Crystal City

Address: 1750 South Clark St, Arlington, VA 22202

Entrance: Clark Street and 18^th Street

Parking: none

Carsharing: yes

Bike Amenities: 10 bike racks

Transfer Lines: Blue, Yellow

Public School District: Arlington County Public Schools

Schools Near Crystal City Metro Station: 78 Schools within 3 miles – Preschool to High School

Snapshot: Crystal City is a delightful urban area with a semi-city feel. It is not a planned community but it is very easy to get around and a very convenient neighborhood. It is named for the first building, called “Crystal House” with a decorative crystal chandelier in the lobby. Most neighboring buildings tool onteh “Crystal” name and it became the name for the entire neighborhood. There are a great number of apartments, corporate offices and shops and restaurant and due to a network of underground shops underground in the Metro area it is almost a city on top of a city. It’s an easy to walk around area with a lot right at your fingertips.

Where to Live: Due to the urban feel there are a lot of apartments such as Crystal Plaza Apartments, Crystal House, 220 Twentieth, Potomac Center, Claridte House 1, Lofts 590, Crystal Towers, Oakwood Crystal City, Gateway Place, Crystal Square Apartments, Water Park Towers, The Paramount Apartments and North Tract Lofts. There are also a lot of condominiums such as Crystal Gateway Condominium and Bella Vista Condominiums. Across Rte. 1 (Jefferson Davis Hwy) there is a neighborhood of houses and townhouses. They are near Crystal City and the Pentagon City Metro stops. Houses in this area start in the $500k range up to the $2M+.

How to Get Around: It is very easy to get around Crystal City on foot. With the underground corridors and numerous restaurants and shops, it is very pedestrian friendly. You can also get around by bike and although it is an urban area, parking is not too difficult to find. You are also near I-395 that takes you right into Washington, DC or south to Alexandria. The George Washignton Memorial Parkway and Jefferson Davis Highway (Rte. 1) run parallel to each other north to south to take you to either north Arlington or Old Town Alexandria. Buses that run from the Crystal City stop are Metrobus, Fairfax Connector, Potomac & Rappahannock Transportation Commission.

Where to Eat: There are a lot of great restaurants in Crystal City along Crystal Drive and the east side of 23^rd St such as Legal Seafoods, Chili’s Jaleo, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Kora Restaurant, Buffalo Wild Wings, Ted’s Montana Grill, Corner Bakery Café, Plaza Gourmet, Good Stuff Eatery, We The Pizza, Cosi, Noodles & Company, and McCormick & Schmick’s.

Just a block over on the west side of 23^rd St S there are restaurants on both sides of the street such as Top Thai Restaurant, Harah Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant, Kabob Place Family Restaurant, Young Chow Restaurant, Athena Pallas Greek Restaurant, Urban Thai Restaurant, La Bettola Italiano, Cesar’s Diner, Enjera Restaurant, Tortoise & Hare Bar and Grill, Taco House, Bistro 7107, Portofino Restaurant and Top Thai.

On 18^th St there are more restaurants such as Morton’s The Steakhouse, Café Jenna, San Antonio Bar & Grill, Subway, Philadelphia Mike’s, Sushi Garden and The Perfect Pita.

What to do: There is a lot to do in Crystal City. There is a great community of arts form the Synetic Theater, there are also movies played outdoors on Mondays in the summer. In the spring there is also a Farmer’s Market as well as morning yoga and zumba in the summer. Crystal City Water Park is an urban plaza with outdoor seating and tables. It features landscaping with trees that make it a nice refuge in the city to sit and enjoy lunch or spend some time outside. There are a number of things for the outdoorsperson such as Mount Vernon Trail and Long Bridge Park with athletic fields, picnic areas and walkways. Gravelly Point Park is on the east side of the George Washington Memorial Parkway and is a great place to picninc and watch planes take off and land at Reagan National Airport.