Browsed by
Month: November 2014

Collecting and Preserving Arlington’s Vietnamese Heritage

Collecting and Preserving Arlington’s Vietnamese Heritage

Comments 0 Comment

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, after the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War, the arrival of thousands of Vietnamese refugees and immigrants in the Washington, D.C., area led to the creation of a Vietnamese enclave in Clarendon. This community became widely known as “Little Saigon.” Department stores, restaurants, fabric and furniture stores, and other establishments filled the Clarendon strip, revitalizing an area that was, at the time, disrupted by Metro construction. The Clarendon metro…

Read More Read More

Updated: Broadview Named Local Historic District

Updated: Broadview Named Local Historic District

Comments 1 comment

Update 11/19/14: The Arlington County Board approved the designation of the Broadview Local Historic District. Click here for the Arlington County press release on the designation. Read on for our original post on the designation hearing. On Saturday, November 15, the Arlington County Board will consider a local historic district designation for Broadview and adopt the Broadview Historic District Guidelines. Broadview is a single-family home at 5151 14th Street North. The Planning Commission and the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review…

Read More Read More

Upcoming Hearing: Key Boulevard Apartments

Upcoming Hearing: Key Boulevard Apartments

Comments 0 Comment

On Saturday, November 15 the Arlington County Board will consider an amendment to site plan #181 to demolish the 41-unit Key Boulevard Apartments and redevelop the site with a 158-unit multi-family building. The Planning Commission recommends deferral. The Housing Commission recommends denial. The County Manager had recommended denial but changed that recommendation on November 13 to deferral for up to one year (November 2015). Preservation Arlington covered this developing site plan proposal in a web post on February 19. Our…

Read More Read More

Charlie Clark Profiles Preservation Arlington

Charlie Clark Profiles Preservation Arlington

Comments 0 Comment

Charlie Clark, who writes the “Our Man in Arlington” column for the Falls Church News Press, has devoted his latest piece to Preservation Arlington. He discusses our Endangered List (including the Wilson School pictured below), our social media reach, and our hopes for the future. Clark writes: “The downside of progress — the loss of historic character and valued flavor from earlier eras — is worthy of a regular reminder. For that we can count on Preservation Arlington.” Click here…

Read More Read More

LOST: October 2014

LOST: October 2014

Comments 1 comment

In October 2014, a total of twenty-one (21) demolition permits were applied for in Arlington County. Eighteen were for single-family homes. Three of the permits were re-applications from previous months. There were no permits for commercial property. North Arlington accounted for all but one of the permits. Two of the homes are in the Cherrydale National Register Historic District (1818 North Monroe Street and 1713 North Taylor Street) and one each in the Lyon Village National Register Historic District (1704…

Read More Read More

New Marker:
Green Valley Pharmacy

New Marker:
Green Valley Pharmacy

Comments 0 Comment

On Saturday, November 8, Arlington County unveiled its newest historical marker honoring Leonard “Doc” Muse and the Green Valley Pharmacy, which he has operated since 1952. Green Valley Pharmacy is Arlington’s first African-American owned and operated pharmacy. When Green Valley Pharmacy first opened, no other pharmacies in Arlington welcomed the African-American community. At Green Valley Pharmacy, customers could not only get their prescriptions filled, they could dine at the pharmacy’s counter, where breakfast, lunch, dinner and an array of ice…

Read More Read More

Etched in Stone:
Urban Archaeology

Etched in Stone:
Urban Archaeology

Comments 3 comments

What is urban archaeology? It’s the process of discovering the material past of towns and cities. Today, all major construction projects are required to recycle their building materials. For efficiency, this usually involves moving materials offsite to be ground, combined or otherwise destroyed to become the base of a new material. But in the old days, many items were re-used on site. Re-use is a form of recycling, and it’s now allowing us an intriguing glimpse into a long-forgotten story…

Read More Read More

More Seats: Secondary Seats

More Seats: Secondary Seats

Comments 0 Comment

At a November 5 meeting of Arlington Public Schools’ Secondary Seats Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) group, a wide variety of proposals for “more seats” for students were released for community input. Three of the sites — Reed School, Wilson School and Stratford School — are all important historic community buildings having served the educational needs of Arlington residents for generations. The Stratford School is on the National Register; Reed School just underwent a major renovation in which the original school…

Read More Read More

Upcoming Meeting(s):
West Rosslyn & Wilson School

Upcoming Meeting(s):
West Rosslyn & Wilson School

Comments 1 comment

Two important meetings this week will affect the future of Wilson School. The eighth meeting of the Western Rosslyn Area Planning Study (WRAPS) will be Thursday, November 8, at 7:00 pm at Wilson School. The working group meetings are open to the public for observation. This will be an opportunity for the working group to review the concept plans for the site. On Saturday, November 10, at 8:30 am is a Community Public Forum on the proposed concept plans. This…

Read More Read More