Mount Vee Motel (Site)
GPS Coordinates: 38.7340933, -77.0939865
Closest Address: 3761 Shannons Green Way, Alexandria, VA 22309

These coordinates mark the exact spot where the motel once stood. Today, no visible remains exist.
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Here follows an excerpt from Chris Barbuschak's presentation, "The History of Motels on Route 1 in Fairfax County" on behalf of the Mount Vernon Regional Historical Society:
When the MVRHS first asked me to talk about motels, I thought there's probably 20 tops on Route 1. Boy was I wrong, there are 62! So, a little context about hotels and motels on Richmond Highway. Route 1 is over 2,400 miles long. It's known as America's first main street and it stretches from Maine to Florida and its chock full of mom and pop shacks and businesses, diners, fortune tellers, truck stops and motels. U.S. Route 1 between Washington and Fredericksburg more or less followed the Potomac Path, which was a Native American route along the Potomac River. And when the Europeans came and settled it, they chose the shortest route along the bank of the Potomac as well.
In 1918, the state designated State Route One, which is part of the old Jefferson Davis Highway, and it was called SR1 in 1923. It became State Route 30 in 1926. In less than a year by 1927, the entire stretch of roadway was paved and motels practically popped up overnight. From the 1920s and 1930s, there were tourist ports which were individual cabins that you could stay in. They were arranged in a horseshoe fashion, usually around an office or a picnic area or a restaurant. Then in the 1940s and 1950s, you get into the low slung ranch style motels. And then in the 1960s and 1970s we get a couple of chain motels that come in.
So, Route 1 was the main north and south artery for many years, almost 50 years until Interstate Highway 95 opened up. That connected to Fredericksburg in 1964 and almost overnight all the businesses in the Richmond Highway corridor went downhill and continued to do so. Route 1 kind of had this "no tell" motel vibe to it. Ever since the 1960s, the county tried to get those motels to close and one by one they did. As of today, only nine of those original motels still exist. A couple of them are already on the chopping block.
So buckle up, and lets look at them all:
MOUNT VEE MOTEL -- 8173 RICHMOND HIGHWAY
The Mt. Vee Motel was a very cherished community landmark. However, it also has a bit of a sinister origin story. In 1927, the Ku Klux Clan was kicked out of New York City. They had a radio station there. The famous voice of the Klan, James S. Vance, owned the publishing company of the Ku Klux Clan. So, Vance bought fourteen acres of land on Route 1 in what was then called the Mount Vernon Hills neighborhood. He built this radio broadcasting station here in 1927. The 1920's is really the decade in which the Ku Klux Klan was at it's peak influence, and then they were on their way downhill after. The radio station built here had the radio call letters of WJSV, which were Vance's initials. After a few years here on Route 1, the radio station moved up to Potomac Yard and later it ended up in Maryland. Today, the successor of WJSV is known as the radio news station WTOP. This is something they don't tend to mention on the station nowadays.
To bring the story back around, the old station building here on Route 1 was purchased in the early 1940s by Jesse and Grace Madison, who converted the property into the Matheson Tourist Court. They added eleven tourist cabins to the grounds and converted the former radio station building into an office. They also added a second story to the building so that the owner had a separate living space. Graham B. Squires acquired the tourist court in 1945 and renamed it the Mount Vee Cottage Motel. The family continued to own it until its demolition. In 1952 during the Korean War, cinder blocks were hard to come by and the Squires wanted to expand the motel accommodations. So, he made his own blocks and built these lodgings on the property.
Now, it's very well known that the famous disc jockey, Jackie Arthur Godfrey, would fly his plane into Beacon Hill Airport and that he hosted his radio program from the Mount Vee Motel for many years. Now, there is another sinister connection with this motel. In 1994, Francisco Martin Duran stayed at the motel just before attempting to assassinate President Bill Clinton. The motel's owner, Mrs. Squires, when asked how to get to the National Mall, provided him directions without having any idea of what his intentions were. But, on a happier note, the Mt. Vee Motel also offered horse and carriage rides all the way to the Mount Vernon estate. Does anybody remember seeing one of those walking by? Pretty unique. I am not certain what years the service was being offered. The motel site is now full of townhouses.