Directly across the Potomac River from Georgetown, Rosslyn is Northern Virginia's closest link to Washington. It's home to the only tall buildings visible from the National Mall, and is the largest collection of 300-foot buildings in the immediate DC area, including the tallest skyscrapers in the region. Originally a streetcar suburb, Rosslyn is newer than one might expect a community so close to Washington to be (upper Arlington County having not developed much until the latter half of the 19th Century), but appears somewhat dated to the 21st Century eye, given that it was built more or less completely up to the zoned limit in the 1980s. Recent Smart Growth initiatives have convinced Arlington County to upzone Rosslyn for more intense development, and have resulted in something of a renaissance.

Let's get something out of the way quick - BeyondDC likes Rosslyn. That having been said, we have a list of complaints with it: It's a little bland, in that 1980s sort of way, it suffers from an imbalanced mix of uses (favoring office against residential, emptying out between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.), and, according to some people, it detracts from the monumentality of the Mall by intruding tall buildings in to an environment not suited for them. Why then, does BeyondDC like Rosslyn so much? It's just so fabulously normal. Typically that's a bad thing. It's good for a place to have some character and stand out from the crowd, particularly in today's world, where McDonalds and Starbucks line so many of our streets. Thing is, Rosslyn stands out from Washington by blending in with America. In a region as unique as ours, Rosslyn feels like your average, Middle-American downtown. It could be Lexington, Columbus or Springfield, and in a city as mythical feeling as Washington, it's nice to have a little place in the corner to escape.