Huntington Wrote:
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> That church on RT. 1 is adjacent to what is now
> Chili's, I think. Across from the Target and
> PetCo/ PetSmart? Those old pics of Landmark are
> crazy, when we first moved here (late 70's) my Dad
> worked in corporate for Hecht's (May Cos.). My
> Mom would have to drive to the Hecht's at Landmark
> to get his paycheck, we did all of our back to
> school shopping there to get the employee
> discount. Right before my Dad left Hecht's/ May,
> he bought our first "big screen" TV, VHS player,
> and video recorder there. It was still an outdoor
> mall then.
>
> The Springfield office tower that caught fire used
> to have a small motel/ hotel across Commerce St,
> think it might have been a HoJo's, it was a dump!
> The ground level of the office building had a gas
> station, and the what is now Pho place, used to be
> McDonald's. My parents closed/ settled on our
> house at a bank in nearby Springfield plaza, and
> my Aunt took us to an old donut place in that
> plaza during the closing.
>
> I might be wrong, but I am pretty sure back then
> you could drive Backlick Rd. across Old Keene
> Mill, at a stop sign, where the on ramps are to
> the Beltway and 395. Now the Veteran's Bridge
> reroutes you, thank God.
>
> OK, so this is morbid, anyone remember when the
> small plane crashed at Rolling Rd. and Hooes Rd.,
> t was then the back entrance to Daventry? The
> Parkway is now there so the intersection is long
> gone. Rumor had it that the plane emergency
> landed and the wing decapitated the driver of a
> woman on her way back from Erol's on her way to
> her daughter's b-day party, and someone stole the
> diamond ring of her finger, only to be returned to
> the family days later.
If you're interested in Springfield history, you might want to check out this thread:
http://www.fairfaxunderground.com/forum/read/2/1100089/1134100.html#msg-1134100
Not a lot of pictures, but some nice history.
The Springfield Towers butts up against a gas station, not above it. The closed gas station still stands.
You're right, the restaurant next door was a Howard Johnson's, with the motel next door across Commerce Street. The original Commerce Street overpass wasn't built until around 1969. Interestingly, the motel was converted to a Howard Johnson's in 1958 after starting out as a Skylark Motel. I never knew that, just found that at
http://www.highwayhost.org/Virginia/Springfield/springfield1.html. However, the photo posted at the website showing the pool doesn't look right. The homes supposedly across I-95 sure never looked like those in the photo.
I used to work at the HoJo's restaurant as a kid. After watching the cooks in action on Saturday mornings, the only things I ate there were items I watched being cooked!