Vandergriff Chevrolet—Ads from a Bygone Era

Vandergriff Chevrolet is one of the most iconic and longest-running businesses in Arlington.

Vandergriff Chevrolet

Founded by W.T. “Hooker” Vandergriff (1902–1992), the original location opened in 1926 in Carrollton, where the family lived. Success brought expansion, and in 1937, Vandergriff Chevrolet opened its Arlington site along the Bankhead Highway—a 3,000-mile route spanning 14 southern states that birthed “highway tourism” and businesses catering to motorists.

Known today as the historic Vandergriff Building, located at Center and Division Streets in the heart of Downtown Arlington, the circa 1928 structure began as a full-service dealership and showroom for J.C. Thannisch, who had opened his first Chevrolet dealership a few years earlier. Vandergriff purchased both of Thannisch’s Arlington locations, selling 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, the dealership anchored the influential “Arlington Auto Aisle” before relocating. Though since repurposed, the Vandergriff Building is the oldest commercial structure in Arlington, named to the National Register of Historic Places and recognized as a City of Arlington Local Landmark.

At their peak, the Vandergriffs owned dealerships in Carrollton, Grapevine, Irving, and two highly successful locations in Arlington—the flagship Chevrolet and a Buick dealership down the street. They also operated a wrecker service and even sold furniture and appliances from the car showroom floor. Today, the Vandergriff name lives on via Chevrolet, Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai dealerships along I-20 in South Arlington, though they are no longer family-owned.

Ads from a Bygone Era

To celebrate the success of nearly 90 years of Vandergriff Chevrolet and the upcoming Downtown Arlington Classic Car Show—held on June 6th in and around the Vandergriff Building—here are some newspaper ads spanning 40 years of car sales in Arlington. A fascinating mix of commerce and culture, these ads help tell the story of small-town Arlington and a growing family-owned business, as well as the evolution of newspaper advertising itself through shifts in typography and ad design.