What did Northern Virginia look like back in the day (60s, 70s, 80s)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haven't read the other posts, but I grew up in what is considered a very wealthy part of N. Va now, back in 70s and 80s. It was not so wealthy. Yes, there were Kennedy's (and I knew one who was very down to earth and normal, but just looking at her you knew she one because she had the same face), but there were plenty of middle class people with normal middle class jobs.

It was more conservative, gay phobic and racially separate than it is now. Even teachers were gay phobic. I remember getting a black penpal at a school in another state and my teacher pulled me aside and said she matched me up since I was one of the more accepting kids. Like how sad is that! Our school was so white too. There wasn't much diversity.

Traffic was more manageable.

Parents were more laid back-even mine who were on the over-protective side. We wandered the neighborhood from toddler-hood on with our gang of neighbor friends. By age 7 we wandered to another neighborhood too and played by a dangerous creek.

Tysons was safer. I think my over-protective parents let me wander the mall with friends by age 9.Now you hear about guns and even a shooting or 2 there. I think by 8 they were dropping us off at the neighborhood pool on our own. Pretty sure you could get a job at the snackbar by age 11 or 12. People were hired to babysit by age 10.

If you’re referring to Great Falls, before the 1970s it was mostly Dairy farmers who settled the land, and it was much more ‘rural’ than ‘conservation nature’ like it is today. Plenty of ‘normal’ families who lived on horse pastures.

DP But no they’re referring to McLean. (Note the Kennedy reference.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone Farrells ice cream on the lower level of Tysons? That was the place to go for a birthday in the late 70’s.

Bought my first BB gun from WOOLWORTH’S in Tysons.

Shakey’s pizza on Route 1 just south of Beacon Mall in Alexandria was awesome. Played a lot of Galaga, Joust and other arcade games there. Pizza was awesome.

Dixie Pig BBQ, not sure if that is still around.

Also remember living near the Woodrow Wilson bridge as a kid. The old bridge was a shit show. They would raise it and not be able to get it down.

I remember Farrells. Didn't they make a huge amount of noise and sing to you for your birthday? They had a candy area where they sold old fashioned candy like those dots on paper? I went to a lot of birthdays there, but didn't like it! Too noisy!

[Anonymous]

Anyone remember Burger Chef? They had one in Fairfax, so good. I also remember Geno’s.

Dart Drug
Hechingers
Peoples Drug

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone Farrells ice cream on the lower level of Tysons? That was the place to go for a birthday in the late 70’s.

Bought my first BB gun from WOOLWORTH’S in Tysons.

Shakey’s pizza on Route 1 just south of Beacon Mall in Alexandria was awesome. Played a lot of Galaga, Joust and other arcade games there. Pizza was awesome.

Dixie Pig BBQ, not sure if that is still around.

Also remember living near the Woodrow Wilson bridge as a kid. The old bridge was a shit show. They would raise it and not be able to get it down.

I remember Farrells. Didn't they make a huge amount of noise and sing to you for your birthday? They had a candy area where they sold old fashioned candy like those dots on paper? I went to a lot of birthdays there, but didn't like it! Too noisy!

If it was your b day, they came out with a crew of people and sang. They all wore hats and had red striped shirts. I don’t know if they had food or if it was just icream.

[Anonymous]

My working-class grandparents moved the family out to Great Falls in 1962 because it was the only place they could afford a big enough house for the family at the time. They were originally from Falls Church but had been priced out. Yup, even in 1962 that was a thing. It was the middle-of-nowhere back then, surrounded by dairy farms, and Tysons Corner still was a tiny rural outpost.

In general, there used to be a lot more working class whites until the 80s, and some not-so-great white areas. Pimmit Hills had a really bad rap back then. The Pagans motorcycle gang was based there. Lots of rednecks. Manassas was considered hick country, very redneck. Lorton was pretty similar. Arlington wasn't redneck but was kind of dumpy (okay, maybe it still is). McLean was always a nice area.

Accents...there definitely is/was one here, a lot of my relatives have one. The transplants don't have it but it's definitely still around. I'd call it a faint southern accent though not particularly twangy and with some Appalachian thrown in. It's kind of hard to describe. My grandparents said Warshington/warsh but they didn't have that sort of genteel Richmond accent either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My working-class grandparents moved the family out to Great Falls in 1962 because it was the only place they could afford a big enough house for the family at the time. They were originally from Falls Church but had been priced out. Yup, even in 1962 that was a thing. It was the middle-of-nowhere back then, surrounded by dairy farms, and Tysons Corner still was a tiny rural outpost.

In general, there used to be a lot more working class whites until the 80s, and some not-so-great white areas. Pimmit Hills had a really bad rap back then. The Pagans motorcycle gang was based there. Lots of rednecks. Manassas was considered hick country, very redneck. Lorton was pretty similar. Arlington wasn't redneck but was kind of dumpy (okay, maybe it still is). McLean was always a nice area.

Accents...there definitely is/was one here, a lot of my relatives have one. The transplants don't have it but it's definitely still around. I'd call it a faint southern accent though not particularly twangy and with some Appalachian thrown in. It's kind of hard to describe. My grandparents said Warshington/warsh but they didn't have that sort of genteel Richmond accent either.

I lived in Pimmit Hills in the early 90’s after college in a house with some college friends. It was working class and mostly white and the “Pagan”reputation was still a thing. Our rent was $875 for a 875 square foot house. 3 bedrooms and 1 bath. I think the lot was 1/3 acre. I think homes in iPimmit sold for $140-$150K in the 90’s. Should have bought one…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My working-class grandparents moved the family out to Great Falls in 1962 because it was the only place they could afford a big enough house for the family at the time. They were originally from Falls Church but had been priced out. Yup, even in 1962 that was a thing. It was the middle-of-nowhere back then, surrounded by dairy farms, and Tysons Corner still was a tiny rural outpost.

In general, there used to be a lot more working class whites until the 80s, and some not-so-great white areas. Pimmit Hills had a really bad rap back then. The Pagans motorcycle gang was based there. Lots of rednecks. Manassas was considered hick country, very redneck. Lorton was pretty similar. Arlington wasn't redneck but was kind of dumpy (okay, maybe it still is). McLean was always a nice area.

Accents...there definitely is/was one here, a lot of my relatives have one. The transplants don't have it but it's definitely still around. I'd call it a faint southern accent though not particularly twangy and with some Appalachian thrown in. It's kind of hard to describe. My grandparents said Warshington/warsh but they didn't have that sort of genteel Richmond accent either.

I lived in Pimmit Hills in the early 90’s after college in a house with some college friends. It was working class and mostly white and the “Pagan”reputation was still a thing. Our rent was $875 for a 875 square foot house. 3 bedrooms and 1 bath. I think the lot was 1/3 acre. I think homes in iPimmit sold for $140-$150K in the 90’s. Should have bought one…

I avoided Pimmit Hills for many years because of the incident where the boy got chased from Pimmit Hills and killed in the parking lot at Marshall. When I finally decided to see what it looked like, I realized it was just a regular neighborhood of smaller houses. Of course many have since been torn down and replaced with larger houses.

[Anonymous]

Falls Church City was the last to segregate I believe. Anyone remember what that area was like?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone Farrells ice cream on the lower level of Tysons? That was the place to go for a birthday in the late 70’s.

Bought my first BB gun from WOOLWORTH’S in Tysons.

Shakey’s pizza on Route 1 just south of Beacon Mall in Alexandria was awesome. Played a lot of Galaga, Joust and other arcade games there. Pizza was awesome.

Dixie Pig BBQ, not sure if that is still around.

Also remember living near the Woodrow Wilson bridge as a kid. The old bridge was a shit show. They would raise it and not be able to get it down.

I remember Farrells. Didn't they make a huge amount of noise and sing to you for your birthday? They had a candy area where they sold old fashioned candy like those dots on paper? I went to a lot of birthdays there, but didn't like it! Too noisy!

The massive ice cream thing at Farrell's was called "The Zoo."

[Anonymous]

i remember going to Lord & Taylor at Bailey's Crossroads -- that round building. i don't know what's there now.

[Anonymous]

I’m old enough to remember Storybook land in Woodbridge on Route 1.

https://www.insidenova.com/news/local/woodbridge/remembering-story-book-land/article_d4b6b060-7343-11e2-b171-001a4bcf887a.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grew up in Lake Barcroft.

Used to have so many fun places. A Hot Shoppes drive-in in Bailey’s Crossroads where they’d bring your order to your car. The Giffords Ice Cream parlor of Columbia Pike. The Frozen Dairy Bar on Route 50 that looked like it came right out of “American Graffiti.” Seven Corners was an enclosed mall with two high-end department stores and an S&W cafeteria. There were also some nice places in Annandale, including a Three Chefs for breakfast and an Italian restaurant. All gone now.

Stuart HS was a very high-achieving school. Kids dressed nicely and respected the teachers. Bob Dole’s daughter went there as did the children of many Congressmen. Quite a few kids went to Ivies and UVA. Both Justice Thurgood Marshall and the Attorney General under President Johnson lived in the neighborhood. Our rivals were Annandale, which always had the best football team; Jefferson, which was a normal school for regular kids, not a magnet school that crazy parents fought about constantly; and Falls Church, which was considered more working-class.

Go back occasionally. Lake Barcroft and Sleepy Hollow are still nice but Seven Corners is crap now and the whole Baileys Crossroads/Culmore area is run-down and feels unsafe. There are areas I felt free to roam around at night with friends as a teenager that I’d avoid at any time of the day or night now.

+1

So true!

I remember the Italian Restaurant!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i remember going to Lord & Taylor at Bailey's Crossroads -- that round building. i don't know what's there now.

Yes! Then it was Sears - not sure what it is now. Such a weird building.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Leesburg is definitely nova lol

It’s exurban nova. As is most of Loudoun; no one from Leesburg commutes to downtown DC unless they want to spend two hours each way in traffic. Nonetheless they had southern accents when I went to high school there a decade ago. I have a farm in Lovettesville and they still fly confederate flags and have country accents.

I know plenty of people who commuted to D.C. jobs from Loudoun. Growth has been explosive all over NoVa and you can't do that so easily anymore.

I don't think I've seen any confederate flags in Lovettsville. People are lovely, by and large. The most offensively obnoxious people in Loudoun are in the area between Middleburg and Purcellville. They smile in your face while they're sticking a knife in your back. So much toxic social climbing and virtue signaling. Lovettsville is a lot more real, and a lot nicer, with some high voltage people quietly living their lives. Madeleine Albright, who recently passed away, had a house off Harpers Ferry Rd. Technically Purcellville, but in the northernmost section of Loudoun, by Lovettsville.

Sure they commute, but most of the people I know and have heard of commute from Potomac Falls/Sterling, Ashburn at most. I haven’t heard of many people who commute from around Leesburg or Western Loudoun to DC, as has none of my neighbors in Lovettesville.

Maybe the confederate flags I saw were indeed not in Lovettesville proper, but maybe with a different address. They still have country accents though, by ‘offensively obnoxious’ do you mean the people between Purcellville and Middleburg fly confederate flags? I don’t venture out there much.

There were absolutely still many confederate flag bumper stickers, proudly out and about, in NOVA in the 90's. That, and everything was named "Lee" - still is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I learned to drive in the Pentagon parking lot in the mid-80s. It was open and empty on Sundays.

Yes! The Pentagon was an active cut through!