“We still provide great service. So, ultimately, the barber shop...
I mean you can go a lot of places and get your hair cut OK or fairly well, good enough. And so really the barber shop business is about personal relationships. And so we’ve been able to maintain those relationships throughout the years.” Jim Moore Jr., owner, Moore's Barber Shop
“In the community you had a lot of businesses all around. You had the TV repair man, Mr. Moore down the street, you had Wilson Cleaners…everything was right there in the community, and the Drug Store. We really never had to leave the community to go anywhere.” Wayne Crawley, Star Barber Shop
Welcome to the website for the Virginia Tech "Celebrating Arlington's Legacy Businesses" project. In Spring 2017, Masters students in Urban and Regional Planning explored the history of longstanding, or "legacy," businesses in Arlington County, VA. Our study focused on two areas: the neighborhoods along the Lee Highway corridor and the historically African-American Nauck/Green Valley neighborhood.
This website includes a comprehensive interactive map of longstanding businesses along Lee Highway and a collection of oral histories of business owners in both areas. Businesses featured in the oral history collection are a sample of those operating for 25 years or longer. We will build on this initial collection in the months and years to come. In the meantime, enjoy the stories of these important contributors to Arlington's history and community character!