Vietnamese Immigrants in Northern Virginia

Thousands of Vietnamese refugees immigrated to the U.S. after the fall of the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon in April 1975. Proximity to Washington, D.C., made Arlington a popular location for settlement. A vibrant enclave of businesses, known as Little Saigon, arose in the Clarendon neighborhood and became a social and commercial hub for the community. Climbing rents in the 1980s displaced these businesses, and many relocated to Eden Center. Modeled on market districts in Vietnam, Eden Center grew to include more than 120 shops and restaurants. A regional gathering place for Vietnamese Americans, it became the largest source of Vietnamese goods on the East Coast.