Bailey’s Crossroads, Virginia

Bailey’s Crossroads is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, situated just south of Arlington County and approximately five miles southwest of downtown Washington, D.C. The population was 24,749 at the 2020 census. Bailey’s Crossroads lies at the crossroads of State Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) and State Route 244 (Columbia Pike). One of the most diverse and densely populated unincorporated communities in Northern Virginia, Bailey’s Crossroads is simultaneously an inner-ring suburb of the nation’s capital, a historic Civil War landmark, and a vibrant immigrant gateway community.

Founding and History

Bailey’s Crossroads draws its name from the Bailey family of circus fame. Hachaliah Bailey, one of America’s first circus showmen, resided here. In 1808, while still in New York state, he purchased an Indian elephant which was one of the first such animals to reach the United States. Seeking a place to winter his circus animals, he moved to Virginia, and on December 19, 1837, he bought a tract of land on the outskirts of Falls Church including what is now the intersection of Leesburg Pike and Columbia Pike. On this tract he built a large house known as “Bailey’s Mansion.”

Hachaliah’s son Lewis Bailey (1795–1870) operated a travelling circus and pioneered the use of canvas circus tents before eventually settling in 1840 to farm land in Bailey’s Crossroads. Fred Harrison Bailey, a nephew of Hachaliah, recognized a potential circus talent in James Anthony McGuiness — later James Anthony Bailey — who united the Cooper and Bailey operations with Phineas Taylor Barnum’s circus to form the Barnum and Bailey Circus, which later joined with the Ringling Brothers Circus to form the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

The Civil War brought the community its most consequential moment in history. The area occupies a broad, flat plain, bounded on the west by Munson’s Hill. This unbroken expanse of level ground caused the Union Army to select it as the site of a massive review of troops during the Civil War. The review, which took place on November 20, 1861, involved thousands of troops marching in formation and parading before President Abraham Lincoln. So stirred by the event was spectator Julia Ward Howe that she returned to her Willard Hotel room and wrote the words for “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” During the summer of 1861, Confederate forces occupied Munson’s Hill overlooking the crossroads, making it a no-man’s land between the two armies before Union forces recaptured the area.

After the Civil War, the community returned to farming. The area remained a rural farming community until the post-World War II years, when a massive wave of development occurred. During the 1960s, as Washington’s Metro system was being conceived, original plans called for a subway line to extend under Columbia Pike to and through Bailey’s Crossroads. As a result of the plan, a massive high-rise complex was built in the heart of Bailey’s Crossroads called Skyline City. Its location coincided with the planned locations of Metro stations. Plans for the Metro, however, changed. The western line was placed along the I-66 corridor instead. A partial construction collapse at the Skyline Towers in 1973 during construction tragically killed several workers and made national news.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.0 square miles, all land. Bailey’s Crossroads is formed by the junction of State Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) connecting Alexandria, Virginia with the Shenandoah Valley, and State Route 244 (Columbia Pike) connecting the Pentagon and Washington, D.C., with Annandale, Virginia. The community shares a border with Arlington County to the north and abuts the Lake Barcroft neighborhood to the southwest. It is accessed via I-395 from the north, with no direct Metrorail access, though Metrobus service along both the Columbia Pike and Leesburg Pike corridors connects residents to the broader regional transit network.

Demographics

At the 2020 census, there were 24,749 people, 9,796 housing units, and 9,545 households residing in the CDP. The population density was 12,072.7 inhabitants per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 31.56% White, 16.11% African American, 13.01% Asian, 24.42% from other races, and 12.23% from two or more races.

Bailey’s Crossroads is one of the most ethnically diverse communities in Fairfax County. Foreign-born residents constituted 50.2% of the population between 2019 and 2023, substantially higher than the national average of 13.9%. Immigration from Central America surged in the 1980s, as civil conflicts in El Salvador and Guatemala prompted thousands to seek refuge in Northern Virginia suburbs, including Bailey’s Crossroads, which offered low-cost rentals and transit access to service-sector jobs. Salvadorans formed a notable community, alongside arrivals from Vietnam, Korea, and Bolivia.

The median household income in Bailey’s Crossroads stood at $84,241 based on 2019–2023 American Community Survey estimates, significantly below Fairfax County’s $150,113 for the same period. Poverty rates were 21.7% in Bailey’s Crossroads compared to 6.1% countywide.

Government

As an unincorporated community, Bailey’s Crossroads has no municipal government of its own. It is governed by Fairfax County, specifically falling within the Mason District of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors provides all county services including schools, police, fire, libraries, and zoning. The community is served by Fire Station 10, which in 2010 was turned over from the Bailey’s Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department to the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department, now staffed 24/7 by full-time career firefighters and paramedics. At the federal level, Bailey’s Crossroads falls within Virginia’s 8th congressional district.

Economy

Bailey’s Crossroads functions as a working-class commercial and residential community. Its commercial spine along Leesburg Pike hosts a mix of ethnic grocery stores, restaurants, retail chains, and service businesses that reflect its diverse population. The neighborhood has a large Hispanic population, and the largest single store of the entire Giant Food supermarket chain is located there. A branch of Northern Virginia Community College and offices of the U.S. Department of Defense are nearby. The Culmore shopping center, anchored by a cluster of Latino and Vietnamese businesses, is the community’s most recognized commercial landmark and has given its name to the densely populated Culmore apartment complex behind it. Community organizations such as the Annandale Christian Community for Action (ACCA) address food insecurity through pantry distributions and emergency assistance, while groups like Cornerstones provide support for housing affordability challenges.

Education

Fairfax County Public Schools operates public schools serving Bailey’s Crossroads. Glen Forest Elementary School is the primary school attended by most children living in the area, and the local schools feed Justice High School. The community’s high immigrant population and multilingual character place significant demand on FCPS’s English language learner programs, which are among the most extensive in the region. Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) — today one of the largest community colleges in the nation — opened its very first classes in the fall of 1965 with 761 students in a single building in Bailey’s Crossroads. NOVA has maintained a campus presence in the area ever since, offering an accessible pathway to higher education for the surrounding immigrant community.

The Fairfax County Public Library operates the Culmore Community Library in the Culmore area. It has Spanish-language materials in addition to English-language ones.

Culture and Landmarks

The most noticeable landmark at Bailey’s Crossroads is Skyline Center, a towering group of 26-story apartment buildings and offices built in the 1970s on the site of the former Washington-Virginia Airport, which served the DC area for decades. The Skyline complex — including Skyline Towers, Skyline Plaza, and Skyline Square — remains the visual signature of the community and is home to thousands of residents and numerous businesses.

The historic significance of Bailey’s Crossroads is anchored in the November 20, 1861 Grand Review of Union troops before President Lincoln, one of the largest military reviews in American history. The event’s connection to the composition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” has made it a celebrated chapter in both local and national Civil War history. The ZIP code for Bailey’s Crossroads is 22041. Although the United States Postal Service uses “Falls Church” as the primary name of the ZIP code, mail can also be addressed using “Bailey’s Crossroads,” as many businesses and residents do to prevent confusion.

The community’s character today is defined as much by its immigrant culture as its historical roots. Columbia Pike and Leesburg Pike are lined with Salvadoran pupuserías, Vietnamese pho restaurants, Korean grocers, Ethiopian coffee shops, and a broad array of international businesses that make Bailey’s Crossroads one of the most culinarily diverse corridors in Northern Virginia.

At a Glance