Opened in 1932, the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway was the first parkway project of the U.S. government and the first such road with a commemorative function explicit in its name and alignment. Engineer Jay Downer, landscape architect Gilmore D. Clarke, and arborist Henry Nye served as design consultants. All three were employees of the Westchester County Park Authority where they gained experience in parkway design. With its stone-faced arch bridges, concrete slab base, beveled curbing, and lush landscaping the parkway affords fine views of the Potomac River and points of interest along the way. Approximately fifteen miles long, the route begins at Arlington Memorial Bridge and extends south along the Potomac from Arlington County, through the city of Alexandria and on through riverside woodlands and meadows to its namesake, Mount Vernon in Fairfax County. The Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, along with the George Washington Memorial Parkway, is part of an extensive parkway system serving the nation’s capital.