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Tag: Center for Local History

Little Saigon Booklet Now Available

Little Saigon Booklet Now Available

After two well-attended public unveiling events this fall, a new booklet about Arlington’s former Little Saigon is now available to the public. Called Echoes of Little Saigon, the full-color booklet was authored by Kim O’Connell with support from Arlington County’s Department of Cultural Affairs, Historic Preservation Program, and Center for Local History and a grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. After the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War in April 1975, the commercial center…

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World War II and Arlington Memories

World War II and Arlington Memories

Arlingtons’s Center for Local History at Central Library just opened a new display about Arlington and World War II. It was a rapidly changing era, both here and abroad. According to the library: The displays range from poignant letters home, combat boots, banners, music albums and “Victory” cookbooks to sometimes-grisly Horrors of War trading cards meant as social commentary, folk art and propaganda. The exhibition also includes a listening station of Arlington-at-war recollections culled from the Center’s hundreds of recorded…

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Arlington Bookshelf:
The Village and the Pike

Arlington Bookshelf:
The Village and the Pike

In 2014, Arlington Village, one of Arlington’s early garden apartment projects, celebrated its 75th anniversary (1939-2014). As part of the commemoration of that milestone, long-time Arlingtonian Virginia Lillis Smith compiled a collection of stories and photographs about the neighborhood from friends and family. Lillis Smith grew up in Arlington Village and her deep ties allowed her access to uncover several rare and never-before-seen treasures. The Village and the Pike is an oral history of Arlington Village, a garden apartment complex…

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House History Workshop: May 13

House History Workshop: May 13

Due to the incredible popularity of this workshop, Preservation Arlington is teaming with the Arlington County Historic Preservation Office, Arlington Central Library – Center for Local History, and the Arlington Historical Society to host a workshop on researching the history of your Arlington home. Participants who attend the workshop will: Learn how to research the history of their own home or any historic property of interest in Arlington Use the collection of maps, building permit data, photo archives, and other…

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Recording Vietnamese Voices in Arlington

Recording Vietnamese Voices in Arlington

As we’ve reported, Preservation Arlington has been proud to sponsor an ongoing project by master’s degree students from Virginia Tech’s Department of Urban Affairs and Planning (National Capital Region) to collect and preserve Vietnamese heritage in Arlington. The students have now completed the first phase of this project, which involved collecting stories, photos and artifacts from Vietnamese community members who immigrated to, shopped at or owned businesses in Arlington’s Clarendon neighborhood when it was known as “Little Saigon” during the…

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House History Workshop
November 5

House History Workshop
November 5

Four organizations focused on history in Arlington, including Preservation Arlington, are jointly hosting a House History Workshop on November 5. The workshop is designed to help Arlington residents research the history of their homes. Attendees will: Learn how to research the history of their own home or any historic property in Arlington. Use the maps, building permit data, photo archives, and other materials available at the Arlington County Library’s Center for Local History (CLH) and the Arlington County Historic Preservation…

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Treasures of the Past: The Clay Elementary School Twitter

Treasures of the Past: The Clay Elementary School Twitter

A Twitter from 1954? Another one from 1962? In all, 14 Twitters have recently been sent to the Center for Local History at Arlington’s Central Library. The Twitter was the name of the school newspaper of the former Henry Clay Elementary School in Clarendon. Recently uncovered at an estate sale at the home of a former Clay schoolteacher, this treasure trove includes school newspapers spanning nearly a decade between 1954 and 1962, as well as a half dozen class photographs…

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Arlington Bookshelf:
General History

Arlington Bookshelf:
General History

With this new series, we will highlight publications that touch on Arlington’s historic places and people. Future posts will deal with the Civil War, Arlington Cemetery, and other topics. The following books give a good general historic overview, in words and images, of Arlington County. Images of America: Arlington. Arlington Historical Society, Arcadia Publishing. First printed in 2000 and reprinted in 2001. A great 128-page book organizing photographs of Arlington into six specific date ranges that relate to spurts of…

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