Popular culture

In the first season finale of the popular television show The West Wing, the fictional President Bartlet is nearly assassinated while leaving a town hall meeting at the Newseum.

Charlie Wilson's War, the movie, (wide release date of 12/21/07), was partially filmed on location at Wilson's former residence, The Weslie Condominium, in Rosslyn, located just above Iwo Jima Park.

Rumor has it that River Place (formerly Arlington Towers), were recently discovered to have walking tunnels leading to the Pentagon from the West Building, which have been sealed for many years. While this is a rumor, no citation is needed here. It is alleged that many people in the complex who have lived there for years, say that indeed, this is true. It is thought that these tunnels were both an escape route for Pentagon personnel to Rosslyn during emergencies, as well as routes to training centers in the apartment complex from the Pentagon in the early days, prior to the CIA headquarters, now located in Langley (McLean), Virginia, as well as other federal offices located on the property. Arlington Towers

Rosslyn Today

Rosslyn is home to Arlington Temple United Methodist Church, possibly the world's only church located on top of a gasoline station. Rosslyn has become for some a popular place to live and work because it is in a highly urban setting, but has generally lower rents and taxes than does the District of Columbia. Rosslyn is home to many different kinds of apartment complexes, like the older River Place and the Normandy, to much more "luxury" units. Rosslyn's location also attracts Georgetown University students who wish to live off campus. The local TV station affiliate of ABC in the Washington, D.C. area WJLA-TV "ABC 7" is loacted in Rosslyn at 1100 Wilson Boulevard.

While Rosslyn has been traditionally a "9-5" community, local bars and restaurants like Cafe Asia, Piola, and The Continental, have become popular hangouts for happy hours and weekends.

The United States Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial, is located in Rosslyn adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington Boulevard (U.S. Route 50), and Fort Myer. On the grounds of the Memorial, and offering views of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and U.S. Capitol, is the Netherlands Carillon.

Freedom Park, opened in 1996, offers seating and views of Washington DC.

Transportation

Rail

Metrorail's Blue and Orange Lines service the Rosslyn Metro station.

Roads

Rosslyn is a transportation hub which the intersection of U.S. Route 29 ( Frances Scott Key Bridge and Lee Highway), Virginia State Route 110 (Jefferson Davis Highway), the George Washington Memorial Parkway, and I-66 (Custis Memorial Parkway) partially create. U.S. Route 50 (Arlington Boulevard) connects with all of these routes in and near Rosslyn.

 Trails

Rosslyn offers access to a number of trails that travel through Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. By heading north on North Lynn Street, one can reach the paved Custis Trail, which travels through Arlington along Interstate 66. By traveling southeast on the Custis Trail and crossing the George Washington Memorial Parkway, one can reach the paved Mount Vernon Trail, which travels downstream on the Virginia side of the Potomac River to Alexandria and Mount Vernon, as well as the unpaved Potomac Heritage Trail, which travels upstream near the riverbank to the Capital Beltway. By heading west along the Custis Trail, one can reach the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Trail, which travels for 45 miles through Northern Virginia.

One can also cross the Francis Scott Key Bridge at the end of Lynn Street and pick up the unpaved C&O Canal towpath or the paved Capital Crescent Trail in Washington. By heading south on North Lynn Street, one can cross over U.S. Route 50 and travel through the grounds of the Marine Corps War Memorial to reach a paved trail that travels along the wall of Arlington National Cemetery to Memorial Drive. A sidewalk and paved path along the Drive connects in Lady Bird Johnson Park on Columbia Island to the Mount Vernon Trail and to the wide sidewalk of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, which crosses the Potomac into Washington.