Vintage Photographs Capture Every Life at Arlington Farms During World War II

Arlington Farms was a temporary housing complex for female civil servants and service members during World War II. Built in 1942-1943 by the United States Government’s Federal Works Agency (FWA). Arlington Farms was located on the former site of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Arlington Experimental Farm on the grounds of the historic 1,100-acre Custis-Lee family estate in Arlington County, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C.

The ten dormitories, each named after a U.S. state, and auxiliary buildings, including an infirmary and a recreation hall, covered approximately 28 acres of a 108-acre site. Six of the dorms housed civilians;four were designated for female members of the military. The dorms were gray and extremely temporary in appearance, set on masonry foundations with exterior walls made of cemesto. Each dorm opened up into a lobby and various common areas, including game rooms, lounges, and a service shop, which sold food, drinks, cosmetics, and other sundry goods.

The walls were brightly painted, furniture was bamboo in the modern motif, and decorations were provided by Works Projects Administration (WPA) artists. It remarkable how much thoughtful architectural designing and planning, judicious use of color, and the introduction of cheerful fabrics in the interior furnishings have done to lighten the barracks-like effect of these dormitories.

Off of the main lounge and common areas were ten two-story housing wings with single- and double-occupancy rooms. There were laundry areas and a kitchenette on each floor. Rooms were small, but pleasantly furnished, with bed, dresser, mirror, chaise longue, floor lamp, ash tray, waste basket, and two pillows. The girls could exchange their linen twice a week and had weekly maid service.

The housing at Arlington Farms, which was segregated, was managed by the Public Buildings Administration and designated for select government workers with yearly salaries of $1,260 to $1,620. Four of the dorms housed military servicewomen, primarily Naval Reserve WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services), and six were civilian. Single 8-foot × 10-foot rooms rented for $24.50 and doubles for $16.50 a month.

The women who lived at Arlington Farms came from all over the country, recruited by the U.S. Civil Service Commission or into the WAVES, to work in government jobs in and around D.C. at places such as the nearby Pentagon, Navy Annex, or Arlington Hall, home of the Army’s Signal Intelligence Service. When they were not working, the women could be found engaged in a variety of recreational activities on the campus or around town with the many young servicemen stationed in the Capital area.

The “28 Acres of Girls” became famous, so much so that in early 1945 when a group of four American prisoners of war who had recently escaped from a Japanese prison camp came to Washington for debriefing, they made Arlington Farms one of their first stops.

Here are some vintage photos of life at Arlington Farms in 1943. The photographs were taken by Esther Bubley, who worked as a photographer for the War Information Office during World War II.

A girl in her room playing a phonograph at Arlington Farms, 1943.

A girl just coming in from a sunbath at Arlington Farms, 1943.

A girl looking at snapshots in her room at Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms. A typical room scene since there is a shortage of space in the laundries.

A group around a piano in the lounge of Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, 1943.

A new girl arriving at Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, 1943.

A room resident and her friend at Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, 1943.

A soldier treating his date to a coke in the service shop at Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, 1943.

Dancing the Virginia reel at a bi-weekly Saturday night "open house" dance at Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, 1943.

Desk clerk sorting the mail at Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, 1943.

During intermission at one of the bi-weekly "open house" dances held in the main lounge of Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, 1943.

Girl getting food in the service shop at Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, 1943.

Girl on her way to the laundry room stops in one of the small alcoves to talk to some of her girlfriends, 1943.

Girls eating hot dogs in the service shop in Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, 1943.

Girls entertaining their guests in one of the two card rooms, Arlington Farms, 1943.

Girls entertaining their guests in one of the two card rooms, Arlington Farms. More privacy is afforded here than in the main lounge, 1943.

Girls in two of the long line of showers at Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, 1943.

Jitterbugs at the bi-weekly Saturday night "open house" dance at Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, 1943.

Mirrors over the dressing table conceals a cabinet which gives girls extra space for their cosmetics, etc., at Arlington Farms, 1943.

Laundry room in Idaho Halls, Arlington Farms, 1943.

One of the bi-weekly "open house" dances at Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, 1943.

Reading the Sunday comics on the back porch at Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, 1943.

Service shop in Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms. These shops, one in each residence hall sells cosmetics, drugs, sandwiches, cokes, etc, 1943.

Sunbathers on the sidewalk in the back of Idaho Hall at Arlington Farms, 1943.

Sunbathers on the sidewalk in the back of Idaho Hall at Arlington Farms, 1943.

The main lounge in Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, 1943.

Three residents of Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, admiring a photograph of a friend. Each girl has a different picture of him in her collection, 1943.

Waiting for and opening letters at the mail desk. Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, 1943.

Washing clothes in one of the laundry rooms at Idaho Hall, Arlington Farms, 1943.