Community members are invited to join Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw and staff of the David R. Pinn Community Center for a celebration and cake marking the center's 50th anniversary on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. Supervisor Walkinshaw will present center staff with a resolution from the Board of Supervisors in recognition of the anniversary. 

Pinn Community Center, located at 10255 Zion Dr. in Fairfax, Va., has served a vital role for the African American community with after-school programming, senior activities and more since it was acquired by the Sideburn Civic Association in 1973. Its overall community impact stretches back more than 100 years.

The historic location is rich and significant. After the Civil War, a small group of Black families, including the Pinn family, lived on farms along Route 654 (now known as Zion Drive). In 1904, the Pinn family donated an acre of land to build Little Bethel Baptist Church. The building was used as a school for Black children and for community events for the Sideburn community.

After World War II, the church building was purchased by the Immediate Relief Association to help families in need. In 1973, the Sideburn Community Association requested that the county Board of Supervisors approve funding for the operation of the David R. Pinn Memorial and Civic Recreation Center. The building was renovated in 2011.

Today, the center serves neighborhood families, including many descendants of the original families who continue to live in the area, according to a historical maker placed at the site in 2009.