New Echoes of Little Saigon StoryMap!
The Echoes of Little Saigon oral history project began as a 2014 graduate urban planning studio directed by Dr. Elizabeth Morton, who was then teaching at Virginia Tech. In 2015, building on research and community oral histories collected by fellow students, Judd Ullom developed the series of short documentaries below, tied to a walking tour of Clarendon sites associated with Little Saigon.
Please check out the Echoes of Little Saigon StoryMap, which includes a historical narrative and additional information about the project, along with the video documentaries below. Thanks so much to Rudo Kemper and Liz Nguyen for volunteering to transform the content of Ullom and Dr. Morton’s studio team into this updated interactive format!
In 2025 Dr. Morton began collecting new oral histories to further document and interpret the stories of Vietnamese American community members who frequented Little Saigon in Clarendon. For more information, or to share your story, please contact Dr. Elizabeth Morton.
The next time you visit Clarendon, look out for this series of storefront stickers in the following establishments to see and hear more about Little Saigon. Each sticker includes a QR code (scannable from any smartphone) that connects users directly to a short documentary like you see above featuring a specific chapter of Little Saigon’s history. Each chapter of the story is told exclusively through the voices of those who participated in this cultural preservation oral history project—those who lived, shopped or owned a business in Little Saigon. The establishments on which the stickers are posted were almost all occupied by Vietnamese businesses. Archival photographs, paired with the oral history excerpts, show you what these businesses looked like inside and out. Go back in time and experience Little Saigon Clarendon for yourself!
Note: several of the window stickers have been removed due to renovations, but you can still access the oral histories through the StoryMap or by scrolling down on this site while you visit the locations below. We hope to get all the stickers back soon!
Chapter 1: Escape from Vietnam, and 
Immigration to the U.S. — Spice Kraft Indian Bistro; 1135 N. Highland Street
Chapter 2: Making a Home in Clarendon — The Hartford Building; 3101 Wilson Boulevard
Chapter 3: Scenes from Little Saigon — Angolino Pizza; 3125 Wilson Boulevard
Chapter 4: Introduction of the Metro, and Rise of Eden Center — Don Tito’s; 3165 Wilson Boulevard
Chapter 5: Reflections on Little Saigon — Spider Kelly’s; 3181 Wilson Boulevard
Thank you to Clarendon Alliance and the above businesses for sponsoring and hosting the original project!
The videos above were created by Judd Ullom for his Masters in Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Project. They draw on the oral histories conducted in Dr. Morton’s studio course, photographs provided by community residents, and additional archival research.
To cite this overall project, please credit: Echoes of Little Saigon Oral History Project. Directed by Dr. Elizabeth Morton. littlesaigonclarendon.com
To cite one of the documentary videos, please credit: Judd Ullom. 2015. “Name of Video.” Echoes of Little Saigon Oral History Project. Directed by Dr. Elizabeth Morton. littlesaigonclarendon.com
Echoes of Little Saigon 