Falls Church, VA to Receive New “Saigon Blvd.” Signage

Wilson Blvd. in Falls Church, VA will soon receive new signage honoring its new name “Saigon Blvd.,” Arlington Now reports.

The boulevard marks the confluence of Falls Church, Arlington and Fairfax counties. The Northern Virginia area saw an influx of refugees after the fall of the Republic of Vietnam, also known as South Vietnam, to Northern Vietnamese forces in 1975. Many of the refugees started businesses in the Clarendon area of Arlington, which moved to the then Plaza Center Shopping Center in Falls Church amidst rising rents. The facility later became Eden Center, hearkening to a popular shopping district in Saigon — then capital of South Vietnam, now renamed Ho Chi Minh City.

The new signage is expected to be placed in front of the Eden Center at the intersection of Wilson Blvd. and Roosevelt Blvd., with hopes that the unveiling will coincide with Lunar New Year celebrations in late January or early February next year. Older signs referencing Saigon, which are not in compliance with current signage requirements, will be removed once the new ones are in place.

To read the full story by Arlington Now, click here.