The Arlington County Department of Real Estate Assessments has EVERYTHING on the
web, including details on all addresses lots, structures, appraisals, and
interactive zoomable cadastral and GIS maps. I've just spent a fine couple of
hours there and in other research. I won't cite all of the steps, because it's
far to complex, but I have determined the following:
The property under construction on the 2002 aerial photo at
http://tinyurl.com/3kko5 (which link I posted last night) is a development
called "The Falls, Lots 1 and 2." Then and now it belongs to something called
"411 CBR, L.L.C.," the mailing address of which is 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Suite 900, Washington, DC 20006 (The Mills Building a block from the White
House). Note that the name of the limited-liability corporation is a cryptic
version of the street address 411 Chain Bridge Road. I have found references to
Carr Capital Corporation (real estate finance and investment) and The Kimsey
Foundation (after the founder of AOL) in the same Suite 900. The 2002
construction produced two very large single-family detached residences. The
sprawling U-shaped one on the end toward the river became 409 Chain Bridge Road,
while the one near the street remained 411 Chain Bridge Road, McLean, VA 20006.
From the Arlington County tax maps, I have determined that the county boundary
(the DCVA boundary prior to 1846) does NOT run along the northwest property line
of these properties as I supposed last night. In fact, the county line splits
properties on both sides of the road. These properties must have already
existed when the boundaries for the new District of Columbia were superimposed
over them in 1791. From the highly-zoomable GIS maps, the county line crosses
Chain Bridge Road about 80 feet northwest of the northwest boundary of "The
Falls," and it encounters the river about 30 feet northwest of the same
property. Arlington County shows the properties running all the way to the
river.
The lot split by the county line northwest of "The Falls" is 600 Chain Bridge
Road. That's a Fairfax County address, where the even numbers are on the side
of the road toward the river. So, are the Fairfax County assessments on the
web? Yes! Guess what: The split lot also belongs to the same 411 CBR, L.L.C.,
but it has only a one-story block house with a tar/gravel roof that was built in
1958 and is in "average" physical condition. Its use is described as a "single
dwelling or patio house." On the aerial photo, this house does a great job of
hiding in the trees, but it's a long narrow thing even with the back end of the
neighboring new construction.
The best news of all is that Fairfax County not only has cadastral maps, but
cadastral aerial photos on the web! If you will go to
http://tinyurl.com/4gjej
, you will find the 600 Chain Bridge Road property circumscribed in red with the
white county line running through it. You can zoom and pan to your heart's
content. Enjoy! You can see exactly where and how the county line meets the
river, although they show it extending into the water where we know it doesn't
go. I hope this is a help in finding the tripoint.
You should also be aware that the large house next-door northwestward at 612
Chain Bridge Road is the home of former Virginia Governor and US Senator Chuck
Robb and his wife Lynda Bird Johnson Robb.
Lowell G. McManus
Leesville, Louisiana, USA
----- Original Message -----
From: "bjbutlerus" <bjbutler@...>
To: <BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 8:26 PM
Subject: [BoundaryPoint] Re: DCMDVAN via Potomac Heritage Trail
> I think the high resolution aerial photo shows another high-end house
> under construction. Most of the light-colored area is the lot and the
> house sits at the east end. Note the nice windows set into the south
> roof!
>
> BJB
>
> --- In BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com, "aletheiak" <aletheiak@y...> wrote:
> > further observations
> >
> > the potomac heritage trail detour avoids an unknown number of
> > obstacles at river level in the mile or so between the mouth of
> > pimmit run & the descent from fort marcy
> >
> > some of these obstacles could lie upstream of dcmdvan & some
> > below
> >
> > or there could be fairly unobstructed access to dcmdvan along
> > the bank in one direction
> > or
> > the other
> >
> > but i do seem to recall now that my decision to drop directly
> > down the cliff was partly based on having observed significant
> > impediments all along the right bank
> > in the course of a previous approach from the left bank
> >
> > & a probably most significant obstacle just downstream
> >
> > exactly the kind of thing a heritage trail might want to skip
> >
> > add to this belated recollection the fact that the topo shows the
> > descent from fort marcy to be more gradual than any other
> > i am exultant to think we may have just discovered a new & most
> > propitious available approach route here
> >
> > down the bank from upstream
> >
> > rather than up the bank from chain bridge
> >
> > & least of all down the cliff
> >
> > --- In BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com, "aletheiak"
> > <aletheiak@y...> wrote:
> > > insertions ahead
> > >
> > > --- In BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com, "lowellgmcmanus"
> > > <mcmanus71496@m...> wrote:
> > > > If you will go to the extreme close-up April 2002 "Urban
> > Areas"
> > > > color aerial photo at http://tinyurl.com/3kko5 , you will see the
> > > > area of the tripoint. These urban photos allow you to zoom in
> > > > several steps closer than most on the web.
> > >
> > > yes great source thanx
> > >
> > > > You can see Virginia 123 curving across the lower left
> > quadrant
> > > of
> > > > the photo. Note the large complex of buildings that seems to
> > > be
> > > > under construction at the bottom. It might be even
> > commercial
> > > > rather than residential. I believe rather strongly that the
> > > > northwestern wall of this complex is up against the boundary
> > > between
> > > > Arlington and Fairfax Counties, the complex being in
> > Arlington.
> > >
> > > it is almost undoubtedly parallel to arfa but most probably at a
> > > short remove from it rather than directly up against it
> > > since constructing anything directly up against a property line
> > is
> > > usually forbidden by suburban building codes
> > >
> > > my guess is the offset here should be at least 3 feet
> > >
> > > but we might do equally well using the pavement change &
> > > welcome signs on route 123
> > > & then following the blue ribboned survey stakes from there
> > > if indeed they are still in place along the combined property &
> > > county line
> > > all the way to the top of the cliff where they end
> > > & then eyeballing back up toward them from the base of the
> > cliff
> > > in order to continue the alignment to waters edge
> > >
> > > or at least that was my technique back then
> > >
> > > but it must be said
> > > that try was only approximate because i could only see the last
> > > blue ribbon position from the river bank
> > > whereas at least 2 ribbons in view at once would of course be
> > > needed for anything resembling a true alignment
> > >
> > > & i never found the wm1 marker on that alignment
> > >
> > > indeed i never recovered it at all
> > >
> > > of course my try was correctly focused on the low water line
> > > so no wonder i missed or overlooked it at the high water line
> > >
> > > but a more careful reading of the topo & bus&ss would have
> > told
> > > me even back then that i wasnt ultimately looking for dcva wm1
> > > anyway & not at any water line
> > > since it is not the dcmdvan marker
> > > but only the next best thing to dcmdvan
> > >
> > > still
> > > the retry obviously needs to focus first on recovering this
> > marker
> > > precisely because it will suggest or actually indicate the best
> > > available alignment of dcmd
> > > & from a distance of only 1 tripointing stitch away from
> > dcmdvan
> > > rather than from all the way over the horizon
> > >
> > > > Since that boundary is the vestigial DCVA boundary, it will
> > align
> > > > perfectly with the DCMD boundary coming from across the
> > > river.
> > >
> > > the boundary will but as noted probably not the building
> > >
> > > > Perhaps this will be of help in finding the precise area of the
> > > > river bank. You can click the image to zoom in one more step
> > > for
> > > > the closest view of all.
> > > >
> > > > The web site at http://www.deepwater.org/trails/#phtrail says
> > > that
> > > > there is access to the Potomac Heritage Trail at "Pimmit Run
> > > (at
> > > > Chain Bridge)" [in Arlington County], and that the "trail follows
> > > > Pimmit Run for a short distance before a low-water crossing
> > > into
> > > > Fort Marcy Park" [in Fairfax County]. Thus, the trail crosses
> > the
> > > > county line over 300 yards away--and across a ridge--from
> > the
> > > > tripoint on the river bank.
> > >
> > > good finding
> > >
> > > so thats a dead end
> > >
> > > but fortunately your new improved aerial view does give us a
> > > great peek & some hope at least of walking up the right bank of
> > > the potomac from the mouth of pimmit run anyway
> > > just as mike & i imagined the trail might do for us
> > > except on our own
> > >
> > > for even if this route is too hairy for a regular hiking trail to
> > follow
> > > it might still be a tad less hairy than trespassing down the cliff
> > >
> > > end inserts
> > >
> > > > Lowell G. McManus
> > > > Leesville, Louisiana, USA
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --- In BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com, "aletheiak"
> > > <aletheiak@y...>
> > > > wrote:
> > > > > i saw that in the trail blurb & on the topo too
> > > > > & figured it must be so
> > > > > even tho the trail is named for the river
> > > > > & even tho it sounds & looks fully 500 feet off its course
> > there
> > > > >
> > > > > but the first thing the blurb says is
> > > > > this trail extends along the bank of the river
> > > > >
> > > > > & the trail is also shown hugging the bank
> > > > > everywhere else on the map accompanying the blurb
> > > > >
> > > > > so rather than interpreting these remarks as conflicting
> > > > > i am guessing that the bit about the george washington
> > > parkway
> > > > > overpass must refer to a small local displacement that the
> > > trail
> > > > > makes from the bank in order to get around the mouth of
> > the
> > > little
> > > > > pimmit run feeder stream there
> > > > >
> > > > > or maybe it is just an incomplete instruction for how to
> > wend
> > > > > ones way down from the higher chain bridge causeway
> > level
> > > to
> > > > > river level via the declivity of the feeder stream
> > > > >
> > > > > but time will tell
> > > > > & the cliff & rich homes are of course still there if we need
> > > them
> > > > >
> > > > > parking is a bitch in that neighborhood tho
> > > > >
> > > > > will you be joining us please
> > > > >
> > > > > --- In BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com, "bjbutlerus"
> > > > > <bjbutler@b...> wrote:
> > > > > > The description of the Potomac Heitage Trail at
> > > > > > http://www.washdc.org/trail8.html says that west of the
> > > Chain
> > > > > Bridge,
> > > > > > the trail is located beneath the high overpass carrying the
> > > > > George
> > > > > > Washington Parkway. This seems to place the trail about
> > a
> > > > > quarter of
> > > > > > a mile west of the Potomac River and, worse, west of
> > > Pimmit
> > > > > Run and
> > > > > > Chain Bridge Road. The previously mentioned "rich
> > > homes"
> > > > > are on the
> > > > > > east side of Chain Bridge Road (VA 123). Therefore I
> > don't
> > > > > think the
> > > > > > existence of the Potomac Heritage Trail says anything
> > > about
> > > > > the
> > > > > > public/private status of the riverbank, nor does it provide
> > > any
> > > > > > improvement in access to DCMDVAN. Topozonic details
> > at:
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > >
> > http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=38.931&lon=-77.1204&s
> > > > > =24&size=m&symshow=n&datum=nad83&layer=DRG25
> > > > > >
> > > > > > BJB
>
>
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