In 1928, Congress passed enabling legislation for the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, the first segment of what would become the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Stretching from Arlington Memorial Bridge to Mount Vernon and completed in 1932 by the Bureau of Public Roads, it was widely praised as "America's Most Modern Motorway" and strongly influenced parkway and highway construction throughout the country.

The roadway followed the landscape's natural contours, with gentle curves winding through woodlands, taking advantage of the region's natural beauty to produce a richly articulated scenographic landscape. Towering hardwood forests alternate with broad grassy areas accented with clumps of eastern red cedar and occasional dogwoods. Existing forests were selectively cut to improve growth and provide sweeping views to the Potomac River. Over 250,000 trees and shrubs were planted between 1929 and 1932 alone, predominantly native species.

North of Alexandria, the parkway's alignment with the Washington Monument provides a sweeping panorama of  Washington's distinctive skyline. Guard rails and bus shelters were rustic in design to harmonize with the parkway landscape, and parkway bridges were faced with rough-cut stone. In later years exposed concrete and steel spans were employed, a response to modernist aesthetics and engineering concerns.

Mount Vernon Memorial Highway was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.