Green Valley Pharmacy (in Green Valley Neighborhood)
Item
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Subject of Research
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Green Valley Pharmacy (in Green Valley Neighborhood)
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Story
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Green Valley Pharmacy helped shape and define the Nauck community for more than six decades. The original owner of the business, Leonard Muse, was often called "Doc Muse" by friends and customers alike. Muse attended Howard University School of Pharmacy in Washington, D.C., and graduated on June 6, 1948. As one of 13 graduates in his class, he started his professional career employed by Johnson Pharmacy, located at 600 3rd Street in Southwest DC. Muse was surprised to learn that there were no pharmacies in nearby Arlington that allowed African Americans to come into their stores. Typically, Black customers had to use rear entrances and were not treated well with their medical prescriptions. A friend from Norfolk, Virginia, Waverly W. Jones, who was a classmate of his at Howard and a member of the same graduating class, suggested they go into business together and open a pharmacy in Virginia. Muse and Jones first rented a vacant grocery store at 2415 Shirlington Road and then formally purchased the property on September 14, 1955. The pharmacy was especially popular for its dine-in food counter. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, beverages, and an abundance of ice cream desserts were available. Customers of all ages could dine at the counter. From the onset, Muse felt it was very important to convince customers that his business was there to help them and unite the community. In 2011, Arlington County listed the property as a local historic district and dedicated a historic marker on the site.
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People
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Leonard “Doc” Muse
Annie Brown
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Place
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Green Valley
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Source
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A-Guide-to-the-African-American-Heritage-of-Arlington-County-Virginia.pdf, 35-36.
