The 2024 Downtown Arlington Classic Car Show is in just two weeks on Saturday, June 1^st from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.! This signature annual event, which includes over 150 classic and antique automobiles, live DJs, food from various Downtown businesses, and fun and games for the whole family, was created to bring the community together around Downtown’s unique history with the automobile industry. And it all started with the Bankhead Highway, known today as Division Street in Arlington.

The Bankhead Highway

Considered the first transcontinental highway, the Bankhead Highway connects Washington D.C. and San Diego and crosses over 850 miles through Texas, bridging Texarkana and El Paso and further connecting Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington. This highway system is the throughline between Arlington history and present day as its impact spans over 100 years.

When the Arlington portion opened in 1922, many restaurants and entertainment destinations quickly followed suit, particularly the infamous illegal gambling facility, Top O’Hill Terrace. Operating as a tearoom and restaurant on the surface, Top O’Hill was a popular casino featuring an escape tunnel and secret rooms to hide in during raids. Well-known public figures, both noteworthy and notorious, frequented the casino during the height of its fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Several of the historic structures remain today as an homage to Arlington’s beginning stages in becoming the entertainment capital it is today.

Travelling West on the Bankhead Highway, you’ll find another piece of early Arlington entertainment history at the Arlington Music Hall, previously named the Arlington Theatre before a rebrand as “Johnnie High’s Country Music Revue.” The venue, front lined by country music legend Johnnie High, featured the likes of many well-known artists, such as Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, LeAnn Rimes, Box Car Willie, Gary Morris, and more. People would roll into town from all over the country to watch these hall-of-famers perform in the heart of Downtown Arlington.

The Arlington Music Hall, located at the heart of the Downtown Arlington Classic Car Show, is still a go-to destination for live music, history, and instagrammable moments under the historic marquee. Be sure to snap a picture with the iconic marquee and the gorgeous classic cars located underneath it during the show! Across the street from the music hall sits another well-known historical destination – the Vandergriff Building.

The Historic Vandergriff Building

One of the most historically significant commercial buildings in Arlington, the Vandergriff Building was first home to Thannisch Chevrolet, a full-service auto dealership where the first six-cylinder Chevrolet in the area was showcased. The building was purchased and renamed the “Thannisch-Vandergriff Building” in 1928 by T.W. “Hooker” Vandergriff who sought to bring his first General Motors dealership to Arlington.

Most Arlington historians remember heading to the Vandergriff Building, known fondly as The Historic V, and grabbing a seat by the window to wave to Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Sam Rayburn as their motorcades rolled through Arlington on the Bankhead Highway. On the south side of the building is the “Historic Arlington” mural by Lee & Sheri Hay, which captures the history of Arlington and the Vandergriff Building in a vibrant and colorful display and has provided a beautiful backdrop to some of the Classic Car Show’s best vehicles!

The Vandergriff family’s relationship with General Motors runs deep and, as a result, so does Arlington’s connection with the automotive manufacturing company.

General Motors

The Vandergriff family and General Motors first began working together when Hooker’s father, John Thomas Vandergriff, opened his own car dealership the same year construction on the original Thannisch Chevrolet building was completed. Fast forward almost 20 years, Tom Vandergriff, who would later become Mayor of Arlington, entered the family business, joining his father at the Thannisch-Vandergriff Chevrolet dealership, where they began selling Buicks as well.

Tom would later serve as one of the key players in recruiting the General Motors Assembly Plant to Arlington at the highly visibly location on, you guessed it, the Bankhead Highway. With a front row seat to Arlington’s strong economic and social growth, and with the success of the Vandergriff dealership, Tom acted as an advocate for Arlington’s emergence as a destination with endless potential.

General Motors opened its Arlington facility in 1954 as a “dual-purpose” plant, producing both commercial automobiles and Grumman aircrafts for the United States Navy. Since then, General Motors has proved to be a great asset for Arlington, producing over 1,300 cars per day and providing thousands of jobs to our residents, accounting for over 2 percent of the city’s workforce. GM continues to be the driving force – no pun intended – behind several community development projects around the city, including Downtown’s very own “Doggie Depot,” the city’s newest dog park – located just south of the Bankhead Highway.

The Arlington Auto Aisle

In the mid to late 1900s, many car dealerships were sprinkled down Division Street in an area that was once called the “Arlington Auto Aisle,” a range of showrooms and dealerships located on the Bankhead Highway drawing in thousands of visitors to the city.

According to an article that appeared in a special edition of The Arlington Citizen-Journal published in February 1972, the success of this automobile aisle is largely credited to the cross promotional jingle created by members of the Arlington New Car Dealers Association that ran from 1961 to 1968 and was regarded as the most dramatically successful promotion in automobile sales history.

“Take a ten-minute trip

Down the Arlington Strip

A thousand cars in half a mile

And a “Silver-Wheel Deal” that’s really worthwhile

Arlington, Arlington, Arlington, Arlington Auto Aisle”

The Arlington Auto Aisle included: Vandergriff Chevrolet, Vandergriff Buick, Luke Pontiac, Butts Oldsmobile-Cadillac, Ken Nowell LincolnMercury American Motors, Arendale Ford, Morris Volkswagen, and Mid-City Chrysler-Plymouth. 

The Downtown Arlington Classic Car Show

All roads lead back to the Bankhead Highway – literally and figuratively – as the automobile and entertainment industries of Arlington are greatly intertwined. Drive down Division Street As we invested in Today we celebrate the two-way impact between the two with the Downtown Arlington Classic Car Show, where we’ll be showcasing over 150 classic and antique cars along with music, food, and fun for the whole family.

Grab your friends and family and come out to enjoy an event almost 100 years in the making! The Downtown Arlington Classic Car Show is on June 1, 2024 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. If you’re interested in registering your classic car in the show, please visit the landing page. Mark your calendars and travel down the Bankhead Highway to this fan-favorite event!