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The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Rod ()
Date: December 07, 2008 09:36PM

I was out at Tyson's Corner today and I remembered the old Tyson's. Do any remember the old coat racks. Ya they had these elaborate electric coat racks that had them going into the basement like at the dry cleaners only they were even bigger. Apparently they had it that patrons would want to check thier heavy winter coats when walking in. It was quite elaborate. I don't remember ever checking my coat and the idea proved unpopular but the device lingered for years until they underwent a renovation. But it's interesting to me that this was a feature originally.

Another feature at Ty sons was the Avery court which featured live birds. I'm fond of birds and rather liked it. I think the same region is still called the Avery court. I remember they had golden peasants and ring neck doves. I think there were four large cages.

They say Tyson's corner is being redesigned to be a vast pedestrian friendly urban center. But will it have coat racks and bird cages?

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: tubby ()
Date: December 07, 2008 10:07PM

Remember the old Tyson's Corner? Heck yeah,

My uncle owned one of the dairy farms there and I spent many a summer helping him. I used to drive his old red-belly Ford tractor (model 8N) down to the store at "the corner" for a grape Nehi and a Moon Pie.

This was around 1960.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: TheMeeper ()
Date: December 07, 2008 10:17PM

Haha. I've lived in this neighborhood since 97 and don't remember anything like a coat check at the mall. That must have been LONG ago, and it sounds funny. So do the birds.

The oldest things I can remember about here are:

- Some place called "Hot Shoppes" in the mall. It was like a cafeteria, and was always filled with elderly people. It closed around the time I first moved here.

- There was a Burger King or Hardees on the second level of the mall, near where LL Bean is now. Not in a food court, just a regular mall store front. Can you imagine a BK in there now??

- There was some sort of buffet place across 7 where On The Border/Chili's is now. I think it was called "Easby's". And it was terrible!

- The Patio.com store on 7 was some sort of fast food restaurant, and the exterior still looks like it. Except now they sell patio furniture (and pinball machines!).

- There was a Chic- Fil A tucked away up on the third floor of the Galleria. It was a weird food court, and always empty. It also had a decent Lebanese kebab place. I think its where Maggiano's is now.

- Take a look at the Beltway/Rt. 7 interchange today, and it looks nothing like it did even a year ago. All the trees are cut down, it's a wide open space.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Vince(1) ()
Date: December 07, 2008 11:25PM

I remember the bird cages...I also rememebr the head shop that was tucked in the rear of a small kitchen appliance store (sort of what B,B & Beyond is today). I used to go in there and get pipe screens all the time....we are talking around 1972.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Eastsider ()
Date: December 07, 2008 11:38PM

I went to that BK many times. It was actually connected to Woolworth's such that you could walk into Woolworth's (now LL Bean) without having to enter the mall again (you could bypass one storefront---the door was essentially worthless).

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Bob ()
Date: December 07, 2008 11:39PM

I don't remember birds but I worked at Hecht's in the mid-80's during high school on the loading dock.

I remember when what is now the first floor was a dark, dirty, rat-infested tunnel with loading docks for all the stores. The trucks used to enter through entrances on both ends. The first entrance was in the surface lot by where Bloomies, LL Bean and Nordstroms is. I can't remember where the other one was, but I think it was down by Woodie's. I also remember that there was a Goodyear tire shop down below Hecht's, where the parking garage by Hecht's is now. It was much deeper than it is now, they must have filled in a lot of dirt where that used to be.

Anyone remember the video games at People's Drug? They had an entire aisle in the middle of the store full of video games. That was a big hang out after school.

Tubby, I knew someone who was in high school in the 60's who was telling me about how Rt 7 was all gravel from about where the toll road is now, all the way out to Leesburg. There even used to be a memorabilia shop in Tysons, maybe early 90's, about where Restoration Hardware is now, that sold sports and photo collectibles that had about 15 or 20 photos of the real "tyson's corner" when it was all dirt roads with like a gas station on two corners, and either woods or farms everywhere else. That may have been the 50's, maybe 40's.

I also remember when the Galleria was still "the pits" where all the pimmit hills kids would ride their dirt bikes. Or when the NADA building was pretty much the tallest building in Tysons, maybe other than the building that is now the wachovia building next to the residence inn and holiday inn and Da Domenico.

Oh yeah, the Burger king was where LL Bean is now, and before that, there was a woolworth's there. It was one of the few non-anchor stores that had two floors (just like LL Bean, now)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2008 11:44PM by Bob.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Jester ()
Date: December 08, 2008 01:39AM

I remember there was a meat packing place on the corner by RT 7 and 123. People would bring their deer kills in to get them packaged for Winter.

Then car dealers started popping up every where.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Spacy ()
Date: December 08, 2008 01:59AM

Jester Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I remember there was a meat packing place on the
> corner by RT 7 and 123. People would bring their
> deer kills in to get them packaged for Winter.

Yes, my father and I used to use that place after hunting!
(I was just about to post about it but you beat me to it...)

I don't recall there being much of anything else in the area back then.
This would have been the late 60s.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/2008 02:01AM by Spacy.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Birds R Us ()
Date: December 08, 2008 05:03AM

I remember the birds in the big cages. Even though I was a kid, I felt sorry for them. I guess, though, that it wasn't nearly as bad as being in a small cage.

Also, there was a pizza place - more like a stand - that had the worst slices of pizza ever. They were gross!

Also, there used to be fountains near Hecht's, and sometimes we'd reach in and take out some coins - I guess it was easy to do then because no one was looking. We would spend them at that toy store that had the joke things like disappearing ink and soap that turned your hands black.

And whatever happened to Farrell's and the ice cream trough that was "fit for a pig"? Didn't you get some sort of prize if you could finish it? And they had those giant lollipops which I thought were the coolest things ever.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Bob ()
Date: December 08, 2008 05:08AM

Farrells was next to the movie theaters, wasn't it?

There used to be 8 theaters or so just about where the escalators closest to Nordstroms are. It might even have been 12 theaters. I know that was three levels, the first level was pretty much nothing, then the second level had a game room, and then the third level had the ticket booths, concession stands and the theaters.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: RESton Peace ()
Date: December 08, 2008 06:42AM

Wow, blasts from the past. I remember all of those things from when I was in grade school, except the first-floor tunnels and the coat check. Those tunnels sound pretty cool.

Anyone remember when they used to bring some of the Macy's parade floats and/or balloons to Tyson's 2? I don't think they did a parade but I can't remember. I just recall going to see them there and thinking that was where the parade from tv actually was... ah the ignorance of youth. A knowing person would never confuse Tyson's and New York.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Rod ()
Date: December 08, 2008 10:26AM

Spacy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jester Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I remember there was a meat packing place on
> the
> > corner by RT 7 and 123. People would bring
> their
> > deer kills in to get them packaged for Winter.
>
> Yes, my father and I used to use that place after
> hunting!
> (I was just about to post about it but you beat me
> to it...)
>
> I don't recall there being much of anything else
> in the area back then.
> This would have been the late 60s.


There was a ice place that someone had put a big "L" in front of

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Rod ()
Date: December 08, 2008 10:37AM

tubby Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Remember the old Tyson's Corner? Heck yeah,
>
> My uncle owned one of the dairy farms there and I
> spent many a summer helping him. I used to drive
> his old red-belly Ford tractor (model 8N) down to
> the store at "the corner" for a grape Nehi and a
> Moon Pie.
>
> This was around 1960.

Most 8N's were grey. I used to borrow Mr Guilford's Any remember Mr Guilford- this should be a whiole seperate thread.

Also I rember one time I went to a movi with a friend we were drinkking and came out and they were about about to put up the Xmas decorations at night when it was closed. Even though we were drunk and fairly unbelievable we said someone sent us to help. They took up a colection sent us on a beer run from which we never returned. Maybe we should of. I was just a young kid then. I guess we never returrned because we were afraid that they would disscover that no one had sent us.

There used to be this grormet store a block down near that now upscale
Department (Markus or something) that sold baklava that I used to go to.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Numbers ()
Date: December 08, 2008 11:21AM

"The Pits" was a brutal place for dirt biking. The paths consisted of lots of tiny rocks and little hills. If/when you wrecked, your legs and arms got shredded.

I had a birthday party at Farrels one year and I remember this massive amount of ice cream they put on the table. After that, we all went to the theatre to see the first Star Wars film.

Springfield used to be a pretty cool place.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: TC ()
Date: December 08, 2008 12:46PM

Birds R Us Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I remember the birds in the big cages. Even
> though I was a kid, I felt sorry for them. I
> guess, though, that it wasn't nearly as bad as
> being in a small cage.
>
> Also, there was a pizza place - more like a stand
> - that had the worst slices of pizza ever. They
> were gross!
>
> Also, there used to be fountains near Hecht's, and
> sometimes we'd reach in and take out some coins -
> I guess it was easy to do then because no one was
> looking. We would spend them at that toy store
> that had the joke things like disappearing ink and
> soap that turned your hands black.
>
> And whatever happened to Farrell's and the ice
> cream trough that was "fit for a pig"? Didn't you
> get some sort of prize if you could finish it?
> And they had those giant lollipops which I thought
> were the coolest things ever.


I remember the "fat trough" at Farrell's and also the "Volcano" with the sparklers coming out of the top. They would run around all over the restaurant with this stretcher thing that carried these two desserts to your table. Making all sort of calamaty--Joe's Crab Shack's predecessor. I can still remember the old layouts of Woodies and Hecht's and sometimes when I am there, I have flashbacks to the way the stores used to be set up. I remember Luciano's which is still there, I think and Raleigh's--my dad would spend hours there just looking at the ties. Also, Hahn's shoes, Seibt's Bakery, Frontier Fruit and Nut, the Hallmark store across from Hecht's. I remember Aviary Court because I was always worried I would get crapped on. The birds were kind of ugly--seems like they were just birds that had accidently flown into the mall, got caught by someone and then tossed into the cage. There also used to be a Giant on the back-123-side of the mall. Can't imagine anyone wanting to grocery shop there now or even then.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: tubby ()
Date: December 08, 2008 07:29PM

Rod Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Most 8N's were grey. I used to borrow Mr
> Guilford's Any remember Mr Guilford- this should
> be a whiole seperate thread.
>
> Also I rember one time I went to a movi with a
> friend we were drinkking and came out and they
> were about about to put up the Xmas decorations at
> night when it was closed. Even though we were
> drunk and fairly unbelievable we said someone sent
> us to help. They took up a colection sent us on a
> beer run from which we never returned. Maybe we
> should of. I was just a young kid then. I guess
> we never returrned because we were afraid that
> they would disscover that no one had sent us.
>
> There used to be this grormet store a block down
> near that now upscale
> Department (Markus or something) that sold baklava
> that I used to go to.

The sheet metal was gray....the engine, trans, and rear were red. That's why they call them "red belly".

I have restored a half dozen of them and own two at the present time.

Here is a GREAT site for the 8N:

http://home.att.net/~jmsmith45/47b.htm

If you love 8Ns (or 9Ns)....look at the whole site

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Maraschino ()
Date: December 08, 2008 07:30PM

Farrell's Is Fabulous Fun for Everyone

Look, they are making a come-back, sorta, maybe---

http://www.farrellsusa.com/Default.aspx

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: tubby ()
Date: December 08, 2008 07:35PM

PS: Hey Rod, if Mr Guilford's tractor was all gray...it was a 9N, not an 8N.

9Ns are older, having been introduced in 1939. The red belly 8Ns debuted in 1947.
They are basically the same machines though.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Radiophile ()
Date: December 08, 2008 08:17PM

The "coat rack" was removed and an underground gym was put in. The gym eventually became a Bally's and then shut down. There used to be blocked off stairs to it but I dont remember seeing then since the renovation.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: carole ()
Date: December 08, 2008 08:31PM

I remember going to those little movie theatres to see "Grease" and then to Orange Julis for one of those oragne slurpee things...

Remember the meat packing place had those cartoon characters - I think it was a pig and a cow dressed like butchers.

Does anyone remember a restaurant on 7 across the street from the Mall called "Bunky O'Neils"?

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: carole ()
Date: December 08, 2008 08:32PM

Opps - it was not Grease it was Saturday Night Fever

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Bunky O'neils
Posted by: Kenan Lott ()
Date: June 11, 2009 04:05PM

I worked at Bunkey Oneils with Jay Walden, Chris Doden, Mary Mulvaney, Steve Herr and Mike Herr. I even dated the owner's neice, Lynne. It was a great time in my life. I miss my old friends whith whom I drank pitchers of beer at some pizza pub just north of 123 on rt 7.

The best Ribs in the D.C. Area.

Many fun times friving my VW Microbus at the pits too! Any of my old friends can reach me at kenan01@aol.com

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: ยง ()
Date: June 11, 2009 05:49PM

Or there's a better chance of success by using Facebook, Kenan.

By the way, you were great in "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka."
.
Attachments:
Facebook2graph.JPG

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Warhawk ()
Date: June 11, 2009 06:29PM

TheMeeper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Haha. I've lived in this neighborhood since 97
> and don't remember anything like a coat check at
> the mall. That must have been LONG ago, and it
> sounds funny. So do the birds

I think the coat check stopped in the late 80's. I can't remember.


>
> The oldest things I can remember about here are:
>
> - Some place called "Hot Shoppes" in the mall. It
> was like a cafeteria, and was always filled with
> elderly people. It closed around the time I first
> moved here.


That place was always full of old people and really busy for the dinner crowd between 3pm and 4pm. There was also and A&W restaurant up on the 2nd level too.

>
> - There was some sort of buffet place across 7
> where On The Border/Chili's is now. I think it
> was called "Easby's". And it was terrible!

Chesapeake Bay Seafood House used to be around there too waaaaay back in the day.


> - There was a Chic- Fil A tucked away up on the
> third floor of the Galleria. It was a weird food
> court, and always empty. It also had a decent
> Lebanese kebab place. I think its where
> Maggiano's is now.

Ate there a few times. Always deserted.


Also, that movie theater never carded for R movies. I can remember Tyson's BEFORE Tyson's II. I feel fucking old.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: WingNut ()
Date: June 11, 2009 07:09PM

/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/2015 10:15PM by WingNut.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Rod ()
Date: June 12, 2009 11:40PM

Well.....do any remember the "Crystal Pistol? What a truly diverse place Tysons Corner used to be!

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: way back ()
Date: June 14, 2009 01:30AM

That downstairs gym was "Holiday Spas" before it was Bally's, and the pizza place was "Shakey's." They used to show Laurel and Hardy movies some nights.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Adam ()
Date: June 14, 2009 12:21PM

Awesome reading the posts, i am young, and can only remember tysons back to when Burger King was there.

I use to work security at Tysons, I had no idea Avery Court had birds in them, i always wonder why we called it that.

I've noticed some abandoned elevators, blocked off walls, creepy basements walking around the Tyson's corridors.

Between chipotle and Macy's there is a corridor that will lead you to a basement. when i was working it was mostly for storing old paper work, but it was massive. I mean you could fit maybe 500 people in there. I remember there use to be a room in that basement that was always flooded with water, like at least 3-4 inches on the ground. I would say it's at least 1-2 levels below the 1st level mall. I think some hallways went even deeper then that.

Can anyone find old pictures of tysons/tysons area?

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Adam ()
Date: June 14, 2009 12:33PM

Also found this thread about the old tysons.

http://www.groceteria.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1980

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Adam ()
Date: June 14, 2009 12:36PM

It would seem this site has some, but costs some money

http://www.norvapics.com/index.html

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: veggie ()
Date: June 14, 2009 07:54PM

We used to shop at Tysons all the time. It opended in 1968 and at that time, it was the largest mall on the East Coast. For us, Tysons replaced Seven Corners in Falls Church. All the stores were inside and you didn't have to walk outside like at Seven Corners. I remember Castro Convertibles, a furniture store that had sofas with zebra and tiger prints (very cool to a 9 year old), and Donuts Galore - although we called it Donuts Calorie becuase to us, the Galore looked like "calorie" in the bright orange lights. My mom made an appointment to have our portraits drawn by an "artist" who set up shop in the Avery Court in 1969. In the late '70s, I got a part time job at Georgetown Cotton. The manager was Doris and she was about 60 who dressed like a hippie. I used to see rats scurring in the parking lot towards the mall at dusk. They were pretty big. It's amazing how much it has changed but I'm sure the rats have not!

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: NegativeDreamStealer ()
Date: June 14, 2009 08:56PM

What an interesting thread. I was five when the mall opened. It was state-of-the-art. The aviary court, if I remember correctly, had floor-to-ceiling cages and an exotic jungle atmosphere. There always was a multi-screen movie theater (when multiplexes were unusual) - two at one point, actually, one upstairs and then the Roth's downstairs. My siblings and I saw "Jaws" and other first-run releases there. My big sister took me to Farrell's now and then for a hot-fudge sundae. The Winston's restaurant was downstairs also, near the Roth's, with exposed-brick walls and flowers stuck in Perrier bottles on each table - too hip. Around 1980 the mall still had a fabric store as well as an electric piano store, the latter featuring at all times a dude in a three-piece polyester suit (generally beige and always with flare pants) boogying while playing a demo keyboard. Right on.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: 703Traci ()
Date: June 04, 2010 01:59PM

No activity for almost a year! I just stumbled across this looking for Chic-fil-A. LOL.... Ah the memories of Tyson's! I remember going to Bunky O'Neils. I loved the spaghetti at that place. This is a stretch does anyone remember the place called Burger Chef and Jeff? It was where the vitamin shop is now next to 7-11 on old Gallows road. As a kid I loved that place too.

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Re: Obama + Goldman Sachs > Bush + ENRON - Where's the Outrage?
Posted by: WingNut ()
Date: June 04, 2010 02:13PM

Re: Obama + Goldman Sachs > Bush + ENRON - Where's the Outrage?


idontlikebeingrightaboutshitlikethisbutiam



Edited 21 time(s). Last edit at 5/31/1967 05:57AM by WingNut.

Last edit at 11/30/2015 01:37PM Last edit at 5/14/2015 03:52PM Last edit at 1/28/2014 05:57AM Last edit at 11/29/2015 01:10PM Last edit at 3/14/2011 11:52PM Last edit at 7/20/2012 04:07AM
Last edit at 6/29/2013 11:18PM Last edit at 3/19/2011 01:02PM Last edit at 3/26/2012 09:07PM



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2015 07:31PM by WingNut.


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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: homer mcneil ()
Date: June 04, 2010 04:33PM

I went to tysons corner mall last week and except for restuarants near barnes and noble i was one of the few white people i saw
to beat a dead horse

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Old Arcade ()
Date: June 04, 2010 06:45PM

I miss the old arcade that was at Tysons I.

Does anyone know what an arcade is nowadays?

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: wtfno ()
Date: June 04, 2010 06:48PM

Old Arcade Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I miss the old arcade that was at Tysons I.
>
> Does anyone know what an arcade is nowadays?

You mean Tilt? Or an arcade way back when?

Tilt used to be by Banana Republic. I heard it slowly because the place of choice to conduct various 'trades.'

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Eastsider ()
Date: June 04, 2010 07:00PM

I don't recall an arcade before Tilt, but the 4-screen theater by Farrell's and the bigger theater downstairs, in the Lord & Taylor wing both had coin-op games.

Anyone remember Spencer's gifts? I used to walk around that store as a kid, pretending to be interested in other junk, just so I could steal glances at the "over 18" smutty-gift section.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: wtfno ()
Date: June 04, 2010 07:04PM

Eastsider Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anyone remember Spencer's gifts? I used to walk
> around that store as a kid, pretending to be
> interested in other junk, just so I could steal
> glances at the "over 18" smutty-gift section.

Spencer's used to be right by the escalators by the old food court.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Taylor ()
Date: June 07, 2010 09:13AM

There was sn article in the WaPo a month or two ago that said they've turned some of the now empty theater rooms on the lowest level into indoor batting cages. Sounds like a good way to use the space. Apparently they've just been sitting empty and vacant for the last 20 years since the theater closed down.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: shuckinchuck ()
Date: June 07, 2010 08:17PM

Birds R Us Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Also, there used to be fountains near Hecht's, and
> sometimes we'd reach in and take out some coins -
> I guess it was easy to do then because no one was
> looking. We would spend them at that toy store
> that had the joke things like disappearing ink and
> soap that turned your hands black.

Spencer's Gifts.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: TheMeeper ()
Date: June 07, 2010 08:40PM

Taylor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There was sn article in the WaPo a month or two
> ago that said they've turned some of the now empty
> theater rooms on the lowest level into indoor
> batting cages. Sounds like a good way to use the
> space. Apparently they've just been sitting empty
> and vacant for the last 20 years since the theater
> closed down.


Where are you talking about?

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: robonscanner ()
Date: June 07, 2010 09:52PM

I know this is not so related. I did worked at the Evans Inn. I was one of the few chefs that worked there. Waiters use to make 300.00 per night. Buss boys made a bit over 100.00 per night shift. The food was great. We could spend any amount of money on good ingredients. For the ones the remember it looked like a country club. Any one could go and eat there. Expected to spend at least 60.0 per person. We had dumb waiters for the dirty dishes and for the food as well. We had the biggest automatic dish washer machine I'd ever seen. This washes machine took 4 Mexicans to operate it on a full shift. The drop area was like a factory. The main kitchen was just like hells kitchen. If you said the wrong comment or attitude you were gone. One time a waiter put a piece of fry on his mouth as one hand was on my cutting board. I went down with my Japanese cleaver as fas as I could and he removed his hand really fast.
I would had those fingers cut and run them down the food disposer and some Ice after that. Just to clean the disposer blades. Thats how we were back in the 80's

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: robonscanner ()
Date: June 07, 2010 09:52PM

I know this is not so related. I did worked at the Evans farm Inn. I was one of the few chefs that worked there. Waiters use to make 300.00 per night. Buss boys made a bit over 100.00 per night shift. The food was great. We could spend any amount of money on good ingredients. For the ones the remember it looked like a country club. Any one could go and eat there. Expected to spend at least 60.0 per person. We had dumb waiters for the dirty dishes and for the food as well. We had the biggest automatic dish washer machine I'd ever seen. This washes machine took 4 Mexicans to operate it on a full shift. The drop area was like a factory. The main kitchen was just like hells kitchen. If you said the wrong comment or attitude you were gone. One time a waiter put a piece of fry on his mouth as one hand was on my cutting board. I went down with my Japanese cleaver as fas as I could and he removed his hand really fast.
I would had those fingers cut and run them down the food disposer and some Ice after that. Just to clean the disposer blades. Thats how we were back in the 80's

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: eesh ()
Date: June 07, 2010 10:23PM

TheMeeper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Taylor Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > There was sn article in the WaPo a month or two
> > ago that said they've turned some of the now
> empty
> > theater rooms on the lowest level into indoor
> > batting cages. Sounds like a good way to use
> the
> > space. Apparently they've just been sitting
> empty
> > and vacant for the last 20 years since the
> theater
> > closed down.
>
>
> Where are you talking about?




http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/06/AR2009120602193.html

I saw this article and couldn't believe there was that much unused space in the mall. Plus, with as popular as Tyson's has been, it's strange that another theater didn't come along until AMC.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Tysons Kids ()
Date: June 08, 2010 10:29AM

Castro Convertibles - it was cool to a kid because there was room after room of chairs that went straight back, sort of like the way a tunnel does.

Spencers - ha ha. What a great place for a kid to sneak around in and try to be cool. Isn't there one at Springfield Mall?

That electric organ store - you could go in and play on the organs - always a fun thing for a kid to do. And yes, the polyester jester.

I rarely go to Tysons now - it sucks (due to traffic and crowding).

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: TheMeeper ()
Date: June 08, 2010 10:57AM

eesh Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> I saw this article and couldn't believe there was
> that much unused space in the mall. Plus, with as
> popular as Tyson's has been, it's strange that
> another theater didn't come along until AMC.

There's an escalator going down to the lower level near Bloomingdale's, I think there's some kind of cosmetology school down there now, and I think it was a health club, Gold's maybe(?), back in the late 90s.

I think theaters stayed away from the mall for so long because there was a theater complex right across 7 from the mall in Fairfax Square (next to On The Border). Those theaters closed a few months after the AMC opened in the new mall annex.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: eesh ()
Date: June 08, 2010 01:36PM

TheMeeper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> eesh Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >
> > I saw this article and couldn't believe there
> was
> > that much unused space in the mall. Plus, with
> as
> > popular as Tyson's has been, it's strange that
> > another theater didn't come along until AMC.
>
> There's an escalator going down to the lower level
> near Bloomingdale's, I think there's some kind of
> cosmetology school down there now, and I think it
> was a health club, Gold's maybe(?), back in the
> late 90s.

>



That would be cool to have a Gold's in the mall. The one near Night Dreams is really rinky-dink for this area.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: mamacox ()
Date: July 20, 2010 06:16PM

there was a little restaurant under the escalators that led to the movie theaters. not the magic pan, not winstons ~ they served french food...croque monsieurs (sp?), french onion soup and perrier. i can not remember the name of it and really don't care to - i just want one person to tell me that they remember it! this was early 80's! help a sista out please!

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Bubba ()
Date: July 25, 2010 02:21PM

Everyone keeps referring to the Avery Court. Its actual name was Aviary Court (hence the bird cages). When the mall first opened there were three courses: The Aviary Court, where they had the bird cages; The Fountain Court (where the had the fountains that someone else referred to); and the Fashion Court where they actually had these circular platforms that could be used as stages. Back in the early/mid 70's they used to sometimes have concerts in the Fashion Court area. Does anyone remember the Conti Family? I guess that they were the Italian Osmonds.

As for the movie theaters, the only theater in the original mall when it first opened was Tysons II, which was downstairs below Farrells ice cream parlor. It was a 2 screen theater. The Roth's theaters on the back side of the mall by the old H.A. Winstons restaurant, had 8 screens and opened in sometime in the 70s.

And the original health club in the mall was European Health Spa. I'm not sure what replaced it.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Scottyd ()
Date: July 27, 2010 12:50PM

The Patio.com store was a Roy Rogers. I remember the birds but not the coat rack. There also was a K-mart across rt 7 where Tiffany's is now.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: hunky-doo ()
Date: July 27, 2010 11:04PM

homer mcneil Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I went to tysons corner mall last week and except
> for restuarants near barnes and noble i was one of
> the few white people i saw
> to beat a dead horse

Wait until Metro gets there in a few years. You will be the only hunky there.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Kay ()
Date: August 07, 2010 03:10AM

Tyson's Corner Mall was a big part of my childhood in the 1960s and 1970s. It's been wonderful reading the comments about the old mall. My mother used to take me to Seibt's bakery when I was small, and I always got a big pastry with an orange drink in a narrow glass with what may have been a coffee stirrer as a straw. I loved looking at the birds in the tall cages in Aviary court, though most of them seemed to be on the ground rather than flying. I vaguely recall looking for the peacock or two in the cages. I also looked at the toys in FAO Schwartz, though I never bought anything there and went across the hall to Woolworth's to buy trinkets. My parents often bought clothing in Hecht's, often at the bargain basement. Woodworth and Lothrop (Woodies) was higher end, and we didn't go there quite as often. Bloomingdales was added onto the mall near Woolworth's and was a new experience in department stores because it had an extensive food section. I think Farrell's was off of the Aviary Court. The ice cream was great; the other food not so much. There was a great bead shop around the corner from Farrell's where friends and I would buy and trade beads. It seems odd to me now that we didn't try to make jewelry or anything out of the beads. There was a restaurant in the basement of Hecht's which is the only place I've ever eaten escargot. A crepe shop (Magic Pan?) was in the disappointing lower level which, as others have noted, was primarily the truck delivery area.

We occasionally visited other malls, too, but Tysons was special. Also, it was completely indoors unlike Parkington (Ballston Common) and Seven Corners where you had to walk outdoors to go across to other stores. Plus, Tysons was the closest mall to my home.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Whobe ()
Date: August 07, 2010 10:20AM

Parkington! and Putt Putt golf, damn that was a long time ago!

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Sooze ()
Date: September 14, 2010 03:19PM

It was called Le Mistral. We used to go and drink there after work from Roth's Tysons 5 Theatres.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Kardinal ()
Date: September 14, 2010 03:57PM

I'm loving this thread. Thanks for sharing all your memories! I grew up in Arlington so I have little knowledge of old Tysons Corner mall. I wish I could see what it's like underneath Tysons.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Client 9 ()
Date: September 14, 2010 05:24PM

Kay Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Tyson's Corner Mall was a big part of my childhood
> in the 1960s and 1970s. It's been wonderful
> reading the comments about the old mall. My
> mother used to take me to Seibt's bakery when I
> was small, and I always got a big pastry with an
> orange drink in a narrow glass with what may have
> been a coffee stirrer as a straw. I loved looking
> at the birds in the tall cages in Aviary court,
> though most of them seemed to be on the ground
> rather than flying. I vaguely recall looking for
> the peacock or two in the cages. I also looked at
> the toys in FAO Schwartz, though I never bought
> anything there and went across the hall to
> Woolworth's to buy trinkets. My parents often
> bought clothing in Hecht's, often at the bargain
> basement. Woodworth and Lothrop (Woodies) was
> higher end, and we didn't go there quite as often.
> Bloomingdales was added onto the mall near
> Woolworth's and was a new experience in department
> stores because it had an extensive food section.
> I think Farrell's was off of the Aviary Court.
> The ice cream was great; the other food not so
> much. There was a great bead shop around the
> corner from Farrell's where friends and I would
> buy and trade beads. It seems odd to me now that
> we didn't try to make jewelry or anything out of
> the beads. There was a restaurant in the basement
> of Hecht's which is the only place I've ever eaten
> escargot. A crepe shop (Magic Pan?) was in the
> disappointing lower level which, as others have
> noted, was primarily the truck delivery area.
>
> We occasionally visited other malls, too, but
> Tysons was special. Also, it was completely
> indoors unlike Parkington (Ballston Common) and
> Seven Corners where you had to walk outdoors to go
> across to other stores. Plus, Tysons was the
> closest mall to my home.


If I recall, Bloomingdales took over the Lansburgh Department store space.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: old timer! ()
Date: September 14, 2010 07:47PM

I am such a old fart I remember when me and my friends rode dirt bikes and home build dune buggies just about where tysons 2 is. It was called the pit. Also did a lot of hunting just west of tysons about where the toll road is. Damn it brings back some good memories. I wish you young bucks could have seen it back in the day. You could also catch brook trout in the creek behind the elementary school on magarity road now the creek smells like raw sewage and not a thing besides bacteria can live in it.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: TheMeeper ()
Date: September 14, 2010 07:55PM

old timer! Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> behind the elementary school on magarity road now
> the creek smells like raw sewage and not a thing
> besides bacteria can live in it.

LOL, I walked down to that creek behind Westgate ES a few months ago. It didn't smell like sewage, but I did smell something weird and when I looked down, it was a dead snake covered with hornets. It sorta freaked me out so I got outta there.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Nova_lifer ()
Date: September 15, 2010 05:21AM

Fess Parker (aka Daniel Boone) - In the old movie theaters my Dad took us to a Marriott stockholders meeting, probably around 1971, and Fess Parker spoke, either as a major stockholder, board member or both. A few years before that I was carrying a Fess Parker lunch box to school (saw it on ebay recently).

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: The Pits ()
Date: September 15, 2010 09:37AM

I remember the Pits it was a great place for my mom to get rid of the kids for the afternoon & if your bike breaks/Master link ride over to Cycle Sport near the butcher to get it fixed but think it's an MVC porn store now ......

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Date: September 15, 2010 04:17PM

Numbers Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "The Pits" was a brutal place for dirt biking. The
> paths consisted of lots of tiny rocks and little
> hills. If/when you wrecked, your legs and arms got
> shredded.

I lived in Fairfax City during the early/mid 70's and learned to ride a motorcycle there. I haven't heard that name, "The Pits" since then. Borrowed a friend's monster 750 Yamaha pure dirt bike and crashed a lot as it would fly out from under me when I attempted the hills.

Jester Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I remember there was a meat packing place on the
> corner by RT 7 and 123. People would bring their
> deer kills in to get them packaged for Winter.

There was also a motorcycle store, (I believe it was a Yamaha place?) on the 123 hill where it went over Rt 7. Not much else there at the time. I'm not talking about the Harley place that came much later on Rt 7, that later became a Herman's sports stuff store.

I miss the Tysons Shakey's Pizza and their lunch time buffet. My whole office would go there. The place was always packed.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Date: September 15, 2010 05:53PM

dingo ate your baby Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There was also a motorcycle store, (I believe it
> was a Yamaha place?) on the 123 hill where it went
> over Rt 7.

The Pits Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I remember the Pits it was a great place for my
> mom to get rid of the kids for the afternoon & if
> your bike breaks/Master link ride over to Cycle
> Sport near the butcher to get it fixed but think
> it's an MVC porn store now ......

Cycle Sport - that's it :)

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: The Pits ()
Date: September 16, 2010 02:29PM

I do miss Shakey's great place even if it did have warm beer ......

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Lurker01 ()
Date: September 22, 2010 07:04AM

There was a Giant Food in the spot the eventually became Circuit City.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Bill ()
Date: September 22, 2010 11:08AM

I remember that early on the mall had a pretzel place near Hechts. It was where my brother and I first had warm pretzels. To this day I don't understand the mustard thing though.

My oldest memory though predates the mall. On the north side of 7 near the 123 overpass there used to be a vet's office that we took our dogs to when I was a kid. I have no idea when they closed, but I believe one of the vets was named Dr. Burns.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: ITRADE ()
Date: September 22, 2010 11:17AM

Its now a MVC...

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Putt Putt!
Posted by: memorylane ()
Date: September 25, 2010 10:11PM

The Putt Putt mini-golf course near Ballston Common Mall closed in 1988; I went with some friends to play a week or two before it closed, to get one last game in.

Does anyone remember the Keyhole Inn in Clarendon?

Living here the last 20-25 years you can see development changing everything literally before your eyes in short spans of time, and it's waves of development and redevelopment one after the other. Good example is the whole orange line corridor Ballston/Virginia Square/Clarendon/Courthouse stops.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Sang in Fashing Court ()
Date: September 25, 2010 11:50PM

Fashion Court where they actually had these
circular platforms that could be used as stages.

In the mid seventies, my sixth grade chorus group from Keene Mill ES got to perform in the Fashion Court. We wore maxi skirts,white blouse with a scarf. I got to wear my favorite pair of 'platform' shoes.

Afterwards, we ate at the Magic Pan. There weren't too many stores in the 70s.

Wasn't there a song/ jingle that had all the names of the stores at Tyson's?

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: ViennaGirl ()
Date: October 03, 2010 11:52PM

Stumbled accross this site this evening as I googled "Bunky O'neils" wondering if anything would come up. I loved ribs even as a kid so I still think of it.Thanks for all the great Tysons memories. I remember Aviary court: the birds squawking and scaring me as a little kid. They were near Walden Books where I would get my Nancy Drew Mysteries.

Loved the reminiscing about Spencer's gifts.
I remember the hot pretzel place.
My family loved to go to Hot Shoppes.
Loved Farrell's and the movies next door. I saw "Raiders of the Lost Ark" there.
Loved Woolworth's. I remember the fountains outside of Hecht's and the makeup place Rainbow on the corner.

My mom belonged to Holiday Health Spa near Bloomies. It later became Bally's. I don't remember the coat racks.

I remember the organ place, The Limited, Raleighs, the GAP, and the place that sold all the Guinne Sax, prom dresses, and Etienne Aigner stuff. Wish I could remember the name.

I remember Roth theatres.

Does anyone remember upstairs, down a corridor, a place called Soup 'r' Sandwich? They had the best french onion soup!

There was also an ice cream place down another corridor.

The meat place people are thinking of on rt 7 was Gaddell's meat locker. They owned all that land I think and sold part of it to make Tysons 2.

Haven't been back to Tyson's in years, but boy was it something back in the day.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: McLean Oldtimer ()
Date: October 07, 2010 10:15AM

It's funny to think about Tysons being the shithole and Seven Corners was "the place" to shop if you wanted something nice. Wow times have changed. Seven Corners had Garfinckel's, Woodies, Lord and Taylor. Tyson's had stained carpet, smoke and bird shit.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Joe B. ()
Date: October 07, 2010 09:06PM

Vienna Girl. Amen to Soup R'Sandwich and the French onion soup! Awesome! Seven Corners had S&W Caf -- man I loved that roast beef!

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: curious ()
Date: October 08, 2010 08:14PM

I saw this on the FX County web site-
Attachments:
tysons225pix.gif

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Mike ()
Date: October 08, 2010 10:41PM

ViennaGirl wrote:

"The meat place people are thinking of on rt 7 was Gaddell's meat locker. They owned all that land I think and sold part of it to make Tysons 2."

While the Gaddell family owned this place (I went to school with a couple of them), the actual name of the business was Tyson's Locker Plant.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: WTW74 ()
Date: October 11, 2010 06:21PM

S and W cafeteria had delicious cream cheese and date sandwiches on a dark bread.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: WTW74 ()
Date: October 11, 2010 06:23PM

S and W was at Seven Corners...not Tysons...

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Spacy ()
Date: October 12, 2010 09:17AM

Mike Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ViennaGirl wrote:
>
> "The meat place people are thinking of on rt 7 was
> Gaddell's meat locker. They owned all that land I
> think and sold part of it to make Tysons 2."
>
> While the Gaddell family owned this place (I went
> to school with a couple of them), the actual name
> of the business was Tyson's Locker Plant.

We used to bring our deer there, coming back from hunting.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: walker ()
Date: October 12, 2010 04:48PM

WTW74 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> S and W cafeteria had delicious cream cheese and
> date sandwiches on a dark bread.


That sounds absolutely disgusting. I liked their vegetable soup.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: shuckinchuck ()
Date: October 13, 2010 07:41AM

And then there was Morrisons Cafeteria, a slightly downscale establishment on the Lord and Taylor wing. Served chicken mostly. Did not stay long.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: WingNut ()
Date: October 13, 2010 08:49AM

ViennaGirl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The meat place people are thinking of on rt 7 was
> Gaddell's meat locker. They owned all that land I
> think and sold part of it to make Tysons 2.


I reember going to that butcher shop when I was a real small fry. There used to be a guy with one arm working there and I always thought he sliced it off while cutting meat.

There was a sporting goods store nearby too, can't remember the chains name.


idontlikebeingrightaboutshitlikethisbutiam



Edited 21 time(s). Last edit at 5/31/1967 05:57AM by WingNut.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: yDbGK ()
Date: October 15, 2010 09:23PM

boss boy at Evans Farm.
I used to make 100 a night. That was good money for a complete idiot.
They had 4 mexican dishwashers and dumb waiters bringing dirty dishes. I was like a food factory. That shit never stoped.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: c ()
Date: October 15, 2010 09:38PM

The Pits Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I do miss Shakey's great place even if it did have
> warm beer ......


I remember the old kids movies, Laurel and Hardy and was it Buster
Crab fighting the forces in outer space of evil. Ming? Yet it was all redone in in Star Wars. Ya Shakey and thier thin pizza and pitchers of beer.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Bo ()
Date: October 25, 2010 07:37AM

The sporting good's store could've been either Irving's or Herman's [We Know Sports].

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Cathy ()
Date: November 29, 2010 02:40AM

The Herman's slogan was "we are sports," not "we know sports." (I will spare you the rest of the jingle!)

The shop that sold Gunne Sax and other prom-style dresses was David's Village Shops. That was one of my favorite stores in the mall - something to wear for every occasion. When I was a little younger my favorite shop was Beyda's.

Someone said they thought Bloomingdale's took over the old Lansburgh space. That could be partly true, but I distinctly recall the construction of the Bloomingdale's as an addition to the mall. I suppose it could have subsumed the Lansburgh's footprint, but I no longer recall exactly where Lansburgh's was.

Someone in an earlier post mentioned the Giant across the parking lot and said they couldn't imagine anyone shopping there, but that's where I always stopped to pick up groceries on the way home from my evening job at Woodies. The Giant space was also an El Torito restaurant at some point.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Erica ()
Date: December 08, 2010 07:22PM

Had conversation today with old friends trying to remember some of the names in the old Tysons Mall. Anyone remember the leather shop next to Hechts? I remember they sold leather purses and jackets and jewelry and hippy stuff. Was it Harvest Moon?

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Mr. Know-It-All ()
Date: December 09, 2010 06:13PM

The sporting goods store that was in the original Tyson's Corner mall was Irving's Sporting Goods. Herman's Atlas was out on Route 7, west of the mall, in the building currently occupied by Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: . Know-it-All ()
Date: December 09, 2010 06:29PM

Re: the building now occupied by Bed, Bath and Beyond referenced above ^^^: this was originally built as a Safeway - a well-known ,modernist design that was known for its arched roof line (and exposed beams inside) and SAFEWAY letters spelled out over the main windows.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: 1982 ()
Date: December 09, 2010 07:15PM

Way back back when my parents would let us take the BUS from Falls Church and shop at Tysons. Yikes! We would spend hours at the mall with $25.00. I would never let my daughter do this now. She is 13. So sad how times have changed.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: shuckinchuck ()
Date: December 12, 2010 03:25PM

There was Wilson's Leather, but it was further down the leg leading to Bloomingdale's. Not a very "Tysons" cutie name.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Birdman ()
Date: December 15, 2010 09:34AM

I actually worked for Tyson's Corner Shopping Center in the early 70's.Part of my job was to clean the bird cages and feed the birds. My favorites were the parrots. They would sit on my shoulder as I cleaned and eat sunflower seed from my hand.We eventually had 13 parakeetsthat we caught in the mall that had escaped from Woolworth's.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Mclean '91 ()
Date: December 15, 2010 08:48PM

The old Tyson's 1 before Tyson's 2 was ever around...during the 80's was awesome. The Farrells ice cream next to the movie theater where you had to go downstairs to get to with the 4 theaters, also had the 8 theater Roth movie theater when you came into the mall. The water fountain (wishing well was awesome to). That was the best mall to grow up around....its not close to what it used to be!

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: desertrise ()
Date: December 26, 2010 10:08PM

i miss the old tysons

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: sue ()
Date: January 27, 2011 12:17AM

Georgetown Leather was the shop I bought purses in from the late 60's until the mall got so crowded and changed. I don't think they are in business anymore. I don't recall where in the mall they were. But I sure do miss my good leather purses.

Lansburghs faced Route 7 more or less where Bloomingdales is now. K-Mart and Chesapeake Bay Seafood house were across 7 from it.

I too learned to ride at the Pits. My husband lived off of Old Courthouse Road from 1951 until 1977. We laugh now when we go thru there and get lost on some of the new roads and he says "I grew up here, I can't be lost."

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: esquire ()
Date: February 23, 2011 10:00AM

Spent most every weekend from '86 to '97 there before leaving for college. Get there after lunch, start at Bloomingdales, end up at Woodies, hit up Hot Shoppes for dinner (fried chicken or french dip + dinner roll [extra butter 5 cents] + mashed potatoes + spinach + jello). Can't forget the jello. Always wondered why the faux windows on the far side didn't open up to the outside world.

To the immediate left of Bloomingdale's (right before the FAO Schwartz) was a Hello Kitty store. My sister was a huge Hello Kitty fan and would visit the store often; I recall tolerating the experience.

Sometime in the early-mid 90s there was a museum/naturist store on the 1st floor (across from Brentano's, the green-fronted bookstore). In the back they had free herbal tea samples that I would horde because I was a broke teenager.

Tilt was the place...if only I could go back and invest all those quarters I lost on Street Fighter, Terminator 2 arcade, X-Men, and Mortal Kombat. (Not to mention all the money that went to Babbage's.)

The only movie I recall watching there (that is, by the time the theater moved to the back end, by Lord & Taylor) was "Sister Act."

Went to the mall last weekend (parked at Bloomingdale's, as usual). Times have changed.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: kings parker ()
Date: February 23, 2011 10:12AM

Rember Lums resturaunt in the back. Great place to pound beers and smoke cigs while you were waiting on your girlfriend to shop. Then you could drive home totally drunk. Late 70s early 80s drunk driving was no big deal.
It was fun Im just glad I never killed anyone.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Cheech ()
Date: February 23, 2011 10:59AM

I used to work at that kitchen store with the head shop back in the 70's. It was called "World Imports" and was across from Woolworths. The head shop was in the back of the store, separated from the main store by a beaded curtain and was lit entirely with black lights. The stockboys (or tokeboys) did double duty, manning the head shop and retrieving sets of Mikasa dishware from the stockroom below the store.

The stockroom was off the aforementioned rat-infested tunnel. It was pretty nasty down there. Not sure how long the head shop lasted. At best, it broke even as shoplifting was rampant. Not to mention pilfering. I still have a meerschaum pipe around here somewhere.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Phileas Fogg ()
Date: February 23, 2011 06:34PM

Lums!!! Thanks for the reminder about that place. Older siblings used to hang there and talk about it. I remember the entrance to that place while shopping for husky-sized slacks between Woodies and Hechts with my Mom. Yeah, I'm still husky XL-size... Unfortunately, Tyson's Hot Shoppes had something to do with that...

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Azn703 ()
Date: February 26, 2011 02:10AM

Great seeing this thread, brings back a ton of memories. I grew up going to Tyson's in the 80s and 90s. I remember the arcade in Woolworth that took up almost an entire aisle. I also recall the burger king attached to Woolworth and a Roy Rogers right across from Burger King.

There was a popular Sanrio Store that sold Hello Kitty and merchandise from other Sanrio characters. There was also a Vie de France bakery right where the Pizza Hut/KFC combo restaurant used to be on the bottom floor. And i believe where Forever 21 currently is used to be a Rainforest Cafe...

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Chorus group singer ()
Date: February 26, 2011 11:52AM

One of my favorite memories was the year my chorus group from Elementary school got to sing outside of Hects on the circular platform. It was in 1974; our Mom's sewed us matching purple Maxi skirts and scarfs. Later the fashion merchandising classes from local high schools would get to have fashion shows.

Memories of the Old Tyson's corner mall are the best.


I loved the Avery Court.
Birdman, do you have any pics from the days you worked there?


-------------------------------------------------------
> I actually worked for Tyson's Corner Shopping
> Center in the early 70's.Part of my job was to
> clean the bird cages and feed the birds.

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Re: The old Tyson's Corner
Posted by: Marshall High 1971 ()
Date: March 06, 2011 05:36PM

The "bird cage" coat racks had a pole running down to the loading docks. I remember shimming down with a bunch of other Marshall deliquents, running around the loading docks trying to not get caught. Went up some stairs and came out a door in Castros Convertables. Kind of fun when you were a dumb 16 year old.

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