• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Alert

HOLIDAY CLOSING: All Library Locations Closed Monday, May 30 in Observance of Memorial Day More Info

Alert

Free COVID-19 Rapid Antigen At-Home Test Kits Available at All Arlington Libraries More Info

Home - Arlington County Virginia - Logo
MENUMENU
  • Join Now
  • My Account
    • Login
    • Borrow, Renew, Return
    • Holds
    • About My Account
    • My eAccounts
    • Join Now
  • Hours & Locations
    • All Hours & Locations
    • Operations Updates
    • Holiday Closings
  • News
  • Help
    • FAQs
    • Contact Us
    • By Appointment
  • Contact Us

Arlington Public Library

MENUMENU
  • Search
      • Browse New
      • Browse All
  • Events
    • Programs
    • Featured Events
    • Calendar
  • eCollection
    • eAudiobooks
    • eBooks
    • Digital Magazines
    • Learning Tools
    • Research Tools
    • All eCollection
  • Research
    • Research Portal
    • Research Tools A-Z
    • Local History
  • Services
    • Accessibility Services
    • Find A Good Book
    • Maker
    • Meeting Rooms
    • Notary
    • Public Computers
    • More Services
  • Explore
    • Catalog
      • Catalog Search
      • Catalog Browse
      • Digital Archives
      • Borrowing Collections
      • Book Lists
    • Kids & Teens
      • For Babies and Preschoolers
      • For Elementary Schoolers
      • Middle and High Schoolers
    • Local History
      • Research Room
      • Community Archives
      • Online Exhibits
    • Support the Library
      • Friends of the Library
      • Giving Opportunities
      • Donating Materials
    • Popular
      • Lynda.com
      • Consumer Reports
      • Overdrive
    • EXPLORE MORE
  • Join Now
  • My Account
    • Login
    • Borrow, Renew, Return
    • Holds
    • About My Account
    • My eAccounts
    • Join Now
  • Hours & Locations
    • All Hours & Locations
    • Operations Updates
    • Holiday Closings
  • News
  • Contact Us

Last Rites for a Funeral Home

Central Library says goodbye to its original neighbor to the south.

Demolition of the Arlington Funeral Home, a landmark in Virginia Square since 1956 (5 years before Central opened), began last week in preparation for nine story mixed use commercial building. When completed, the new building will include a multi-use performance space known as a black box theater.

That’s probably a fitting legacy.

As theology professor Thomas Long explained in a 2009 New York Times essay, funerals are “a form of community theater in which we enact publicly the journey from here to there, thereby enabling both the dead and the living to process the reality and meaning of mortality.”

So long neighbor…

 

The history of the Arlington Funeral Home:

June 11, 2012 by Web Editor

Filed Under: News Tagged With: local history news

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anita Gill says

    June 16, 2012 at 7:36 PM

    I grew up when Arlington Funeral Home was a fixture. Many years ago. Arlington was a small towm (mostly residential) when I came to live there. I miss the “old” Arlington but know that times change and we need to keep up with them.

Trackbacks

  1. Morning Notes | ARLnow.com says:
    June 12, 2012 at 8:45 AM

    […] Arlington Funeral Home Demolition — Arlington Funeral Home in Virginia Square has been torn down to make way for a new office building. Arlington funeral home first opened in April 1956. [Arlington Public Library] […]

Footer

About Us

  • Mission & Vision
  • Center for Local History
  • News Room

Administration

  • Policies
  • Library Staff
  • Job Opportunities
  • Propose a Program

Support Your Library

  • Friends of the Library
  • Giving Opportunities
  • Donating Materials
  • Volunteer Opportunities

Our Mission

We champion the power of stories, information and ideas.

We create space for culture and connection.

We embrace inclusion and diverse points of view.

Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. YouTube. Flickr. Newsletter.

download appDownload the Library App

Arlington County | Terms & Conditions | Accessibility | Site Map
· Copyright © 2022 Arlington County Government ·