We started off the year with a big bang of 21 buildings being demolished — 14 of them single family homes, three garden apartments and four commercial buildings. In comparison, January 2018 was 19; January 2017 was 9; January 2016 was 13; January 2015 was 22; and, January 2014 was 12; Single Family: Fourteen (14) of the permits were for single-family homes. All but one were in North Arlington. 10 of the permits were for speculative developments. Three of the…
The October meeting of the HALRB (Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board) will be begin at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, October 18 (this is an hour earlier than their usual start time). The agenda includes: COA Consent Agenda for: 2165 North Lincoln Street on after-the-fact request to install two retaining walls in the rear of the property in the Maywood Historic District, click for staff report, and; 3202 23rd Street North a request to replace the cedar-shingle roof with asphalt…
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…
The public is invited to the unveiling of a newly published, full-color booklet documenting the history and significance of the arrival of Vietnamese immigrants to Arlington County following the fall of Saigon in 1975. The Little Saigon commercial center in Clarendon became a thriving commercial hub for newly arrived refugees from South Vietnam, and Arlington’s response opened doors for future waves of immigration by other ethnic groups, establishing the city’s reputation as a welcoming and diverse community. During this year’s…
The September 16 HALRB Public Hearing includes important items on both the Consent Agenda and Discussion Agenda. One of the topics on the Consent Agenda is the Columbia Pike Form Based Code project at 2338-2354 and 2406-2408 Columbia Pike. This is the site currently occupied by Rappahannock Coffee and other small retail uses. The applicant, Columbia Pike Four Mile Run Associates, has requested to construct a new six-story mixed-use residential building incorporating the historic facades at 2338-2354 and 2406-2408 Columbia…
April 30, 2015, marked the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War. After the war, many Vietnamese refugees settled in Arlington, Virginia, and the Clarendon neighborhood briefly became known as “Little Saigon.” On Saturday, a cultural heritage event took place in Clarendon to recognize this important history. The event featured a County Board proclamation, a temporary public art installation by Vietnamese-American artist Khánh H. Lê (now on view at the Center for Local…
On Saturday, May 9, 2015, as part of Clarendon’s Neighborhood Day celebration, the Arlington County Board, county staff, local artists and students, and members of the Vietnamese community will participate in a special program to honor Clarendon’s Vietnamese history, particularly the period of the late 1970s and 1980s when it was known as “Little Saigon.” All are invited to take part in this special event that will include a hands-on public art activity and self-guided smartphone tours of historic buildings…
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…
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…
Located blocks from the restaurants and shops of Clarendon, 709 N. Cleveland Street is a classic Lyon Park house. Built in 1925, the house was part of the wave of new construction that, during the first decades of the 20th century, transformed the area around two railroad lines from sleepy farmland into a series of commuter neighborhoods. The house features classic details on the exterior and interior. Its original wood weatherboard, wide window trim, pediment front portico, and deep eaves…