drive). Across Holly Hill are examples of each of the two types of Ranch styles available, the 34 foot (to the left) and the 38 foot (to the right). These would have been the entry level styles available in the neighborhood. Houses were built on a slab or with a basement, based on conditions on the lot. House sizes varied from about 832 square feet to a bit over 1800 square feet. Base prices ranged from $13,100 to $15,425, roughly $134,000 to $159,000 in 2016 dollars.
Information to gather:
STUV = NE
WXYZ = SE
Stop 4. Final
Use the following equations to calculate the final coordinates using the information you gathered at the three previous stops. A calculator might be useful, although if you have enough fingers and toes, dot dot dot. Mind your parentheses. Figuring out out where to put the decimal point is left as an exercise for the reader.
N 38[(L * U) + R].[F * SGQ]
W 077 (M * (PD ** W))
You can check your answers on Geochecker.com.
I got tired of replacing this one every day or so. After the 4th time I just moved the final location to a pre-approved county park. So no 24x7 caching.
Final is a small container able to hold small trackables, but BYOP. The area is prone to muggles, so please be stealthy.
