The Washington-Virginia Airport was formerly an airport in Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...

, USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

The airport was first known as Crossroads Airport for the nearby Bailey's Crossroads

Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia

Bailey's Crossroads is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 23,643 at the 2010 census...

. In 1942, a license was granted to build and operate an airport but it was not built until 1947 after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The original two gravel

Gravel

Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...

 runway

Runway

According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

s were paved by 1962. The airport closed in 1970 due to encroaching suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

an development from Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 and is now the site of Skyline, a high-rise complex of office buildings, apartment towers, and a shopping center between State Route 7, Seminary Road, and George Mason Drive.