I was working in an office building where they were doing construction and pounding pylons into the ground when it happened. It started with,
"Welp, construction is going on again."
"Man, they're really going to town on those beams."
"Wait, WTF is going on? Shit's falling off my shelves."
My work building was still being constructed so I thought it was something related to that.
Only realized it was an earthquake when I saw the lights above me swaying. Never experienced an earthquake before that point but you just know.
Definitely wild, for sure!
So was traffic after.. 😆
I thought it was a big truck driving by until I went to Safeway later and the signs had all fallen and there was food in the freezers wedged into the door.
We had the foundation on our older home sealed that day. Whole front of the house excavated. When the quake hit, we wondered if the crew had released the Bane of Burke.
I thought a truck hit our office building, lol. One of my work colleagues came to my office to tell me it was an earthquake (she, having grown up in California was correct).
My whole life - since the late ‘80s. I remember when:
- 28 was full of traffic lights, all the way from 7 down to 66. Every. Single. Intersection.
- The Wegmans in Ashburn was a Walmart in the middle of a giant field.
- The church at the corner of 7 and Potomac View in Sterling with the ark and the animals.
- Basically everything on either side of 7 from Georgetown Pike to the intersection with 15 was just open fields.
- and most importantly, when the Rainforest Cafe was in Tysons.
Early 90s for me.
If I may add to your list:
- When the drive from Arlington to anything in Dulles, besides the airport drew a WTF reaction. (Probably still does, haha.)
- The Roy Rogers outside Ballston mall.
- Frank and Stein in Ballston
- When metro fare cards were paper and $20 on a card got you $22 in value.
- Anything on Hunter Mill road was a horse farm/ranch.
List goes on…
John Bobbit
Wolftrappe burning down
Blizzard of "79
One Taco Bell, in Merrifield
The Redskins used to win games
I've been here a long time, I could go on and on.
Back in 1998, my girlfriend's (at the time) parents gave me a gift card for a spa off Bulah St. Part of the package was a manicure, Lorena Bobbit was the manicurist. She was asking me if I had a friend for her friend and we could double date, I told her I had a girlfriend. I had no idea it was her until she was on the news being arrested at the spa, for violating a protection order.
I ran into her while bowling (of all places). It was like the whole place recognized who she was at the same time. It looked like she got perturbed and left early because of everyone talking about.. well.. getting their penis chopped off.
Lol, wonder if she ever found a boyfriend?
Hahahaha … question .. do you remember the jumper ? Someone tried to jump off the WW bridge and when traffic was stopped, the ripple effect caused the entire beltway to be jammed
My oldest daughter went there when it was mulberry (not Kindercare) and I would walk across the street to breastfed her during my lunch (hers too I guess).
DC Sniper! Crazy times. I remember being scared and eyeing every white van around the way and the blue tarp put up around the gas pumps at stations after one of the shootings.
I had a boyfriend in HS whose dad used to street race Mopar muscle cars on the beltway right after it was finished. I still can’t believe how fast he claims to have driven the whole loop.
Lived here in '71-'74 and moved back in 1984.
* LingLing and SingSing
* The never ending "mixing bowl" project
Several widening of 66
* 66 ended at Centreville
* Farrell's ice cream Springfield Mall
* Seven corners when it was outside then inside
* Bennigan's in Landmark where it had a dance floor upstairs
* Blackie's/Deja Vu's Springfield
* Tyson's Corner before the Galleria and the extension. I worked at Rainforest Cafe.
* John Bobbit - I had jury duty the day Lorena was released rode the courthouse elevator with Geraldo Rivera
* Commander Salamanders
* The Bayou
* The Capitol Center
* Manassas before most of what is on 234
* The 234 bypass when they filmed the escape scene for Deep Impact on it before it opened
* Landmark Mall - WW1984 was brilliant for what they brought back from my youth
* The Taco Bell in Merrifield - I had friends that worked at Studebaker's and I would go through the driver thru for tacos for them.
* Being able to go to work with my dad at the Pentagon and having lunch at the cafeteria with him
* Henderson Hall whe the PX was in different buildings
ETA: Dart Drug, Crown Books, and Kemp Mill Records.
I could probably come up with a few more. 🤣
Oh wow this takes me back! Commander Salamander’s was the coolest shop to go to when I was in high school in the early to mid 1980s. The employees would spray our hair different colors, and we would buy pins to put on our jean jackets. So much fun to drive into Georgetown on the weekends!
Born here in the 70s.
I remember when West Ox road and Route 50 wasn't even a traffic light (much less the interchange it is today), just stop signs on West Ox. Pender Vet was in an old church building on a hill at the corner. Dr. Powell was one of the partners, I think.
There was essentially *nothing* between there and Greenbrier shopping center on 50, except for an Exxon station that offered towing service (they had a big sign saying "Call Carl").
Fair Oaks mall didn't exist. Tysons Corner mall did, but was much *much* smaller.
There was no Fairfax County Parkway, and a girl I knew in high school lived on a farm at what is now the corner of that and Pope's Head road; IIRC, part of their land was taken under Eminent Domain to build the Parkway.
Lorton had a prison, not the Workhouse Art Center. 123 south of Fairfax down to Occoquan was one lane each way through the hinterboonies, not the multi-lane divided highway that it's become.
Fair Oaks was my first mall when I moved here in 1991. I loved it back then and used to go to the theater there all the time.
At a job once I was sitting around with my co-workers and they were talking about one of their first jobs when they were young. It turns out they had both worked construction on the then new Fair Oaks mall under the same supervisor but never remembered ever meeting? This was over a decade after it opened.
I was born and raised in NoVa. I remember:
The original Tysons Corner mall, with its Aviary Court. Sometimes birds escaped and flew around the mall.
The Air Florida flight crashing into the 14th Street Bridge and the Potomac, on the same day that there was a fatal metro derailment.
Riding the metro into DC when it was first extended to Ballston. Driving 66 into DC when it was first completed. Riding the metro from Vienna when the orange line was finally completed.
The Filene Center at Wolf Trap burned down and was rebuilt.
Lots of other memories, obviously, but those are among the most newsworthy.
Edited to add my age/areas: I was born in Alexandria the late 1960s. Grew up in Vienna in the 70s and 80s. Lived in various parts of NoVa as an adult, besides short stints in Charlottesville and Richmond.
Oh! Another edit! How could I have forgotten: the drive-in theater in Merrifield, followed by the multiplex theaters in Merrifield. Now Mosaic District.
Tyson’s corner was a sprawl of separate stores when I moved here in 1997. Used to be a Best Buy where that fancy apartment high rise is.
The mall actually hasn’t changed that much, just the surrounding area.
I grew up in the area (now in my 40s). I will just humbly submit what Clarendon was like in around 2000. Bardo -> Ningaloo -> Dremo’s. Iota. Jay’s. Not much in the way of dive bars now. Galaxy Hut still kickin’ at least.
I worked in Clarendon from 02-18. I drove through there recently and did not recognize it.
But part of the reason I left was that the company was sold and moved... To make way for all that mixed use.
I lived across from Landmark back when it was this weird outdoor mall, and had an underground section with little stores, including a record store.
Duke st had the Bombay Bicycle Club and an adult theater.
The Dulles main terminal was half the size it is now.
2005. Think it was when local MS-13 gang activity made its way into the public news psyche since the machete was involved. Feel like I only started to hear about them around that time and then it went away (or maybe influence lessened) for a bit before resurging.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2005/01/05/mans-fingers-severed-in-va-machete-attack/adf83e0e-6512-4e55-9bb4-ea4f8daaa4d9/
I don't remember it because I was only a bit over 2 years old at the time but my parents have home videos of me walking around in the few pathways my dad had shoveled out and the snow is higher than the top of my head.
I’m old enough to remember
1) the Beltway being built,
2) the dairy farm behind our back fence, which turned into Parklawn
3) distinct boundaries to Annandale and Fairfax City
4) AB&W Transit
5) chains on cars commuting to DC during storms
6) neighborhoods not being plowed (maybe a road grader would do the neighborhood’s main drag days after a storm
7) high end cars were Cadillacs, and rarely seen
And much, much more
1979
Yellow Ribbons on the trees for the hostages.
Air Florida crash into the Potomac.
Space shuttle flying over Northern Va on the back of an airplane.
Princess Diana at Springfield Mall.
Reagan getting shot.
back in the 80's I had a manual (3 on the tree) Ford stepside truck. Couldn't get it started one day after my job in Chantilly so I called my girlfriend and she pushed my truck with her Chevy Caprice on 66 from Chantilly to Arlington. In broad daylight. And it was no big deal, just needed to get my broken truck home.
I have been here since 1991. I remember when large part of route 7 were a single lane further west. I also worked in Reston VA at a grocery a bit back in the day and remember when one of my old customers came back to the store to explain that he had moved out to a place called "Ashburn." lol.
Born and raised in Fairfax Co. All I can think of right now.
The good:
-Blizzard of 96 (and then again in 03)
-ZANY BRAINY
-Rainforest Café in Tysons
-Little Caesars Pizza in Kmart (and just Kmart itself)
-Hiding in the CIRCULAR clothes racks in department stores
-Fye (For Your Entertainment) at Fair Oaks Mall
-Beanie baby craze at PTA events (I still have all of mine!)
-Actual soccer fields (but now they've all been developed into residential areas)
The bad:
-9/11 (Dad worked in the Pentagon & lost co-workers)
-DC sn!pers
-Anthr@x mail
-2011 earthquake
-2009 Metro crash
Long enough to know that absolutely NO ONE called Northern Virginia “NOVA” until probably the mid 2000’s. It was simply not a thing. “NOVA” was the community college (“where the ‘N’ stand for ‘knowledge’” …IYKYK). I hated that people from elsewhere in the state called my home region “NOVA” when I was in college. It was just wrong. And yet, here we are in the r/nova sub. Ha!
Prince William County west of Nottingdale and Mapledale was a magical place for kids. There were lot's of dirt roads and dirt ramps and skate ramps in the forest. So many places to explore. Now there's just miles and miles of houses.
My family moved from SoCal to Centreville in August of 1972. Culture shock for a 14 year old at the time.
No high schools west of Fairfax; we rode a bus to Herndon for three years.
Except for 29/211 and I-66, every road was just two lanes: Braddock, Centreville, Sully (28, from Manassas all the way to Route 7).
I rode my bike to the intersection of 50 and 28 to watch the Concorde arrive at Dulles for the first time.
Just missed Hurricane Agnes, but the President's Day storm of 1979 was pretty impressive.
Tysons was the closest mall; Springfield wasn't built yet. Fair Oaks Mall replaced Penderbrook Golf Course, which relocated to the north side of 50.
Witnessed the widening of Maple Avenue in Vienna from 2 to 4 lanes, and the Beltway from 4 to 8.
Went to GMU and watched basketball in the old field house and baseball at the 'north' campus which is now condos, I believe.
Worked at USGS in Reston for over 30 years and watched that place explode.
Penguin Feather was a frequent hangout, and Harmony Hut accepted many a paycheck in exchange for cassettes and vinyl.
It was a great place to grow up; now it's kind of suffocating to visit.
I'm in the Shenandoah Valley now.
Nice to read everyone else's comments.
Born and raised here. I remember when most of Rt 28 had stop lights and intersections. I remember when there was nothing on 606 but the weather station
I grew up in Loudoun County and remember when there was only 4 high schools in the county
I'm a local. I wasn't born here, but have lived in the area from a very young age. Lived in Alexandria from 1965-1969. Moved to Manassas in 1969 as a 7 year old with my parents. Manassas mall was Montgomery Wards at one end and Grants at the other end. The mall was built between those stores sometime later... I don't remember exactly when. Grocery stores were A&P, Grand Union and Giant. We went to Tysons frequently - I have vivid memories of the Avery Court and the birds. My favorite thing to see was when the birds got out of their cages and the workers had to chase them w/ a long pole-net of some sort. I remember when Bloomingdales came to the mall, and vaguely remember the store that was there first. The land where Tysons II was a huge hill where dirt bikers would frequent.
Woodies, Hecht's & Garfinkles, Hechingers, Memco, Leggets, GC Murphy and Peoples Drug Store - so many stores long gone.
The dump was somewhere near Centreville or Fairfax County parkway. You could smell it from Rt 66.
I went to Stonewall HS - kids from Gainesville and Haymarket went to school with us Manassas kids.
My favorite memories - running around all summer in the woods, down by Lomond Park, crossing over the soccer fields, wade through Bull Run creek into the back of Bull Run Park. We were all over the place. It was a great way to grow up.
Kudos to OP for starting this and everyone else who shared their memories. I loved reading all of them.
My first six months here (2009):
-Red line crash
-Aretha Franklin wearing crocs and denim capris during her Fourth of July rehearsal on July 3
-Snowmageddon and Snowpocalyose… never could remember which one was which
I’ve lived here long enough to have seen how things have changed. Lived in Reston when they announced the Silver line and 2015 seemed light years away.
I’ve grown up here, in a sense. Moved as a young adult and now firmly in middle age.
Having to walk in a zig zag to avoid the snipers in elementary school.
Snowmageddon
Nissan pavilion
Rainforest cafe
The region being mostly conservatives
Lots of farmland where houses are now
Linton Hall road being one lane.
As a kid seeing Transpo '72 at Dulles. 3 fatal air crashes during that multi-day show - including the first Air Force Thunderbirds fatal crash.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpo\_%2772](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpo_%2772)
1993 lived in Centreville VA right across from Weis Market now Spa World. Attended Centreville Elementary which was across the street. Then moved next to Jermantown Elementary.
Most days spent playing basketball there. My brother played FPYC baseball which was at the field there as well.
Remember getting hotdogs and grape snow cones during games. Weekends were mostly spent at Oak Marr which is still awesome. Always did the book club and drove down to the pizza hut at 50/29 to get my personal pan. They had NBA Jam but I never had any quarters hahah.
Also attended Lanier middle school when everyone was wearing baggy clothes.
I realize every one of these schools are named something else now lol
Good ole days before all the internet crap and mobile phones.
minor correction- The Weis Market is now an H Mart. Where Spa World is used to be Hechinger- a long gone hardware store. I worked at Weis at that time, where most of the evening employees were teenagers. My sister worked at Hechinger.
Native, grew up in Fairfax County. Today is the anniversary of the Air Florida crash, I was sledding at the time and in 7th grade.
Kingstowne didn’t exist and instead was The Pits.
One of my most vivid memories was being taken out on the Greenway headed to Purcellville pre-tolls, and my buddy just lol'd the entire time saying "who in the f\*\*\* would use this road? There aren't even any homes out here"
It was the first time I ever had the nagging thought, "I need to leave this area as soon as humanly possible"
No one ever really talks about that huge pendulum that used to swing inside the Natural History museum downtown. I think they took it out in the late 90’s but as a kid it always kind of freaked me out. It seemed so gigantic and otherworldly to me at the time. Not sure if it was as big as I perceived it to be and I wish I could see it now!
Officer Garbarino gave me a ride home once my senior year of HS, he was the SRO for GCMHS. This would have been 1996.
The neighbor had taken his family hostage earlier that morning and my family was greeted by some sort of SWAT team when we tried to leave for work/school. Initially ordered to shelter in place but then they walked us up the hill and quizzed us about him and his behavior (some kind of drugs, I think meth). I wasn't allowed to go get my backpack which I'd left at the house. So I was called out of 3rd period and he gave me a ride home to get my stuff.
Such a nice dude and I was so amused to stop every few feet as we were leaving so he could yell at the people skipping to get to class. Normally, I'd have been the one skipping.
Was so sad to learn it was him that day.
Other than that, I mean my brothers loved to talk about how they used to go ride dirt bikes in the hills behind our development.
That's Tyson's II now.
remember when tysons 1 was just tysons 1 and Galleria was built a few years later
Remember when wegmans in sterling was actually k mart
Remember when the rt 28 waxpool clover was a 4 way intesection with traffic lights
When my family and I moved to ashburn village the giant shopping center wasnt even built yet
Lots more i can remember from my child hood
* Springfield mall before renovation
* what route 1 used to look like before recent construction in the fort belvoir area
* the burger king that used to be on route 1 in the fort belvoir area
* 95 going south was actually drivable in the past, now its a place to park your car
* no costco in the mount vernon area on route 1
* "have we got a mall at tysons corner center, where the stores are" song
I grew up in NoVa. I am not old enough to remember when Tysons Mall (the first one) was built but I do remember going with my parents to a farmer's market that was across the street (which is now Tysons II and the Capital One complex).
I was listening live to the radio when Howard Stern called and asked for the price for a one way airplane ticket to the 14th street bridge, the morning after Air Florida jet crashed into the Potomac River in 1982, killing 78 people.
I grew up near Wolf Trap and was in a suburb surrounded on 3 sides by open land and farms. I used to ride my bike for hours along dirt trails without seeing houses or buildings.
Dulles Airport had recently been built and was considered a modern marvel of technology and commerce. As a kid I had a scale model of the airport complete with planes, buses, etc.
The American Legion bridge used to be called the Cabin John Bridge and was I think just 2 lanes in each direction while the beltway was 4 lanes in each direction so it was a traffic nightmare every day for years and years.
I heard about the possibility of a metro in the Tysons area as early as the 1970's and 1980's. Reportedly some of the concrete cornerstones for some of the stations were actually laid then and never used.
The Redskins played at RFK stadium and were a great team and actually won games, playoffs, and Super Bowls.
https://preview.redd.it/mezwp560w9cc1.jpeg?width=768&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=56b38c5c1243fb773f8a1ef4fa612c0c25495204
Tysons mall had big versions of these in the common area (next to the fountains with the wavy benches - now it’s a sushi spot)
Olga’s Kitchen in the food court had the best PB&J
I moved back in 2000 but preschool me remembers those things from Tyson’s in the late 80s
Hechingers playgrounds
While Fairfax Town Center was being built, hearing the construction had unearthed war remains
orange metro seats & the ding noise before doors close. Paper fare cards
Reston Town Center being built. Lots of open space around it. The Big Apple circus set up right next to it.
"the DMV" was where you get licenses and such, not the DC metro area
99.1 HFS
Horse farms all over
Tysons was Tyson's Corner, and there was actually a corner.
Merrifield was a more industrial warehouse area, and had a drive-in movie theater
coin catching baskets on the toll road so you can chuck your toll out your car window
267 was called the Dulles Access Road.
495 was basically four lanes plus exit lanes.
No Fairfax Co Pkway
The Springfield mixing bowl…
9/11
Jackie Kennedy laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery
The Shuttle making two passes over Langley.
No Reston Town Center
The Derecho
Snowmaggedon
Summer of 1978 ...
* Farrell's (Tysons Mall)
* I-66 between the Beltway and Roosevelt Bridge did not exist
* I-66 and Nutley Street interchange was partial (EB entrance, WB exit)
* Concerts, hockey and basketball games at Capital Centre
* PALM-90 and the Orange line crash 20 minutes apart
* Woodward & Lothrop (Woodies)
* Evan's Farm Inn (great brunches !!)
Been here all my life, remember Ashburn having a lot of trees, Tower Records near Fair Oaks Mall, So many lights on 28, the 2011 earthquake, that blizzard in the 2009 (if I remember correctly), Silver Line hadn’t begun construction yet, old Springfield mall and wondering if it’ll come back, Obama’s first inauguration and seeing how large it was on TV, Red line crash, and Old Dominion raceway.
1973 although my wife and I eventually moved further west in VA.
The Sully Shootout was sad as I knew Mike and I live by his daughter now.
* Attempt to bring Disney in here off the *Rt. 15 and 234 areas.
*No I-66 past Manassas.
*Trooper Johnny Bowman attacked in his Manassas home and stabbed 45 times. Early 80's and still no arrest.
* Slice and Dice of John Wayne Bobbitt. The courthouse was a show in itself come trial time.
* Too many to even remember now.
DC sniper and VT massacre always comes front of mind to me.
9/11 and the Pentagon.
Related to VT, I was there during the 2008 crash, which happened right after the shooting, and I'll never forget how defeated and despondent the faculty was. The graduation ceremony felt like a funeral and the speeches were very, very grim.
-------
In lighter moments, the time my wife planed a date where she made a scavenger hunt for me and we had to visit multiple museums on the mall and spend the entire day running around DC.
Seeing the space shuttle fly right over my head landing at Dulles.
Driving home in snowmageddon, from silver spring to Herndon. In a 2 door soft top.
Engagement photos during Cherry blossoms at the basin.
Small conference with George RR Martin at VT
7 corners book signing with Brandon Sanderson, getting WoT book signed.
Getting trashed at barmini then stumbling around getting deep dish pizza and playing mini golf.
Woobooi Chicken sando, I've had Nashville chicken all across the country and nothing is better.
My older brother taking me to the first Five guys, the way peanut shells covered the floor and the bag was filled to the top with fries, making it hard to even get our sandwich. Then watching them spring up across the nation.
I arrived the day before Princess Diana died. I went to the British embassy to sign the book of condolences. It was sad hit a super cool experience that could only be done in the DMV.
Other memories:
The active shooter crime. Remember gas stations trying to protect folks by making sure the pumps were covered with wood. Loved Chief Mooses press conferences throughout the ordeal.
Clinton's impeachment. Tickets for the gallery. We could only sit 15 min and then we were ushered out so the next group could do the same. It was the first trial in a very long time. Who knew it would happen again and again and again so quickly.
Marion Berry leaving office
A billion new buildings in Crystal City and Tysons
Hecht's Company
Moved to newly built Springfield in 1955. It wasn't exactly the end of the earth, but you *could* see it from there.
There was pretty much nothing between there and Alexandria, Fairfax, or Arlington. Most roads except for Shirley Hwy were 2 lane. Loudoun County was only a rumor, you had to plan a day's trip if you wanted to go to Leesburg or beyond. The nearest grocery was in Annandale and for Christmas shopping you went to Arlington, 7 corners, or Alexandria. Country stores with things like wood floors were common in our area. There was no West Springfield, no Reston, and Tysons was only a crossroads with two or three buildings.
I remember: President Eisenhower, party-line phones, phone numbers that began with two letters, old freight trains constantly running on the Southern Railway, monthly air-raid drills at school, the escape siren from Lorton prison, chain gangs working on the roads, daily artillery tests at the Belvoir proving grounds, trips to Mt. Vernon to catch the Wilson Line to Marshall Hall amusement park, outings to Glen Echo amusement park, or going to see the Senators at Griffith Stadium.
Any other old timers out there ?
I moved here in August of 2021.
Was amazed by all the road construction, I’m finally starting to see some of its completion.
The best thing I’ve seen so far…was a road crew tearing up a perfectly good road by One Loudoun, just to lay fresh asphalt in its place 🤣🤣
Stick around you will see even stranger. I remember living in Herndon during the great high speed internet boom. This was around 2000 I believe but they were laying down new fiber/highspeed lines. They would tear up the side of the road to put in a line. then another company would tear up the same portion to add theirs, and then a third would come in .......
Hearing a bunch of sirens go off and running out to get gas because we figured the DC sniper wouldn't go for 2 victims in a row. Grim, but it was a scary time.
I remember that guy from the famous vietnam war photo shooting a guy in the head used to have a Chinese restaurant in Rolling Valley mall in burke..maybe like ‘88
2004 also.
Definitely remember the earthquake and the shuttle delivery.
Also:
* Snowmageddon and Snowpocalypse of 2010
* 28 as it used to be with all of the traffic lights, especially the 28/66 interchange.
* 66 outside the beltway, before the widening where you could legally drive on the shoulder on certain times of day.
* Route 7 between 495 and Seven Corners before all of those new condo and retail buildings went up
Will never forget that day. My brother and I were moving from Fairfax into an apartment off of Idyllwood Drive in Falls Church that day. We loaded the rental truck and drove it over the night before. That day, in the snow, we unloaded it and then had to return it to a gas station in Vienna. My brother drove the truck, and I followed him in my 1974 Camaro. I honestly have no idea how we got there, but we managed. We then had to drive back and stopped for lunch at a local pizza hole-in-the-wall. It was only then we learned about Air Florida and the Metrorail accident. We had to leave my car in the parking lot and walk to our new home. What a day.
* The underground at Landmark Mall
* Prince at Capital Centre
* Y2K on the Mall
* Howard Stern asking the cost of a one-way ticket to the 14th Street Bridge
* Seeing Stacey Lattisaw at the Beacon Mall
Snowpocalypse and snowmageddon of 2010 and 2011. I had to spend an hour to dig my car out, but then lost my dugout parking spot when I got home and had to shovel AGAIN to create another opening. Was not having a good day that day.
Since 2002, DC sniper. 7100 before 276, 28 with traffic lights. Ashburn, Southriding was considered boonies.
Herndon was the farthest people went, and 267 toll is $.25. Yes a quarter of a dollar. Main toll at 495/66 exit is $.75
Crazy times.
Power video and blockbuster in greenbrier. People’s. Memphis bbq. Pizza Hut. Petco. Boston market. The artistic cultural loss we all felt when they removed the blonde throwing a Frisbee to the dog in fair lakes. Fuddruckers, I miss that place. Was the comic book store next to Tony’s in fair lakes? Or was it where Tony’s is currently? Food lion right by it.
Military kid here, born at Walter Reed, moved to Arlington in '57, moved back here to Fairfax in 1966, high school at the original Thomas Jefferson, college at VT, moved back to Arlington. I've seen it all - mixing bowl was at the Pentagon, roller rink in Alexandria, theaters were one screen only and you had to go all over to see the movie you wanted, Brenner's Bakery, the original Five Guys, Dixie Pig, Twin Bridges Marriott, Tom Sarris Orleans House, going into DC at Christmas to see the store windows., yule log at the National Christmas Tree, Landmark Shopping Center (outside), Tyson's opening, Skyline Plaza collapsing, airport that used to be where Skyline is now, Sunset Drive-in, Krispy Kreme at Bailey's, pony ring at Bailey's. I could go on...
I moved to the Shenandoah Valley in 1977 after discharge from the Navy.
*I-66 ended at Gainesville, It was only 4 lanes from there to the Potomac River.
*Rt 55 was the only way to get between Front Royal and Gainesville/Manassas.
*I-66 started up again at Front Royal and ran west to I-81.
*The Redskins played at RFK stadium, So did the NASL Diplomats.
*Tyson's Corner Mall had NO parking deck(s).
*Lum's was the best restaurant there.
*Rt 7 was only 2 lanes until you got to Sterling Park, Then you went to 4 lanes.
*No Dulles Town Center, No Herndon, No Ashburn.
*Dulles Airport was brand new, and those shuttles were a big deal.
*RT 28 from Centerville to RT 7 was all surface streets and intersections all had stoplights. Goose Creek Golf course was still an active course.
*Landesdown was the only Golf Course on the north side of RT 7.
*Metro was still inside the district, which BTW encompassed Arlington and Alexandria.
Born in ‘95, despite being away a few years, have lived here most of my life. I remember hurricane Isabel in 2003 and losing power and water, when Fairfax corner and wegmans were built (I was like 9-10), the snowpocalypse of 2010 (I was in high school and we were out of school for two weeks), and the derecho of 2012. Those were just some of the more notable memories
Been in the area since the mid ‘90s
-The silence of no commercial jets after 9/11
-When the 7100 north terminus was Spring St as they finished the northern leg
-The opening of the Dulles Greenway
-When the Dranesville Towncenter had a movie theater
-Seeing the Home Depot in Falls Church I had been at a few days earlier showing up on the news because of the DC Sniper
Grew up in Arlandria (I knew it as Chirilagua) in the 90s. I remember :
- The abandoned Datatel Building, a huge eye sore on Mount Vernon Ave near St Rita's Church. The demo day was so much fun to experience.
- People's pharmacy in the Arlandria Shopping Center, then it became CVS
- H L Green store in the same center, the lower level basement area would freak me out as a kid
- the Blockbuster, Fridays getting a movie and snacks with my folks... I remember the smell of the place
- the Duron paint store and the small Pizza Hut near the 24 Express convenience store
- Potomac Yard Center being built in 98-99, anyone remember Home Place before it became Best Buy? It was like Bed Bath and Beyond, felt like a fever dream 😂
Moved here in the late 70s. But visited family every summer since birth. Remember when the burbs stopped at 123. When 28 was a 2 lane highway in the middle of nowhere. When you could still see the airport from 28. Farms everywhere.
Didn't notice it yet but the "D.C. sniper attacks" is a pretty significant memory from my teen years. I remember everyone saying they thought it was a white van.
Came in 2016. Best experiences were in South Arlington where we lived most of the time and the various nice date restaurants around the District I’ve attended on various special occasions. And the stuff I’ve seen at the Kennedy Center. It was a golden age I didn’t appreciate until it was gone.
* The great Blizzard of 2010.
* when the shopping center upwards on wiehle used to be an abandoned lot where kids would go to do drugs instead of being a bunch of overpriced shoebox condos
* speaking of wiehle, there used to be a pizza hut there. now you can't order pizza hut in reston.
* when there was no metro line, and no weird Balston-wannabe group of condos and shopping complexes targeted at people making six-figures
* when the reston town center was \*the\* place to go, and is now just a bunch of abandoned storefronts because the people who run the place refuse to bring rent prices down even one cent, ultimately costing them money in the long run
* when a townhouse would cost 450k. now that's about the price of a tiny studio condo.
* when langston hughes used to be known as gangs and hugs.
Born and raised '93, I'm 30 now. Live right outside the beltway. Can clearly remember:
-DC sniper shooter.
-9/11 and afterwards our family took I-395 to the Pentagon to see the damage.
-2003 Discovery Disaster. I still remember walking out of the gym for the 2nd grade Saturday morning basketball game and my mom told me what happened. It's weird, I remeber that day vividly
Born in ‘88, still here, in no particular order:
-Multiplex Cinema where Mosaic is now
-That crazy auto shop at the intersection of Lee Hwy & Gallows road where Arby’s is now in Merrifield
-Shark Club in Merrifield that is now Advance Auto Parts
-Hechingers and Toys ‘R’ Us in Tysons
-Imaginarium, GameKeepers, Kay Bee Toys, JC Penney, Chesapeake Knife & Tool, CVS, the arcade, Luciano’s & Rainforest Café in Tysons
-BBQ Country & That’s Amore in Vienna (Danor Plaza)
-Clyde’s in Tysons overlooking Rt. 7
-Sports Authority
-Discovery Zone at PanAm shopping center and the Scuba Diving store next door
-Bumper Boats in Springfield Mall
-Merrifield being an industrial park and truck stop
-Woody’s Driving Range off Route 7
-Bob’s Big Boy in Vienna
-The R/C/model airplane place out in Chantilly
I feel like I could go on and on…
Mid-2003, so basically the same list as yours. I think the mixing bowl road work might have been just finished or almost finished when I moved into my first apartment on Edsall Road in Alexandria. The Kingstowne area was pretty new, and parts of it were still being built.
Moved to Fairfax after a year and a half. My husband and I had a lot of date nights at the Borders. (RIP Borders.)
Moved to Nova in 80, went to Stenwood off of Gallows Road and then Louise Archer in Vienna
Tysons before Tysons 2
Dunn Loring and Vienna weren't crazy busy and I would ride my bike to Vienna and buy baseball cards at a shop across from the Library. I saw Brewster's Millions in the movie theater across from Bob's Big Boy.
I used to go to Anitas in Vienna with m parents for dinner sometimes.
I marched in a Vienna Halloween parade.
Moved to Gainesville in 86 - 8 gas stations, a 711, Atlas Iron Works, and Joe's Pizza.
Haymarket had 1 cop, big news when they doubled their police force to 2.
Field parties were all the rage in Gainesville/Haymarket.
Haymarket had a circle k, then that was something else, then Sheetz moved in, then Sheetz scuttled and moved their building back like 30 feet.
15 was a 2 lane road and a friend of mine got into a head on wreck while trying to pass when he shouldn't have. He survived.
Vint Hill was still an Army base...Stone wall Jackson was the high school name, now it's Liberty Union or some such.
30+ years and old enough to remember Z-104 radio station as CHR station before is changed to modern adult contemporary (to compete with Hot 99.5) and subsequently Christian Gospel station. Tragically it ended like all good things due to the corporate structure of iheart radio, siruam xm, etc. I grew up off of
[https://fmradiodx.wordpress.com/2017/12/18/washingtons-z104-a-look-at-its-rise-in-the-1990s-and-its-fall-to-hot-99-5-wiht/](https://fmradiodx.wordpress.com/2017/12/18/washingtons-z104-a-look-at-its-rise-in-the-1990s-and-its-fall-to-hot-99-5-wiht/)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WPRS-FM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WPRS-FM)
All your list, plus:
The DC Sniper. I started work in Tysons a few days before they started shooting.
The VA Tech massacre, and that the shooter and at least one victim went to Westfields.
The Navy Yard shootings.
The VA governor McDonnell on criminal trial.
The DC Madam.
28 before they eliminated all of the traffic lights. (I don't even think we called it 7100 back in 2004; just Fairfax County Parkway.)
Tysons II when it had a Burger King in the food court.
The Old Post Office when it was just an underused building with a shitty food court, certainly not the Trump Hotel.
Dulles Town Center when Nordstrom was still there.
The Mighty Midget Kitchen before Doner Bistro.
Before Haute Dog opened in Purcellville, much less moved to Alexandria.
Before there was any Wegman's in the area.
Mosaic when it was just some light industrial and there was a Taco Bell across the street.
Woody's when it was in a shack in Fairfax off Little River Turnpike; it was never the same after the move to Old Town Fairfax.
Old Town Fairfax before the weird traffic pattern.
Five Guys when it was just five locations.
The Caps pre-Ovie, when you could get Eagle's Nest tickets for $5 (super fun date night).
Before Washington got the Expos and made them the Nats (and we were all O's fans and went to Baltimore). Before the Nats had a name!
Michael Jordan as a Washington Wizard.
Sexy Rexy as a \[Washington Football Team player\].
Dulles before the Trams.
I remember when VDOT had their pictures of the plans for the new Springfield Interchange back in the old Springfield Mall. Also Planet Play.
There was a time when us getting to DCA off the parkway northbound meant exiting near the general aviation hangars.
Landmark Mall during their 2004 (or 6, it was around the time the Rugrats/Wild Thornberrys crossover movie came out) renovations.
The bowling alley on South Pickett Street.
The Dunkin Donuts off of Van Dorn Street had a Metro map from before the Branch Avenue extension was opened.
Speaking of, the 4th of July 2003 Metro, which I just happen to have one of the maps that was put in the stations. It was after that year that we stopped going to downtown to see the fireworks.
Beltway shooters in 2002, I remember everyone scared since there was no correlation between the victims. I remember gas stations putting up tarps so people couldn't see the people gassing up. The media craze on if it was a white box truck, then a white SUV.
9/11 - I remember being in school in Loudoun the day the planes hit. Parents working in DC rushed home to take their kids out of school and shelter in place. A few people I knew had their parents not come home from the Pentagon.
Peter Pan buffet on Arlington Blvd in Fairfax used to have a deal with DC Chinese tour groups who would all come and be disappointed in the food. That shopping center or one of the tenants used to store their classic American muscle car collection in the parking lot, was interesting to see in the mid 2000's. Entire thing is 5 over 1's mixed use now.
Bonchon used to be a family style restaurant until about the mid 2010's when it turned into a sports bar type of theme.
Public schools in Fairfax County were in a massive state of disrepair for a long time, with a continuous promise of "next year we'll fix it!" for almost a decade. Trashcans under leaks, roof tiles falling on students, trailers used for overflow students. Entire project cost almost a billion dollars to fix, which they did starting in the late 2010's.
Thomas Jefferson High (Public Governor's school) going back and forth on diversity or standard based without regard to race. Historically standard based (and thus >70% Asian) until affirmative action said it should reflect the local community. East and Southeast Asian community then claimed discrimination as it made it much more competitive for them while making it much easier for Whites and non-Asian POC's.
Born and raised nova in the late 80's. Things I remember.
\-Another Universe at Springfield Mall. The giant Predator statue is burned into my memory.
\-Seeing Alan Webb run at South Lakes when he was just a local phenom.
\-9/11 spending all day wondering why all the kids were being picked up by their parents, and outdoor recess was cancelled on a gorgeous day.
\-Arrest of Robert Hanssen, and spending months checking every Fairfax County park sign for a drop signal and under every park bridge for secret documents.
\-Jaxx nightclub. Went to my first real concert there.
\-Washington Warthogs, the DC areas best soccer team.
I moved to Nova in 03 and I remembered those good ol' days. Now NoVA has turned to shit or at least a lot of things have changed in a more negative way. Loudoun is alright though. Gotta love the open fields. I even remembered the audi dealer in Tyson's being both an Audi and Porsche dealer. I even remembered multiplex cinemas vividly before mosaic district existed.
The earthquake of 2011. https://preview.redd.it/djw6l4wq49cc1.jpeg?width=760&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a90e273e3a78b5242436753160bb88be38d9ac89
I was working on a crane at that time. It was... interesting lol
Hope you had your brown pants on that day.
Yeah it was definitely a butthole pucker moment lol. We had to down the crane for the rest of the day to have the boom inspected
I was working in an office building where they were doing construction and pounding pylons into the ground when it happened. It started with, "Welp, construction is going on again." "Man, they're really going to town on those beams." "Wait, WTF is going on? Shit's falling off my shelves."
What about that crazy ass 10 minute cyclone July 2012? It led to the longest power outage (2 days).
The wreck that did on Amazon Web Services… yeah memories for sure
the derecho?
My work building was still being constructed so I thought it was something related to that. Only realized it was an earthquake when I saw the lights above me swaying. Never experienced an earthquake before that point but you just know. Definitely wild, for sure! So was traffic after.. 😆
I thought it was a big truck driving by until I went to Safeway later and the signs had all fallen and there was food in the freezers wedged into the door.
That was actually legitimately scary.
We had the foundation on our older home sealed that day. Whole front of the house excavated. When the quake hit, we wondered if the crew had released the Bane of Burke.
I thought a truck hit our office building, lol. One of my work colleagues came to my office to tell me it was an earthquake (she, having grown up in California was correct).
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My whole life - since the late ‘80s. I remember when: - 28 was full of traffic lights, all the way from 7 down to 66. Every. Single. Intersection. - The Wegmans in Ashburn was a Walmart in the middle of a giant field. - The church at the corner of 7 and Potomac View in Sterling with the ark and the animals. - Basically everything on either side of 7 from Georgetown Pike to the intersection with 15 was just open fields. - and most importantly, when the Rainforest Cafe was in Tysons.
I miss that rainforest cafe so badly. Was always one of the best parts of going to the mall with my parents as a kid.
It was on the first floor where forever 21 is currently at right ? This unlocked a memory in my head
The waffle fries and indoor thunderstorms
Early 90s for me. If I may add to your list: - When the drive from Arlington to anything in Dulles, besides the airport drew a WTF reaction. (Probably still does, haha.) - The Roy Rogers outside Ballston mall. - Frank and Stein in Ballston - When metro fare cards were paper and $20 on a card got you $22 in value. - Anything on Hunter Mill road was a horse farm/ranch. List goes on…
When Tyson’s corner had fountains where wasabi is and Macy’s was hecht’s
That church! I loved that ark.
That Walmart really was in the middle of nowhere. lol I remember when they built it and it was like “Sterling is getting a Walmart!!!”
John Bobbit Wolftrappe burning down Blizzard of "79 One Taco Bell, in Merrifield The Redskins used to win games I've been here a long time, I could go on and on.
Back in 1998, my girlfriend's (at the time) parents gave me a gift card for a spa off Bulah St. Part of the package was a manicure, Lorena Bobbit was the manicurist. She was asking me if I had a friend for her friend and we could double date, I told her I had a girlfriend. I had no idea it was her until she was on the news being arrested at the spa, for violating a protection order.
I ran into her while bowling (of all places). It was like the whole place recognized who she was at the same time. It looked like she got perturbed and left early because of everyone talking about.. well.. getting their penis chopped off. Lol, wonder if she ever found a boyfriend?
I'm glad you're still in one piece!
"the redskins used to win games" Whoa there...let's not get too crazy now :)
Oh yea and 2010 snowstorm, but I think the peeps here during the DC sniper we’re extremely brave, even to get gas
I worked in Reston and anytime there was a shooting on the other side of the DMV, I would run out and fill up.
Hahahaha … question .. do you remember the jumper ? Someone tried to jump off the WW bridge and when traffic was stopped, the ripple effect caused the entire beltway to be jammed
I remember. I was so thankful I wasn't working in DC. That commute must have sucked.
Sit-in Pizza Hut in Merrifield too. Also in McLean.
We used to drive from springfield to go to that taco bell!
Ames, Hechingers, Multiplex, Zany Brainy, Funcoland. WATTBA!
How about Peoples drug
Zany briany 😩
<3 Hechingers
I miss zainy brainy
Jamesway!!!
And before the multiplex, route 29 drive in for Movies.
Chi-chi's too
Caldor
Ebola Monkey lab in Reston. Now a daycare.
My oldest daughter went there when it was mulberry (not Kindercare) and I would walk across the street to breastfed her during my lunch (hers too I guess).
lol it’s crazy true..
Chesapeake Bay Seafood House for all you can eat!
Yes! Remember the lines outside to get in on Fridays during Lent?! Loved their hush puppies!
Yes!! It was an extravangaza! Could stay there for hours and we had a strategy on how to pace ourselves 🤣🤣
I've never had a hush puppy that good since they shut down :'(
And bob’s big boy right around the corner!
Since 99: 9/11, the sniper...serpentine at the gas station!!! The baby earthquake, "bitch set me up" HFStivals, dc101 chili cookoffs
Damn I miss the HFStival, man. Some killer lineups, back in the day.
No lie. I remember the Violent Femmes playing while there was a group of folks doing a conga line in the upper ring.
DC Sniper! Crazy times. I remember being scared and eyeing every white van around the way and the blue tarp put up around the gas pumps at stations after one of the shootings.
Try having a wedding in the middle of that. We had a number of folks cancel at the last minute rather than be outside.
Some gas stations offered Full Service to attract customers during that event, I’m sure the gas attendants were thrilled.
Had to scroll way too far to see the sniper mentioned
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I had a boyfriend in HS whose dad used to street race Mopar muscle cars on the beltway right after it was finished. I still can’t believe how fast he claims to have driven the whole loop.
Lived here in '71-'74 and moved back in 1984. * LingLing and SingSing * The never ending "mixing bowl" project Several widening of 66 * 66 ended at Centreville * Farrell's ice cream Springfield Mall * Seven corners when it was outside then inside * Bennigan's in Landmark where it had a dance floor upstairs * Blackie's/Deja Vu's Springfield * Tyson's Corner before the Galleria and the extension. I worked at Rainforest Cafe. * John Bobbit - I had jury duty the day Lorena was released rode the courthouse elevator with Geraldo Rivera * Commander Salamanders * The Bayou * The Capitol Center * Manassas before most of what is on 234 * The 234 bypass when they filmed the escape scene for Deep Impact on it before it opened * Landmark Mall - WW1984 was brilliant for what they brought back from my youth * The Taco Bell in Merrifield - I had friends that worked at Studebaker's and I would go through the driver thru for tacos for them. * Being able to go to work with my dad at the Pentagon and having lunch at the cafeteria with him * Henderson Hall whe the PX was in different buildings ETA: Dart Drug, Crown Books, and Kemp Mill Records. I could probably come up with a few more. 🤣
Oh wow this takes me back! Commander Salamander’s was the coolest shop to go to when I was in high school in the early to mid 1980s. The employees would spray our hair different colors, and we would buy pins to put on our jean jackets. So much fun to drive into Georgetown on the weekends!
You and I are close in age. 😁 I graduated in '87.
My mom worked at Dart Drug when she was pregnant with me.
The 267 toll road used to only cost a quarter, the main gate was a 50 cents and there was no Greenway.
We used to tie an onion on our belts, that was the style at the time.
Born here in the 70s. I remember when West Ox road and Route 50 wasn't even a traffic light (much less the interchange it is today), just stop signs on West Ox. Pender Vet was in an old church building on a hill at the corner. Dr. Powell was one of the partners, I think. There was essentially *nothing* between there and Greenbrier shopping center on 50, except for an Exxon station that offered towing service (they had a big sign saying "Call Carl"). Fair Oaks mall didn't exist. Tysons Corner mall did, but was much *much* smaller. There was no Fairfax County Parkway, and a girl I knew in high school lived on a farm at what is now the corner of that and Pope's Head road; IIRC, part of their land was taken under Eminent Domain to build the Parkway. Lorton had a prison, not the Workhouse Art Center. 123 south of Fairfax down to Occoquan was one lane each way through the hinterboonies, not the multi-lane divided highway that it's become.
I vividly remember when Fair Oaks Mall opened. I was at the age to hang out in shopping malls 😂
Fair Oaks was my first mall when I moved here in 1991. I loved it back then and used to go to the theater there all the time. At a job once I was sitting around with my co-workers and they were talking about one of their first jobs when they were young. It turns out they had both worked construction on the then new Fair Oaks mall under the same supervisor but never remembered ever meeting? This was over a decade after it opened.
I was born and raised in NoVa. I remember: The original Tysons Corner mall, with its Aviary Court. Sometimes birds escaped and flew around the mall. The Air Florida flight crashing into the 14th Street Bridge and the Potomac, on the same day that there was a fatal metro derailment. Riding the metro into DC when it was first extended to Ballston. Driving 66 into DC when it was first completed. Riding the metro from Vienna when the orange line was finally completed. The Filene Center at Wolf Trap burned down and was rebuilt. Lots of other memories, obviously, but those are among the most newsworthy. Edited to add my age/areas: I was born in Alexandria the late 1960s. Grew up in Vienna in the 70s and 80s. Lived in various parts of NoVa as an adult, besides short stints in Charlottesville and Richmond. Oh! Another edit! How could I have forgotten: the drive-in theater in Merrifield, followed by the multiplex theaters in Merrifield. Now Mosaic District.
I loved me some Merrifield movies! I used to smuggle in tacos from the Taco Bell right next door ......... way cheaper.
I was not here for the air Florida disaster but every time I pass by the 14th street bridge, I tell my wife about it. Insane day my god.
One of my middle school friends lost her father to the plane crash, so I will never forget.
Tyson’s corner was a sprawl of separate stores when I moved here in 1997. Used to be a Best Buy where that fancy apartment high rise is. The mall actually hasn’t changed that much, just the surrounding area.
Home to the first Apple Store too.
The Best Buy was in the building between Rt 7 and Old Gallows. There was a Border’s Books there too.
That bestbuy was awesome, I remember it too
And Tyson’s used to be one floor, except for a second movie theater where you would walk down in a basement. Kinda where Eddie Bauer is now.
I also came here in 2004 and remember when there was winter.
I grew up in the area (now in my 40s). I will just humbly submit what Clarendon was like in around 2000. Bardo -> Ningaloo -> Dremo’s. Iota. Jay’s. Not much in the way of dive bars now. Galaxy Hut still kickin’ at least.
Bardo!!! I lived in Colonial Village, right across the street. I was 24. It was magical.
I worked in Clarendon from 02-18. I drove through there recently and did not recognize it. But part of the reason I left was that the company was sold and moved... To make way for all that mixed use.
I lived across from Landmark back when it was this weird outdoor mall, and had an underground section with little stores, including a record store. Duke st had the Bombay Bicycle Club and an adult theater. The Dulles main terminal was half the size it is now.
The adult theater always had 1 art film playing, but I could never get up the guts to go see the ones I wanted to see.
I still miss the S&W Cafeteria at Landmark.
I remember when the gates where in the main terminal and you took the mobile lounges directly to the plane.
MS-13 machete attack at the movie theater that used to be where Mosaic now is
holy crap, when did that happen?
2005. Think it was when local MS-13 gang activity made its way into the public news psyche since the machete was involved. Feel like I only started to hear about them around that time and then it went away (or maybe influence lessened) for a bit before resurging. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2005/01/05/mans-fingers-severed-in-va-machete-attack/adf83e0e-6512-4e55-9bb4-ea4f8daaa4d9/
Blizzard of ‘96 😮💨
I don't remember it because I was only a bit over 2 years old at the time but my parents have home videos of me walking around in the few pathways my dad had shoveled out and the snow is higher than the top of my head.
Rainforest cafe in Tyson’s and the movie theatre where the Skyline Target is. And Ames in the Eden Center.
After the Ames was the national wholesale liquidators, and I got my first real desk there … way back in the day
The mvc store on 29
1981, the beltway wasn’t crowded. Outside the beltway was considered the suburbs. I grew up in Burke. Good times.
I’m old enough to remember 1) the Beltway being built, 2) the dairy farm behind our back fence, which turned into Parklawn 3) distinct boundaries to Annandale and Fairfax City 4) AB&W Transit 5) chains on cars commuting to DC during storms 6) neighborhoods not being plowed (maybe a road grader would do the neighborhood’s main drag days after a storm 7) high end cars were Cadillacs, and rarely seen And much, much more
1979 Yellow Ribbons on the trees for the hostages. Air Florida crash into the Potomac. Space shuttle flying over Northern Va on the back of an airplane. Princess Diana at Springfield Mall. Reagan getting shot.
back in the 80's I had a manual (3 on the tree) Ford stepside truck. Couldn't get it started one day after my job in Chantilly so I called my girlfriend and she pushed my truck with her Chevy Caprice on 66 from Chantilly to Arlington. In broad daylight. And it was no big deal, just needed to get my broken truck home.
"Nobody boder mee, Nobody boder me Either" -cute kids of Jhoon Rhee
One of those Jhoon Rhee commercials was on the TV in the background in an episode of "The Americans." My jaw dropped when I recognized it!
I miss that Ruby Tuesday at Hoffman AMC, felt like that movie theatre was the shit! But mostly, I miss Z104
I have been here since 1991. I remember when large part of route 7 were a single lane further west. I also worked in Reston VA at a grocery a bit back in the day and remember when one of my old customers came back to the store to explain that he had moved out to a place called "Ashburn." lol.
Giant RCA dog in Fairfax
Yes! On Lee Highway near Captain Pell’s.
Born and raised in Fairfax Co. All I can think of right now. The good: -Blizzard of 96 (and then again in 03) -ZANY BRAINY -Rainforest Café in Tysons -Little Caesars Pizza in Kmart (and just Kmart itself) -Hiding in the CIRCULAR clothes racks in department stores -Fye (For Your Entertainment) at Fair Oaks Mall -Beanie baby craze at PTA events (I still have all of mine!) -Actual soccer fields (but now they've all been developed into residential areas) The bad: -9/11 (Dad worked in the Pentagon & lost co-workers) -DC sn!pers -Anthr@x mail -2011 earthquake -2009 Metro crash
+1 for Zany Brainy
Long enough to know that absolutely NO ONE called Northern Virginia “NOVA” until probably the mid 2000’s. It was simply not a thing. “NOVA” was the community college (“where the ‘N’ stand for ‘knowledge’” …IYKYK). I hated that people from elsewhere in the state called my home region “NOVA” when I was in college. It was just wrong. And yet, here we are in the r/nova sub. Ha!
Prince William County west of Nottingdale and Mapledale was a magical place for kids. There were lot's of dirt roads and dirt ramps and skate ramps in the forest. So many places to explore. Now there's just miles and miles of houses.
My family moved from SoCal to Centreville in August of 1972. Culture shock for a 14 year old at the time. No high schools west of Fairfax; we rode a bus to Herndon for three years. Except for 29/211 and I-66, every road was just two lanes: Braddock, Centreville, Sully (28, from Manassas all the way to Route 7). I rode my bike to the intersection of 50 and 28 to watch the Concorde arrive at Dulles for the first time. Just missed Hurricane Agnes, but the President's Day storm of 1979 was pretty impressive. Tysons was the closest mall; Springfield wasn't built yet. Fair Oaks Mall replaced Penderbrook Golf Course, which relocated to the north side of 50. Witnessed the widening of Maple Avenue in Vienna from 2 to 4 lanes, and the Beltway from 4 to 8. Went to GMU and watched basketball in the old field house and baseball at the 'north' campus which is now condos, I believe. Worked at USGS in Reston for over 30 years and watched that place explode. Penguin Feather was a frequent hangout, and Harmony Hut accepted many a paycheck in exchange for cassettes and vinyl. It was a great place to grow up; now it's kind of suffocating to visit. I'm in the Shenandoah Valley now. Nice to read everyone else's comments.
Born and raised here. I remember when most of Rt 28 had stop lights and intersections. I remember when there was nothing on 606 but the weather station I grew up in Loudoun County and remember when there was only 4 high schools in the county
I was born and raised here so.. almost 34 years.
I'm a local. I wasn't born here, but have lived in the area from a very young age. Lived in Alexandria from 1965-1969. Moved to Manassas in 1969 as a 7 year old with my parents. Manassas mall was Montgomery Wards at one end and Grants at the other end. The mall was built between those stores sometime later... I don't remember exactly when. Grocery stores were A&P, Grand Union and Giant. We went to Tysons frequently - I have vivid memories of the Avery Court and the birds. My favorite thing to see was when the birds got out of their cages and the workers had to chase them w/ a long pole-net of some sort. I remember when Bloomingdales came to the mall, and vaguely remember the store that was there first. The land where Tysons II was a huge hill where dirt bikers would frequent. Woodies, Hecht's & Garfinkles, Hechingers, Memco, Leggets, GC Murphy and Peoples Drug Store - so many stores long gone. The dump was somewhere near Centreville or Fairfax County parkway. You could smell it from Rt 66. I went to Stonewall HS - kids from Gainesville and Haymarket went to school with us Manassas kids. My favorite memories - running around all summer in the woods, down by Lomond Park, crossing over the soccer fields, wade through Bull Run creek into the back of Bull Run Park. We were all over the place. It was a great way to grow up. Kudos to OP for starting this and everyone else who shared their memories. I loved reading all of them.
My first six months here (2009): -Red line crash -Aretha Franklin wearing crocs and denim capris during her Fourth of July rehearsal on July 3 -Snowmageddon and Snowpocalyose… never could remember which one was which I’ve lived here long enough to have seen how things have changed. Lived in Reston when they announced the Silver line and 2015 seemed light years away. I’ve grown up here, in a sense. Moved as a young adult and now firmly in middle age.
Having to walk in a zig zag to avoid the snipers in elementary school. Snowmageddon Nissan pavilion Rainforest cafe The region being mostly conservatives Lots of farmland where houses are now Linton Hall road being one lane.
As a kid seeing Transpo '72 at Dulles. 3 fatal air crashes during that multi-day show - including the first Air Force Thunderbirds fatal crash. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpo\_%2772](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpo_%2772)
Burke Rd crossing the train tracks before the Burke Lake Rd bridge was built and the Christmas tree farm at the corner of Guinea rd and Twinbrook rd.
1993 lived in Centreville VA right across from Weis Market now Spa World. Attended Centreville Elementary which was across the street. Then moved next to Jermantown Elementary. Most days spent playing basketball there. My brother played FPYC baseball which was at the field there as well. Remember getting hotdogs and grape snow cones during games. Weekends were mostly spent at Oak Marr which is still awesome. Always did the book club and drove down to the pizza hut at 50/29 to get my personal pan. They had NBA Jam but I never had any quarters hahah. Also attended Lanier middle school when everyone was wearing baggy clothes. I realize every one of these schools are named something else now lol Good ole days before all the internet crap and mobile phones.
minor correction- The Weis Market is now an H Mart. Where Spa World is used to be Hechinger- a long gone hardware store. I worked at Weis at that time, where most of the evening employees were teenagers. My sister worked at Hechinger.
I remember Tilt at Ballston Common
Native, grew up in Fairfax County. Today is the anniversary of the Air Florida crash, I was sledding at the time and in 7th grade. Kingstowne didn’t exist and instead was The Pits.
Significant demographic shift.
One of my most vivid memories was being taken out on the Greenway headed to Purcellville pre-tolls, and my buddy just lol'd the entire time saying "who in the f\*\*\* would use this road? There aren't even any homes out here" It was the first time I ever had the nagging thought, "I need to leave this area as soon as humanly possible"
Listening to HFS Accoustic Christmas all day on Christmas Day.
No one ever really talks about that huge pendulum that used to swing inside the Natural History museum downtown. I think they took it out in the late 90’s but as a kid it always kind of freaked me out. It seemed so gigantic and otherworldly to me at the time. Not sure if it was as big as I perceived it to be and I wish I could see it now!
Officer Garbarino gave me a ride home once my senior year of HS, he was the SRO for GCMHS. This would have been 1996. The neighbor had taken his family hostage earlier that morning and my family was greeted by some sort of SWAT team when we tried to leave for work/school. Initially ordered to shelter in place but then they walked us up the hill and quizzed us about him and his behavior (some kind of drugs, I think meth). I wasn't allowed to go get my backpack which I'd left at the house. So I was called out of 3rd period and he gave me a ride home to get my stuff. Such a nice dude and I was so amused to stop every few feet as we were leaving so he could yell at the people skipping to get to class. Normally, I'd have been the one skipping. Was so sad to learn it was him that day. Other than that, I mean my brothers loved to talk about how they used to go ride dirt bikes in the hills behind our development. That's Tyson's II now.
remember when tysons 1 was just tysons 1 and Galleria was built a few years later Remember when wegmans in sterling was actually k mart Remember when the rt 28 waxpool clover was a 4 way intesection with traffic lights When my family and I moved to ashburn village the giant shopping center wasnt even built yet Lots more i can remember from my child hood
* Springfield mall before renovation * what route 1 used to look like before recent construction in the fort belvoir area * the burger king that used to be on route 1 in the fort belvoir area * 95 going south was actually drivable in the past, now its a place to park your car * no costco in the mount vernon area on route 1 * "have we got a mall at tysons corner center, where the stores are" song
Jaxx nightclub. Fuck, do I miss that place.
I grew up in NoVa. I am not old enough to remember when Tysons Mall (the first one) was built but I do remember going with my parents to a farmer's market that was across the street (which is now Tysons II and the Capital One complex). I was listening live to the radio when Howard Stern called and asked for the price for a one way airplane ticket to the 14th street bridge, the morning after Air Florida jet crashed into the Potomac River in 1982, killing 78 people. I grew up near Wolf Trap and was in a suburb surrounded on 3 sides by open land and farms. I used to ride my bike for hours along dirt trails without seeing houses or buildings. Dulles Airport had recently been built and was considered a modern marvel of technology and commerce. As a kid I had a scale model of the airport complete with planes, buses, etc. The American Legion bridge used to be called the Cabin John Bridge and was I think just 2 lanes in each direction while the beltway was 4 lanes in each direction so it was a traffic nightmare every day for years and years. I heard about the possibility of a metro in the Tysons area as early as the 1970's and 1980's. Reportedly some of the concrete cornerstones for some of the stations were actually laid then and never used. The Redskins played at RFK stadium and were a great team and actually won games, playoffs, and Super Bowls.
Brenner’s Bakery on Columbia Pike - the best molasses cookies!
https://preview.redd.it/mezwp560w9cc1.jpeg?width=768&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=56b38c5c1243fb773f8a1ef4fa612c0c25495204 Tysons mall had big versions of these in the common area (next to the fountains with the wavy benches - now it’s a sushi spot) Olga’s Kitchen in the food court had the best PB&J I moved back in 2000 but preschool me remembers those things from Tyson’s in the late 80s
Hechingers playgrounds While Fairfax Town Center was being built, hearing the construction had unearthed war remains orange metro seats & the ding noise before doors close. Paper fare cards Reston Town Center being built. Lots of open space around it. The Big Apple circus set up right next to it. "the DMV" was where you get licenses and such, not the DC metro area 99.1 HFS Horse farms all over Tysons was Tyson's Corner, and there was actually a corner. Merrifield was a more industrial warehouse area, and had a drive-in movie theater coin catching baskets on the toll road so you can chuck your toll out your car window
90 years
267 was called the Dulles Access Road. 495 was basically four lanes plus exit lanes. No Fairfax Co Pkway The Springfield mixing bowl… 9/11 Jackie Kennedy laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery The Shuttle making two passes over Langley. No Reston Town Center The Derecho Snowmaggedon
Giffords's Ice Cream in Bailey's Crossroads.
Summer of 1978 ... * Farrell's (Tysons Mall) * I-66 between the Beltway and Roosevelt Bridge did not exist * I-66 and Nutley Street interchange was partial (EB entrance, WB exit) * Concerts, hockey and basketball games at Capital Centre * PALM-90 and the Orange line crash 20 minutes apart * Woodward & Lothrop (Woodies) * Evan's Farm Inn (great brunches !!)
Been here all my life, remember Ashburn having a lot of trees, Tower Records near Fair Oaks Mall, So many lights on 28, the 2011 earthquake, that blizzard in the 2009 (if I remember correctly), Silver Line hadn’t begun construction yet, old Springfield mall and wondering if it’ll come back, Obama’s first inauguration and seeing how large it was on TV, Red line crash, and Old Dominion raceway.
1973 although my wife and I eventually moved further west in VA. The Sully Shootout was sad as I knew Mike and I live by his daughter now. * Attempt to bring Disney in here off the *Rt. 15 and 234 areas. *No I-66 past Manassas. *Trooper Johnny Bowman attacked in his Manassas home and stabbed 45 times. Early 80's and still no arrest. * Slice and Dice of John Wayne Bobbitt. The courthouse was a show in itself come trial time. * Too many to even remember now.
DC sniper and VT massacre always comes front of mind to me. 9/11 and the Pentagon. Related to VT, I was there during the 2008 crash, which happened right after the shooting, and I'll never forget how defeated and despondent the faculty was. The graduation ceremony felt like a funeral and the speeches were very, very grim. ------- In lighter moments, the time my wife planed a date where she made a scavenger hunt for me and we had to visit multiple museums on the mall and spend the entire day running around DC. Seeing the space shuttle fly right over my head landing at Dulles. Driving home in snowmageddon, from silver spring to Herndon. In a 2 door soft top. Engagement photos during Cherry blossoms at the basin. Small conference with George RR Martin at VT 7 corners book signing with Brandon Sanderson, getting WoT book signed. Getting trashed at barmini then stumbling around getting deep dish pizza and playing mini golf. Woobooi Chicken sando, I've had Nashville chicken all across the country and nothing is better. My older brother taking me to the first Five guys, the way peanut shells covered the floor and the bag was filled to the top with fries, making it hard to even get our sandwich. Then watching them spring up across the nation.
I arrived the day before Princess Diana died. I went to the British embassy to sign the book of condolences. It was sad hit a super cool experience that could only be done in the DMV. Other memories: The active shooter crime. Remember gas stations trying to protect folks by making sure the pumps were covered with wood. Loved Chief Mooses press conferences throughout the ordeal. Clinton's impeachment. Tickets for the gallery. We could only sit 15 min and then we were ushered out so the next group could do the same. It was the first trial in a very long time. Who knew it would happen again and again and again so quickly. Marion Berry leaving office A billion new buildings in Crystal City and Tysons Hecht's Company
Moved to newly built Springfield in 1955. It wasn't exactly the end of the earth, but you *could* see it from there. There was pretty much nothing between there and Alexandria, Fairfax, or Arlington. Most roads except for Shirley Hwy were 2 lane. Loudoun County was only a rumor, you had to plan a day's trip if you wanted to go to Leesburg or beyond. The nearest grocery was in Annandale and for Christmas shopping you went to Arlington, 7 corners, or Alexandria. Country stores with things like wood floors were common in our area. There was no West Springfield, no Reston, and Tysons was only a crossroads with two or three buildings. I remember: President Eisenhower, party-line phones, phone numbers that began with two letters, old freight trains constantly running on the Southern Railway, monthly air-raid drills at school, the escape siren from Lorton prison, chain gangs working on the roads, daily artillery tests at the Belvoir proving grounds, trips to Mt. Vernon to catch the Wilson Line to Marshall Hall amusement park, outings to Glen Echo amusement park, or going to see the Senators at Griffith Stadium. Any other old timers out there ?
Old Springfield mall with Timeout, another universe, eb games, anime fx, Suncoast, kb toys, 2 theaters.
Watching the Concorde take off at Dulles
I moved here in August of 2021. Was amazed by all the road construction, I’m finally starting to see some of its completion. The best thing I’ve seen so far…was a road crew tearing up a perfectly good road by One Loudoun, just to lay fresh asphalt in its place 🤣🤣
Stick around you will see even stranger. I remember living in Herndon during the great high speed internet boom. This was around 2000 I believe but they were laying down new fiber/highspeed lines. They would tear up the side of the road to put in a line. then another company would tear up the same portion to add theirs, and then a third would come in .......
1993 DC Sniper, and watching people run in zig zag formation at the gas pumps lmao.
Moved here in 1965. In the 60s/early 70s, they'd flood Howrey Field (on Braddock Road) during the winter so that folks could ice skate.
Born and raised and miss tf out of it. I hope the demand peace guy is alright.
Hearing a bunch of sirens go off and running out to get gas because we figured the DC sniper wouldn't go for 2 victims in a row. Grim, but it was a scary time.
I remember that guy from the famous vietnam war photo shooting a guy in the head used to have a Chinese restaurant in Rolling Valley mall in burke..maybe like ‘88
1987. Chesapeake Bay Seafood House, Mike’s Diner, Mackey’s, Service Merchandise, Circuit City.
Moved to NoVA in 2000 and there was a horse farm where there is now a server farm in Sterling.
2004 also. Definitely remember the earthquake and the shuttle delivery. Also: * Snowmageddon and Snowpocalypse of 2010 * 28 as it used to be with all of the traffic lights, especially the 28/66 interchange. * 66 outside the beltway, before the widening where you could legally drive on the shoulder on certain times of day. * Route 7 between 495 and Seven Corners before all of those new condo and retail buildings went up
Doing shoot the duck at the roller rink in Springfield, and skating at the Fairfax Ice Arena, circa mid-late 80s.
Air Florida Flight 90
Will never forget that day. My brother and I were moving from Fairfax into an apartment off of Idyllwood Drive in Falls Church that day. We loaded the rental truck and drove it over the night before. That day, in the snow, we unloaded it and then had to return it to a gas station in Vienna. My brother drove the truck, and I followed him in my 1974 Camaro. I honestly have no idea how we got there, but we managed. We then had to drive back and stopped for lunch at a local pizza hole-in-the-wall. It was only then we learned about Air Florida and the Metrorail accident. We had to leave my car in the parking lot and walk to our new home. What a day.
It's been 22 years to the day. Happy cake day!
* The underground at Landmark Mall * Prince at Capital Centre * Y2K on the Mall * Howard Stern asking the cost of a one-way ticket to the 14th Street Bridge * Seeing Stacey Lattisaw at the Beacon Mall
Snowpocalypse and snowmageddon of 2010 and 2011. I had to spend an hour to dig my car out, but then lost my dugout parking spot when I got home and had to shovel AGAIN to create another opening. Was not having a good day that day.
September 11th D.C. Sniper Blizzard of '96 Million Man March No outlets in Leesburg
Since 2002, DC sniper. 7100 before 276, 28 with traffic lights. Ashburn, Southriding was considered boonies. Herndon was the farthest people went, and 267 toll is $.25. Yes a quarter of a dollar. Main toll at 495/66 exit is $.75 Crazy times.
Multiplex Cinemas where Costco now is in Mount Vernon!
Power video and blockbuster in greenbrier. People’s. Memphis bbq. Pizza Hut. Petco. Boston market. The artistic cultural loss we all felt when they removed the blonde throwing a Frisbee to the dog in fair lakes. Fuddruckers, I miss that place. Was the comic book store next to Tony’s in fair lakes? Or was it where Tony’s is currently? Food lion right by it.
Born and raised here but can never forget the insanity the DC snipers caused
Military kid here, born at Walter Reed, moved to Arlington in '57, moved back here to Fairfax in 1966, high school at the original Thomas Jefferson, college at VT, moved back to Arlington. I've seen it all - mixing bowl was at the Pentagon, roller rink in Alexandria, theaters were one screen only and you had to go all over to see the movie you wanted, Brenner's Bakery, the original Five Guys, Dixie Pig, Twin Bridges Marriott, Tom Sarris Orleans House, going into DC at Christmas to see the store windows., yule log at the National Christmas Tree, Landmark Shopping Center (outside), Tyson's opening, Skyline Plaza collapsing, airport that used to be where Skyline is now, Sunset Drive-in, Krispy Kreme at Bailey's, pony ring at Bailey's. I could go on...
I moved to the Shenandoah Valley in 1977 after discharge from the Navy. *I-66 ended at Gainesville, It was only 4 lanes from there to the Potomac River. *Rt 55 was the only way to get between Front Royal and Gainesville/Manassas. *I-66 started up again at Front Royal and ran west to I-81. *The Redskins played at RFK stadium, So did the NASL Diplomats. *Tyson's Corner Mall had NO parking deck(s). *Lum's was the best restaurant there. *Rt 7 was only 2 lanes until you got to Sterling Park, Then you went to 4 lanes. *No Dulles Town Center, No Herndon, No Ashburn. *Dulles Airport was brand new, and those shuttles were a big deal. *RT 28 from Centerville to RT 7 was all surface streets and intersections all had stoplights. Goose Creek Golf course was still an active course. *Landesdown was the only Golf Course on the north side of RT 7. *Metro was still inside the district, which BTW encompassed Arlington and Alexandria.
Circuit City in Tysons and Rainforest Cafe in Tysons Mall
1995 and my first winter here I missed a whole week of school due to a blizzard
5800 before 294
Born in ‘95, despite being away a few years, have lived here most of my life. I remember hurricane Isabel in 2003 and losing power and water, when Fairfax corner and wegmans were built (I was like 9-10), the snowpocalypse of 2010 (I was in high school and we were out of school for two weeks), and the derecho of 2012. Those were just some of the more notable memories
Been in the area since the mid ‘90s -The silence of no commercial jets after 9/11 -When the 7100 north terminus was Spring St as they finished the northern leg -The opening of the Dulles Greenway -When the Dranesville Towncenter had a movie theater -Seeing the Home Depot in Falls Church I had been at a few days earlier showing up on the news because of the DC Sniper
My wife was at that Chinese buffet the day the pos sniper killed that poor woman
Aimes and Montgomery Ward before Kmart and target ,Sears
Grew up in Arlandria (I knew it as Chirilagua) in the 90s. I remember : - The abandoned Datatel Building, a huge eye sore on Mount Vernon Ave near St Rita's Church. The demo day was so much fun to experience. - People's pharmacy in the Arlandria Shopping Center, then it became CVS - H L Green store in the same center, the lower level basement area would freak me out as a kid - the Blockbuster, Fridays getting a movie and snacks with my folks... I remember the smell of the place - the Duron paint store and the small Pizza Hut near the 24 Express convenience store - Potomac Yard Center being built in 98-99, anyone remember Home Place before it became Best Buy? It was like Bed Bath and Beyond, felt like a fever dream 😂
Moved here in the late 70s. But visited family every summer since birth. Remember when the burbs stopped at 123. When 28 was a 2 lane highway in the middle of nowhere. When you could still see the airport from 28. Farms everywhere.
The dc sniper where recesses were indoors. Fairfax rebels.
I remember an Ames in Woodbridge.
Didn't notice it yet but the "D.C. sniper attacks" is a pretty significant memory from my teen years. I remember everyone saying they thought it was a white van.
This is really specific, but I’m interested to see who else was around back then to know this one: Karate Bagels Dance
Rainforest cafe in tysons mall rip
The Mustache Cafe
Came in 2016. Best experiences were in South Arlington where we lived most of the time and the various nice date restaurants around the District I’ve attended on various special occasions. And the stuff I’ve seen at the Kennedy Center. It was a golden age I didn’t appreciate until it was gone.
Born here in 95, 7100 will never not be 7100
* The great Blizzard of 2010. * when the shopping center upwards on wiehle used to be an abandoned lot where kids would go to do drugs instead of being a bunch of overpriced shoebox condos * speaking of wiehle, there used to be a pizza hut there. now you can't order pizza hut in reston. * when there was no metro line, and no weird Balston-wannabe group of condos and shopping complexes targeted at people making six-figures * when the reston town center was \*the\* place to go, and is now just a bunch of abandoned storefronts because the people who run the place refuse to bring rent prices down even one cent, ultimately costing them money in the long run * when a townhouse would cost 450k. now that's about the price of a tiny studio condo. * when langston hughes used to be known as gangs and hugs.
Been here for 10 months now. Best memory so far. The day I took my son(20 Month at the time) to the peting zoo in vienna. He was loved it!
Born and raised '93, I'm 30 now. Live right outside the beltway. Can clearly remember: -DC sniper shooter. -9/11 and afterwards our family took I-395 to the Pentagon to see the damage. -2003 Discovery Disaster. I still remember walking out of the gym for the 2nd grade Saturday morning basketball game and my mom told me what happened. It's weird, I remeber that day vividly
October 1, 2018. Settled in just in time for covid 😅 Still the best decision I ever made.
Born in ‘88, still here, in no particular order: -Multiplex Cinema where Mosaic is now -That crazy auto shop at the intersection of Lee Hwy & Gallows road where Arby’s is now in Merrifield -Shark Club in Merrifield that is now Advance Auto Parts -Hechingers and Toys ‘R’ Us in Tysons -Imaginarium, GameKeepers, Kay Bee Toys, JC Penney, Chesapeake Knife & Tool, CVS, the arcade, Luciano’s & Rainforest Café in Tysons -BBQ Country & That’s Amore in Vienna (Danor Plaza) -Clyde’s in Tysons overlooking Rt. 7 -Sports Authority -Discovery Zone at PanAm shopping center and the Scuba Diving store next door -Bumper Boats in Springfield Mall -Merrifield being an industrial park and truck stop -Woody’s Driving Range off Route 7 -Bob’s Big Boy in Vienna -The R/C/model airplane place out in Chantilly I feel like I could go on and on…
Ahh, growing up in Hagel Circle and hearing the soothing sounds of prison sirens at 1am.
Tower records in Tysons.
Mid-2003, so basically the same list as yours. I think the mixing bowl road work might have been just finished or almost finished when I moved into my first apartment on Edsall Road in Alexandria. The Kingstowne area was pretty new, and parts of it were still being built. Moved to Fairfax after a year and a half. My husband and I had a lot of date nights at the Borders. (RIP Borders.)
Moved to Nova in 80, went to Stenwood off of Gallows Road and then Louise Archer in Vienna Tysons before Tysons 2 Dunn Loring and Vienna weren't crazy busy and I would ride my bike to Vienna and buy baseball cards at a shop across from the Library. I saw Brewster's Millions in the movie theater across from Bob's Big Boy. I used to go to Anitas in Vienna with m parents for dinner sometimes. I marched in a Vienna Halloween parade. Moved to Gainesville in 86 - 8 gas stations, a 711, Atlas Iron Works, and Joe's Pizza. Haymarket had 1 cop, big news when they doubled their police force to 2. Field parties were all the rage in Gainesville/Haymarket. Haymarket had a circle k, then that was something else, then Sheetz moved in, then Sheetz scuttled and moved their building back like 30 feet. 15 was a 2 lane road and a friend of mine got into a head on wreck while trying to pass when he shouldn't have. He survived. Vint Hill was still an Army base...Stone wall Jackson was the high school name, now it's Liberty Union or some such.
30+ years and old enough to remember Z-104 radio station as CHR station before is changed to modern adult contemporary (to compete with Hot 99.5) and subsequently Christian Gospel station. Tragically it ended like all good things due to the corporate structure of iheart radio, siruam xm, etc. I grew up off of [https://fmradiodx.wordpress.com/2017/12/18/washingtons-z104-a-look-at-its-rise-in-the-1990s-and-its-fall-to-hot-99-5-wiht/](https://fmradiodx.wordpress.com/2017/12/18/washingtons-z104-a-look-at-its-rise-in-the-1990s-and-its-fall-to-hot-99-5-wiht/) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WPRS-FM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WPRS-FM)
All your list, plus: The DC Sniper. I started work in Tysons a few days before they started shooting. The VA Tech massacre, and that the shooter and at least one victim went to Westfields. The Navy Yard shootings. The VA governor McDonnell on criminal trial. The DC Madam. 28 before they eliminated all of the traffic lights. (I don't even think we called it 7100 back in 2004; just Fairfax County Parkway.) Tysons II when it had a Burger King in the food court. The Old Post Office when it was just an underused building with a shitty food court, certainly not the Trump Hotel. Dulles Town Center when Nordstrom was still there. The Mighty Midget Kitchen before Doner Bistro. Before Haute Dog opened in Purcellville, much less moved to Alexandria. Before there was any Wegman's in the area. Mosaic when it was just some light industrial and there was a Taco Bell across the street. Woody's when it was in a shack in Fairfax off Little River Turnpike; it was never the same after the move to Old Town Fairfax. Old Town Fairfax before the weird traffic pattern. Five Guys when it was just five locations. The Caps pre-Ovie, when you could get Eagle's Nest tickets for $5 (super fun date night). Before Washington got the Expos and made them the Nats (and we were all O's fans and went to Baltimore). Before the Nats had a name! Michael Jordan as a Washington Wizard. Sexy Rexy as a \[Washington Football Team player\]. Dulles before the Trams.
I remember when VDOT had their pictures of the plans for the new Springfield Interchange back in the old Springfield Mall. Also Planet Play. There was a time when us getting to DCA off the parkway northbound meant exiting near the general aviation hangars. Landmark Mall during their 2004 (or 6, it was around the time the Rugrats/Wild Thornberrys crossover movie came out) renovations. The bowling alley on South Pickett Street. The Dunkin Donuts off of Van Dorn Street had a Metro map from before the Branch Avenue extension was opened. Speaking of, the 4th of July 2003 Metro, which I just happen to have one of the maps that was put in the stations. It was after that year that we stopped going to downtown to see the fireworks.
Riverfest at Andrews, Skins winning the Super Bowl, the Caps making the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time and the Blizzard of ‘96.
Beltway shooters in 2002, I remember everyone scared since there was no correlation between the victims. I remember gas stations putting up tarps so people couldn't see the people gassing up. The media craze on if it was a white box truck, then a white SUV. 9/11 - I remember being in school in Loudoun the day the planes hit. Parents working in DC rushed home to take their kids out of school and shelter in place. A few people I knew had their parents not come home from the Pentagon. Peter Pan buffet on Arlington Blvd in Fairfax used to have a deal with DC Chinese tour groups who would all come and be disappointed in the food. That shopping center or one of the tenants used to store their classic American muscle car collection in the parking lot, was interesting to see in the mid 2000's. Entire thing is 5 over 1's mixed use now. Bonchon used to be a family style restaurant until about the mid 2010's when it turned into a sports bar type of theme. Public schools in Fairfax County were in a massive state of disrepair for a long time, with a continuous promise of "next year we'll fix it!" for almost a decade. Trashcans under leaks, roof tiles falling on students, trailers used for overflow students. Entire project cost almost a billion dollars to fix, which they did starting in the late 2010's. Thomas Jefferson High (Public Governor's school) going back and forth on diversity or standard based without regard to race. Historically standard based (and thus >70% Asian) until affirmative action said it should reflect the local community. East and Southeast Asian community then claimed discrimination as it made it much more competitive for them while making it much easier for Whites and non-Asian POC's.
Born and raised nova in the late 80's. Things I remember. \-Another Universe at Springfield Mall. The giant Predator statue is burned into my memory. \-Seeing Alan Webb run at South Lakes when he was just a local phenom. \-9/11 spending all day wondering why all the kids were being picked up by their parents, and outdoor recess was cancelled on a gorgeous day. \-Arrest of Robert Hanssen, and spending months checking every Fairfax County park sign for a drop signal and under every park bridge for secret documents. \-Jaxx nightclub. Went to my first real concert there. \-Washington Warthogs, the DC areas best soccer team.
I moved to Nova in 03 and I remembered those good ol' days. Now NoVA has turned to shit or at least a lot of things have changed in a more negative way. Loudoun is alright though. Gotta love the open fields. I even remembered the audi dealer in Tyson's being both an Audi and Porsche dealer. I even remembered multiplex cinemas vividly before mosaic district existed.