White Gardens house demolished
The Fairfax County Park Authority has torn down the house at the John C. and Margaret K. White Gardens.
The Park Authority announced plans to demolish the house over a year ago and restore the property as a community park. The house was heavily damaged when a tree fell on it during a storm in April.
Related story: White Gardens show signs of neglect
The park is located at the end of Princess Anne Lane in the Falls Church area of Mason District
Plans to have a resident curator restore and live in the house were dropped in February 2023 in the face of strong objections from the community and descendants of John and Margaret White.
Related story: Park Authority drops plans for a resident curator at the White Gardens
The county had already spent $250,000 on improvements at the house to prepare for a resident curator.
When Margaret White deeded the property to Fairfax County, her main concern was the preservation of the horticultural treasures she and her husband had cultivated. She wasn’t interested in saving the house, which didn’t have historic significance.
Makes sense to me. The gardens are what need preserving and the upkeep on the house is too expensive.
The “gardens” are like a scene from the Blair witch project. The county should work with a vendor, maybe Betty’s Azalea or Meadows Farms, to remove what is salvageable. Leave the big trees and level the rest.
Why not stop wasting money on this and sell the property?
What Fairfax County needs is more housing for those who are less fortunate.
Since this property is already owned by the government and is in a residential neighborhood, the government should partner with a wonderful organization, Jimmy Carter’s Habitat for Humanity, and build as many homes as feasible for the less privileged.
While those living close to this so-called park may be unwilling to accept a homeless shelter, an Habitat for Humanity project is a compromise that needs to be pushed.
As Third World and Daisy notes, Fairfax County has already failed miserably at keeping this “park” at the intended level (or even close to be honest).
The “park” is purposefully set up to be very unwelcoming to anyone outside of walking distance. It’s time to do something productive and useful to those less privileged with this land.
To be clear, it would not be appropriate to build pickleball courts on this land under any circumstances.
To be clear “New Third World” what I understand you to be reporting is that the “horticultural treasures” which were once on this land, once the land was entrusted to Fairfax County are no more. Hopefully captured in photographs, but otherwise lost to history.
No, the plants are still there. They are just swallowed by invasives and neglected by the county. They should be removed just like I said. I was just there.
“Someone was stupid enough 30 years ago to give their property to the government, and this is what happens.”
Ha ha. I haven’t been there, but now I really want to go see it!
It was nice that the county spent $250,000 on improvements before tearing the house down.
It’s a sad sight to see my old homestead razed but it’s better than seeing the house in such a dilapidated condition. It was a wonderful place to grow up. The county had grand plans for the gardens but was unable to fulfill them. A redeeming feature of the destruction of the house would be for the county to finally direct its attention to the gardens.
I appreciate every bit of open green space in the area as a nearby resident. I hope the gardens can be developed at some point.
Sorry that the county failed your family after receiving such a wonderful gift. I hope they at least tend to the gardens. Seems like the least they could do at this point. Your family did an amazing job.
I think it is kind of scary …No one is ever there and as a single walker I’m a little intimidated to
walk into the park a lone. The County should put in paths to be able to cross from one entrance over to Kerns road. Then you would get a use of the park.
You’re not the only person to find visiting this so-called “park” intimidating. I find it to be totally inhospitable.
Fairfax County’s obvious neglect of this land has made it a benefit to those who live nearby who enjoy the peace and solitude it provides — at least some trees and shrubs for the animal wildlife for nature lovers to enjoy — and no homes for fellow humans.
This is all fine for the neighbors. But if Fairfax County is unwilling to invest to make this land truly a “park” for anyone who wants to visit it, rather than the few privileged who are able to afford the high home prices to live within walking distance, it needs to find a better use of the land to serve the less fortunate and privileged within Fairfax County.
I think we have already given the “less privileged” enough, given that our formerly safe and beautiful suburb has become a dangerous, near-lawless cesspool with trash and homeless all over the place, and souped-up 90s sedans tooling through the neighborhoods unchecked by law enforcement. Why not just give the “less fortunate” a room in your place? Maybe give them 50% of your paycheck?
Thank you, Park Authority, for completing the demolition. This represents a fresh start for The John & Margaret White Gardens. It already looks more like a place for the public.
It is one of just two FCPA horticultural parks, the first being of course Green Spring Gardens.
With the Winkler Botanical Preserve being now run by NOVA Parks, our corner of the county will have three public gardens.
The FCPA 2016 Needs Assessment document has a chart on page 62 showing public gardens have the highest “prioritized needs rating” score among 17 park types. The score, the report says, means residents think it is important to fund improvements in public gardens, and they think “improvements are likely to have the most impact on greatest number of households.”
It’s time for a ribbon-cutting, and an open door to community entities that can work with FCPA to make the vision a reality.