The Intersection of History and Horsepower in Downtown Arlington

By Jason S. Sullivan, Arlington Historical Society 

As part of our Arlington 150 blog series in partnership with the Arlington Historical Society, we’re highlighting the places, people, and stories that have shaped our city over the past 150 years. This month, and to celebrate the Downtown Arlington Classic Car Show's return on June 6, we're exploring automobiles in Arlington with the Bankhead Highway, the Vandergriff Building, and General Motors. 

Bankhead Highway 

Automobiles first became part of Arlington's identity with the Bankhead Highway, a transcontinental route pivotal to local, regional, and national commerce. Named for U.S. Senator John H. Bankhead, an early advocate who viewed automobiles as the future of travel, planning began in 1916 with construction completed in the 1920s. 

The 3,000-mile highway spanned 14 southern states, connecting Washington, D.C. to San Diego. Traveling 850 miles through Texas, it linked Texarkana to El Paso and locally connected Dallas, Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Weatherford, and Mineral Wells. Towns thrived on emerging "highway tourism" as businesses catering to motorists—restaurants, car dealerships, garages, gas stations, and tourist camps—sprang up along the route. 

Built along U.S. 80 (now Division Street), Arlington's portion of the Bankhead Highway opened for traffic in 1921. Much of Arlington’s early commerce occurred along this east-west corridor, stretching the town horizontally. The road brought notable attractions like the Top O’ Hill Terrace casino and the Arlington Downs racetrack, which drew visitors and established the city’s tourism industry. The highway had an immeasurable ripple effect—attracting businesses, entertainment venues, and sports teams through the decades. Arlington would likely look vastly different without it.  

Serving as a viable route for cars for nearly 35 years, the Bankhead Highway's popularity faded when the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike (now Interstate 30) opened a few miles north in 1957. Despite the tolls, motorists preferred the faster, more efficient turnpike. The landscape changed again 20 years later with Interstate 20. With two major highways in the area, Division Street became more for local traffic than regional transportation, with commerce and investment following the newest routes. 

Today, Division Street still captures the spirit of the old highway and its motorists. Filled with restaurants, dealerships, service stations, and motels, it offers flashes of nostalgia to a bygone era. One such place of historical significance is the Vandergriff Building.  

Vandergriff Building 

The Downtown Arlington Classic Car Show is held in and around the Vandergriff Town Center. The site is anchored by the historic Vandergriff Building, constructed circa 1928 as a full-service dealership and showroom for J.C. Thannisch, who had opened his first Chevrolet dealership a few years earlier. About a decade later, W. T. "Hooker" Vandergriff purchased both of Thannisch's locations. He sold used cars at the smaller Main Street lot and new cars at the larger Division Street showroom, operating Vandergriff Chevrolet there from 1937 to 1966. While Thannisch pioneered local auto sales, the Vandergriff family truly paved the way for Arlington's automotive industry. 

Still known as the Vandergriff Building, it is the oldest commercial structure in Arlington—named to the National Register of Historic Places and recognized as a City of Arlington Local Landmark. It may no longer have that new car smell, but it has immense character. Though it sat empty for years, it has been beautifully restored and repurposed as an iconic part of downtown. Nearly a century old, it remains a powerful link to the city's automotive history and economic growth. 

This iconic historic building at the northern entrance to our Downtown serves as an impressive backdrop for the upcoming Classic Car Show scheduled for June 6. It is fitting that Hooker's great-granddaughter, Caroline Vandergriff, will serve as this years MC for the car show awards. 

The Vandergriffs—father W. T. and son, Tom—used their dealership success and civic connections to help persuade General Motors to build a plant in Arlington. It seemed impossible. Until it wasn't. 

General Motors Assembly Plant 

Having cars travel through Arlington or sold at local dealerships is one thing, but assembling them here—weaving the manufacturing itself into the fabric of our community—is a different story. More than just a symbol of car culture, the General Motors Assembly Plant became the economic engine of Arlington. 

In 1950, Arlington was a small town of 7,500 people surrounded by farmland. Soon after Tom Vandergriff was elected mayor in 1951, he succeeded in attracting General Motors. Securing the GM plant was an extraordinary achievement that forever changed our trajectory, remaining one of the most pivotal events in our city's history. 

When the plant opened in January 1954, production focused on Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and even military aircraft. In the 1960s, the plant shifted primarily to Chevrolet cars, producing iconic vehicles like the Bel Air, El Camino, Impala, Malibu, and Monte Carlo. 

GM's arrival triggered a massive population surge and staggering growth. As new housing developments sprang up, Arlington expanded by necessity; Lake Arlington, the D-FW Turnpike, and Arlington Memorial Hospital soon arrived to meet the community's needs. By 1960, the population reached nearly 45,000, doubling to 90,000 by 1970. Today, Arlington is the third-largest city in the Metroplex, a transformation rooted in the GM plant's impact.  

Though an early-1990s recession threatened the facility, the plant pivoted to pickup trucks, fueled by Texas-sized demand. Larger vehicles soon followed. For over 20 years, the plant has assembled full-size SUVs; today, 75% of those on U.S. roads likely originated right here in Arlington. 

It is an astonishing achievement for a major industrial plant to remain in one community for decades. Over 70 years and 13 million vehicles later, GM is deeply intertwined with our history and culture. Arlington would be a vastly different city without GM, and we are fortunate for their enduring investment in our community. 

Downtown Arlington Car Show 

The Downtown Arlington Classic Car Show is more than just a celebration of beautiful rides—it is symbolic of a century-long relationship with the automobile. The event's location along the historic Bankhead Highway and right outside the Vandergriff Building is no coincidence. In fact, it is highly likely that some of the classic cars on display were assembled just down the road at our own GM Plant. It is a perfect intersection of history, culture, and industry. 

There's a story behind every car at the show. These aren't just well-oiled machines—someone has dedicated countless hours to preserving them. Some of these vehicles have been passed down through generations of the same family. Indeed, car shows are a celebration of preservation and the past, often history lessons on wheels. 

When Arlington was founded in 1876, "horsepower" meant something entirely different, but downtown was always a place to gather. This show proudly carries on that tradition, proving that automobiles remain the heartbeat of Arlington. 

Author

Jason S. Sullivan is a blogger exploring the past and present of Arlington. He has also contributed several local history articles to the City of Arlington's website. As a board member, newsletter editor, and social media manager for the Arlington Historical Society, he is instrumental in sharing local history and preserving stories for future generations. In 2023, he received the Debbie Reynolds-Hazen Award, recognizing a younger individual for leadership in collecting and preserving Tarrant County's history. Visit his blog at JasonSSullivan.com.