Best of Arlington 2015
Health & Beauty
Best Eye Doctor
Virginia Vision Associates
As a kid, Larry London spent a lot of time hanging around his father’s optometry practice in Clarendon. Founded in 1946, the office maintained a venerable presence until its building was demolished in the ’70s to make way for Metro. That’s when it relocated to its current location in Virginia Square.
London officially joined the family business in 1983 after graduating from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Philadelphia. “I just really enjoyed being with my dad. He was a really great father,” he says of his mentor, who passed away three years ago.
Since then, London has carried on the family tradition, but with a few tweaks, including a sleek remodel of the office space he shares with fellow optometrists Elizabeth Lobaugh and Kate Whitescarver. Whereas most optometry offices are lined with walls and walls of frames, the practice has moved its inventory behind closed doors. “Everything’s now in the back,” London explains, so that patients can try on new frames in private without receiving unsolicited comments or feeling self-conscious about what strangers may think.
The selection includes hard-to-find frames, including a French line called Face à Face. Some designs are simple and classic, while others are edgy—like the pair of glasses decorated with pictures of stiletto heels.
Stacy Russell says she appreciates the time and attention she receives during exams. “[Dr. London] is very knowledgeable, he’s very kind and he’s very concerned,” says the Fairfax Station resident, an oncology nurse who has been driving into Arlington for appointments for the past 15 years. “It’s not only about your eyes. When you’re in with Dr. London or when you’re seeing the opticians, it’s like you’re the only person there. There’s nobody waiting. You never feel rushed or pressured—even if the waiting room is really full.”
–W.K.
3800 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 1, Tower Villas, Arlington, 703-522-3454, www.virginiavision.com
Other top vote-getters:
Arlington Eye Center
MyEyeDr.
Northern Virginia Ophthalmology Associates
Northern Virginia Doctors of Optometry
NOVA Vision Center
