Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/04/2002
NRHP Listing Date 07/05/2003
NRHP Reference Number 03000628
Al’s Motors is located at the corner of Wilson Boulevard and North Pollard Street in the Ballston area of Arlington. Designed by architect J. Raymond Mims and constructed in 1948, it is a fine example of the Streamline Moderne style, with its rounded glass curtain walls and metal cornice, glass block sidelights and transom, and horizontal string courses and banding. Owned and operated by Al and Bertha Wasserman, who ventured into the automobile business in the early 1920s, the building housed a Chrysler-Plymouth automobile dealership and service garage for 53 years. In 1968, the building was enlarged at the rear by the construction of a one-story paint shop. Al’s Motors was the oldest Chrysler-Plymouth dealership in Northern Virginia at the time of its closing in April 2001. After listing, the Al’s Motors building was rehabilitated using state and federal preservation tax credits, and repurposed for use as a health club.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: April 22, 2023
