Third Battle of Bull Run

You need to pay attention when progressive environmentalists and Civil War enthusiasts are working hand-in-hand. Such is the case of a planned data center complex that would’ve been visible from Manassas National Battlefield. This hallowed ground- and its lack of suburban development- is cut solely by Lee Highway and Interstate 66, and is a stark contrast to the dense, freeway-based sprawl on both sides of this historical area. The battlefield gained local relevance when it became the adoptive home of adjacent Fairfax City’s Confederate War Memorial, commemorating the first soldier killed in action during the Civil War. Nor was this the first threat to Manassas National Battlefield: short-lived plans in the 1990’s called for construction of a new Walt Disney World complex in this area. In recent months, the Virginia Supreme Court nixed the data center proposal. In this circumstance, the data center was really a bad idea, especially when other parts of the City of Manassas and Prince William County are already equipped for new facilities. But it was a watershed moment, as cultural momentum nationwide quickly turned against the energy-gobbling, water table consuming facilities. Which I believe is an unfortunate reaction. In the past and to this day, conventional and nuclear power plants provided many shoreside second careers for marine engineers; and data centers were growing to provide the same roles. As someone described the qualifications of a marine engineer to operating a data center: “when you’re on a ship, you generate power and, using only the tools you have onboard. Compare that to a data center getting electricity from the public utility, and calling in reinforcements if a job gets difficult”. On another note: Leon Weckstein, an American soldier, had the Leaning Tower of Pisa in his crosshairs while liberating the Italian city from the Nazis in 1944. The famous tower may well have collapsed before the turn of the 21st century, as happened to the medieval Civic Tower in Pavia, in 1989. However, engineers were able to make the first effective fix to the tower’s dangerous lean. (lower the high side foundation of the tower, instead of trying to raise the low side).

That Revolution Talk

This year, Virginia joined a list of states whose rural leaders are talking of divorcing from their big-city counterparts. This talk of breakaway rests on perceived lack of political representation in state government, and different cultural values from the big cities. Upstate New Yorkers want to do away with New York City. Eastern parts of Washington and Oregon seek to break away from cosmopolitan and left-leaning Seattle and Portland.

More serious and detailed secession plans include an economic strategy. Some rural and libertarian-leaning Californians talk about splitting their state in two: under most proposals, Southern California would claim prosperous Silicon Valley, just south of the northerly city of San Francisco.

In Virginia’s most radical proposal, dubbed "Vexit", Arlington County and its 235,000 urbanized residents would return to neighboring District of Columbia, as it was between 1800 and 1846. Arlington residents made it clear that they did not want to join DC, giving their own stereotyped gripes of big-city problems. A trimmed Virginia would keep neighboring Fairfax County- which has more registered Democrats than Arlington- not for political reasons, but for economic reasons. Fairfax is home to Fortune 500 companies; and Dulles Airport, Virginia’s global hub with non-stop flights to Tel Aviv and Hong Kong. Without Fairfax, some commentators claimed that Virginia would become another rural, poor, Southern state.

A smaller proposal would shift several border counties across the line into West Virginia. When the mountainous state was created during the Civil War, border counties were invited to join West Virginia by referendum, and according to its governor, the invitation is still open.

Virginia’s secession talk has more gravitas in conversation than elsewhere, for the state has already split four times, and rejoined twice:

1792- Kentucky split from Virginia

1800- Alexandria, Virginia annexed to Washington, DC

1846- Alexandria returned to Virginia

1861- Virginia leaves the US for the Confederacy

            1863- West Virginia split off as a Union state

            1870- Virginia rejoins the US  

What propelled the secession talk in Virginia? Democrats introduced and voted on an “assault weapon” ban. It passed the House of Delegates, but failed by several votes in the State Senate. Apparently, this was too close of a call for gun-toting patriots. 

Got My Name Changed Back

One prominent road in Arlington, Virginia just lost its Confederate name; and no one is looking back. Transecting Crystal City, future home of Amazon’s HQ2, Jefferson Davis Highway reverted to its pre-1920’s name, Richmond Highway. Signed as US Route 1, the road still connects Washington DC to Richmond, Virginia; though parallel Interstate 95 is the preferred, and usually quicker, alternative.  Route 1 is the common, layman’s name; except for the hotels and major businesses whose stationery list the once-lengthy street address bearing the Confederate States of America president’s name.

These business owners and representatives were supportive of the change. Damnata Memoria (Banished history) aside, a succinct name like Richmond Highway works in the text-and-Siri age. “Jefferson Davis” is also a mouthful to business partners and visitors for whom English is a second language.

When, in contrast, a residential street changes names, private citizens bear the burden of informing state agencies, banks and acquaintances of their new yet geographically identical address. Such is the talk in Hollywood, Florida, where city leaders are discussing renaming two suburban streets. In recognition of this challenge, local Lee Highway and Beauregard Street; also named after prominent Confederates, will retain their nomenclature for the foreseeable future.   

Another, slightly more southern segment of US Route 1 changed names sometime earlier. It occurred as a recently-country road was being upgraded to a thoroughfare compatible for the burgeoning national security and defense industries surrounding Fort Belvoir and Quantico. Street names are dynamic in the exurbs, where old roads designed to serve agriculture (literally, Farm-to-Market roads in Texas) are repurposed for office parks and residential cul-de-sacs. Motorists most likely noticed shorter backups well before they noticed a sanitized road name.

* This is my second blog post about Crystal City. Several years ago, before Jeff Bezos put the close-in suburb on the map, I pondered new uses for the transit-accessible, yet fading, neighborhood.