Lee Gardens Shopping Center
2201 North Pershing Drive, Arlington, Virginia
ca. 1940, Originally planned by Mihran Mesrobian,
final design by Allen J. Dickey

As recommended in the Arlington Historic Preservation Master Plan adopted December 9, 2006, the Historic Preservation Program Staff, together with a preservation consultant, E.H.T. Traceries, has begun the fieldwork to compile the data for the proposed Historic Resource Inventory (HRI). To date, the survey team has evaluated eleven historic commercial complexes associated with garden apartments in Arlington.
During the field survey for the HRI, which began in earnest in July 2007, the Lee Shopping Center scored a total of 16 out of 16 possible points, and was designated as “Essential.” This category is the highest ranking of the four possible categories. Furthermore, the Lee Shopping Center was one of only three commercial complexes to achieve this Essential designation during the field survey. It was found to be noteworthy for the following reasons:

*Its relationship not only to Lee Gardens (now Sheffield Court), but also to the Lyon Park National Register Historic District.

*Its association with renowned architect Mihran Mesrobian. As part of his Lee Gardens complex, Mesrobian also was commissioned to design a companion shopping center, which he did in November 1941. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor one month later and the U.S. entry into the war, this proposed project was put on hold until after World War II. When the Lee Shopping Center was finally ready to be built, the early design by Mesrobian was modified by a design from another regionally celebrated architect, Allen Joyner Dickey.

*The configuration of its facades, particularly how they create a small parking corner of the west wing to large expanses of glass. The result is a three-dimensional building at the corner that engages both pedestrians and motorists by allowing views into the building and through the building into the courtyard beyond.

* Its association with noted regional architect Allen Joyner Dickey. Dickey (who lived and worked in Arlington) practiced in the D.C. area for more than 50 years and was involved in about 900 projects. Among his most recognized accomplishments include the Underwood Building in Clarendon (1938), his work on the Pentagon in the early 1940s, and the Lee Shopping Center (1948-49). For the Lee Shopping Center, Dickey maintained the footprint of the building as designed by Mesrobian with its parking plaza, allee, and glazed corner building, but reconceived the facades in the Moderne style.

Read More of the Letter Here (download pdf)