Woodies (I worked there as a teen and always loved that store)

Garfinkels (another great department store)

Crabtree & Evelyn (loved all the scents)

The Limited (very popular with teens in the 80s)

Spencers (I loved things with Ziggy cartoon images as a kid)

More recently: Talbot's for Kids

Summers! still one in arlington, where all the brits go for televised soccer games.

The arcade at Peoples!!!

The Hot Shoppes!!!

The Burger King attached to the Woolworths!!

Giant in the Parking Lot!!

FARRELLS ICE CREAM!!!!!

good times, good times

to whoever asked before, the Patio.Com used to be a Roy Rogers. What's funny is that the McDonlands across the street ALSO used to be a Roy Rogers. Before that, it was a Hardee's. When Roy Rogers bought Hardees in this region, THAT was the begiining of their initial downfall - they TOTALLY glutted the market and ended up going out of business. Sad cause they still have some of the best burgers in town - I hope the new owners are able to branch out more :)

Anywho, BONUS POINTS TIME!

Can anybody name the ORIGINAL SEVEN COURTS of the original Tysons Corner? Each of the seven entraces was named "?????????? Court"
(hint 1 - there was no Food Court. hint 2 - the birds had their own court)

Who wanted to know when the new Roy's was open? The one across from PW Hospital is now open!

SEVEN Courts.. Can only recall; Fashion and Fountain Courts. Also, Aviary Court for the birds in the middle somewhere in the mall and apparently not one of the Seven Entrance Courts. Curious and look forward to an update for all Seven Entry Courts to jog the memory.

my bad! I'm including Aviary Court! But you are right - it wasnt an entrance so yeah, only 6 entrance courts.

you win +2 internets PLUS one BONUS internets LoLz
Attachments:

Gordon Blvd Wrote:

>
> to whoever asked before, the Patio.Com used to be
> a Roy Rogers. What's funny is that the McDonlands
> across the street ALSO used to be a Roy Rogers.
> Before that, it was a Hardee's. When Roy Rogers
> bought Hardees in this region, THAT was the
> begiining of their initial downfall - they TOTALLY
> glutted the market and ended up going out of
> business.
Actually it's the other way around - Hardees bought Roy Rogers from Marriott and tried to convert all the Roys to Hardees. People preferred the Roy Rogers menu and let Hardees know by voting with their feet causing business to drop to zero. Hardees then revived the brand and converted most of the Hardees back to Roy Rogers. In the 90's Hardees sold the Roy Rogers division to McDonalds who promptly closed all the Roys and either tore them down, converted them to McDonalds or sold off the properties.

The group of Roys that's left now is because one of the large franchise owners
sued to not be included in the McDonald's sale. They negotiated a deal to buy the Roy Rogers brand and go independent, thus we still have Roy Rogers.

thanks for the school, Oldtime - man, my old brain is rotting from all the lack of good burger meat LoLz

when I went out west, I was VERY suprised to see the smiling Hardees star on a brand called Carl's Jr, which if semi-popular out there

no hot dogs, but they do have the Hot Ham and Cheese :)


just went to the Mt Vernon Roys on Sunday - first time in a decade in a hald I had a Gold Rush Chicken sandwich and mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/2011 11:30PM by Gordon Blvd.
Attachments:

We used to go to Tysons Corner from MD; it was a big deal. You (thought) you needed to plan ahead and 'pack a lunch' because we 'were going to VA'! I rememebr when Tysons Corner Center opened - I was about 6/7. There were no basemement level stores (Raleigh's and maybe Castros had a lower level). They took out the truck delivery ramps and loading docks down there when they added the whole lower level of stores to the mall in the 80's; they also raised the roof then and added skylights everywhere. Originally there was the 'Pot-of-Gold' cafeteria style on the Fountain Court next to Hecht's. Woodies & Hecht's each had their own restaurants - which weren't bad. And Woodies, for awhile, even had a snack bar at their entrance facing rt 123. When Landsburghs went bankrupt ~'76?, Bloomingdale's took over the space - and actually changed very little (those are the original escalators) and the exterior didn't change a bit - other than I think they took out a garden center - which may now be the Red Door Salon. Hecht's had an auto center in their parking lot. Holiday Spa was below the Bloomingdale's (that's why Bloomingdales doesn't have a basement (all the bedding & towels in Bloomingdates are below the mall and not the store). I remember the coat check; it was below the entrance that now leads to Nordstroms (about where you can still go to the office building/mall management offices), in front of an elaborate fronted Chinese restaurant at the court entrance. At the time Bloomingdales was coming, Hecht's and Woodies added an additional top floor - Hecht's had already planned for it so the exterior looked the same - but they added new esclators right in the middle of the huge rotunda they raised up a whole level. Woodies matched the exterior brick (very well) and added a whole new top level (and moved their kitchenware, housewatres & restaurant up there. The Magic Pan restaurant was a favorite! ...Green pea soup - sounds and tastes so much better in french(!) and the orange-almond salad was tres chic(!). There was also a small Garfinkel's dept store and a Jellefs. The only store's in their orginal opening locations are Hechts/Macy's, Landsburgs/Bloomingdates and the Pizza place (now near Lord and Taylor - upper level) - which was partly inside the mall and had an exterior entrance and serving window. Virtually everything else has changed - many times over. Cheers,

can anybody name ALL SEVEN original "courts" of Tysons?

There was Clock, Fashion, and Aviary - but I dont remember the rest.................

and no, "Food" wasnt one of them

LoLz

The court in front of Hecht's/Macy's was the Fountain Court.
I don't recall the name nor the 'feature' in front of Landsburg's/Bloomindales.

Wow...this thread brought back some memories.
Not much to add, I was born in 75 so I just barely recall the look of the early Tyson's. I remember 2 businesses near the Meat Locker...the motor cycle shop someone has already mentioned, but wasn't there another one? A non-chain sports shop maybe?

I do remember that Bloomies and Hechts both had restaurants, my family would sometimes go to them. That was a big deal! I seem to recall one of them had a really delicious french toast that I ordered more than once. We also sometimes went to Farrells, Lums and of course Shakey's. We never went to the Hot Shoppes because I think even then it was considered too old fashioned. (In fact, the only time I ever went to a Hot Shoppes in DC was because the family of a friend of mine was taking their grandma out for her birthday and that's where she wanted to go. It was mostly old people even in the 1980s.)

We'd go up there before Christmas and the organ store would have some guy playing schmaltzy arrangements of carols so loud you could hear it through 1/2 the mall. We waited in a long line for one of the Star Wars movies, must have be the Empire Strikes Back...the entrance to the original theaters was near Farrell's, right? I also remember seeing the "Clock Court" clock laying in a pile of rubble when they started the first round of renovations, and thinking that was sad. Didn't it kind of look like this: http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc30339.php

Ooops...it was Woodie's that had the restaurant we used to go to, I think. Kind of dark in there wasn't it?

Also funny that nobody has mentioned the run-down looking church that was on the corner of Rt. 7 & "International Drive" (LOL) I bet they made a pretty penny when they sold out. Was there an earlier, less pretentious name for International Drive? Or was that road created with the mall? Wouldn't it have just been Gallows Rd?

I remember a place called "Bar Mart," which I think also had a head shop in back. I was very young, so I could be wrong. I think it was in Umbrella Court, near Farrells and the upstairs movie theater. I also remember going to Woolworths diner. It was all bright orange and had both an inside and outside entrance. Old ladies with diner uniforms worked there.

I love this thread. I grew up in mclean so tysons was pretty much the only place to hang out as a kid.

Wasn't there a movie theater on the side where that thai place is now? If I remember correctly there used to be a magic pan in the corner (first experience with food poisoning when i was 9) and then some type of bar/restaurant and then the movie theater. Shoot, what was the name of that bar that used to be basically where the thai place is? I remember going there with a friend (we were both 16). He had his cousin's West VA drivers license (back then it didn't even have a picture on it, just a plastic card) and we bought a pitcher. Waitress cards him, he then slips the license under the table to me and she doesn't even bat an eye. Ahh good old days.

Also remember the farrels and the theater inside and the candy counter at woolworths. That place sucks now... over priced lame shops and posuers.

For many years there was a church on the corner of VA-7 and International Drive where the large mirror-glass building is now (the one where the Capital Grille is). I was always surprised that church stayed there as long as it did, simply because the land must have been so valuable.

I remember the movie theatre around the back facing Giant and the nearby Lum's Restaurant.


This thread also prompted me to recall one thing that was very unfortunate about the demise of Hecht's when they became Macy's: The end of the old "Washington Shopping Plate" credit card. Anyone else remember those? It was a plastic card with no magnetic strip that was valid at certain DC-area stores; the ones I recall being involved were Hecht's, Woodies, Garfinckel's, Raleigh's, and I forget the others but I assume Lansburgh's was one. Part of why I say it was too bad Hecht's met their end is that my father still carried, and used, his Washington Shopping Plate right up to when Hecht's became Macy's, even though they were the only store that still took it. I found it quite entertaining the time or two I went shopping with my father in the past 10 years or so and he'd pull out that card. Almost every time the cashier would be some young kid who had never seen one and didn't know what to do with it, but my father would insist on using it and they'd have to call a manager. Usually one of the older ladies working at the stores would recognize the card and know what to do. My mother was relieved when Hecht's became Macy's because she found it embarrassing that my father still insisted on using that card. Hmm, next time I talk to them later this month I'll have to remind her about that.

I remember a head shop in the back of a store, but I thought that store was called "Bar Mart." Maybe Bar Mart was a section of World Imports.

I also remember a diner in one of the department stores that was all orange leather. It was the orangest diner I've ever seen. It might have been part of Woolworths, which would make sense. It had both an inside and outside entrance and the ladies who worked there wore uniforms.

When I was in high school in the 80s, we all bought our concert tickets at the Ticketron counter in Hechts. For the big shows, we would camp out overnight in the Hechts parking lot. That was usually a lot of fun.

I think the head shop was in the back of Pier One.

Your right the head shop+ was Bar Mart or something like that. I think it was actually downstairs. All I remember is the store had red carpet. And black and white checkerboard tile or walls or something "so hip" back then but actually completely nauseating--sort of Jersey-style deco. I don't recall Pier One even being at Tyson's Corners.

Sang in Fashing Court Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 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?


Yes, it was to the tune of "Life is a Rock" by Reunion.

I worked at Tyson's in the late 80s. Lots of fun to be had...exploring the mall after hours.

I remember going to Casa Maria (next to the Giant) for margaritas. I was about 16. They'd serve anyone.

Next to the KMart (where Tiffany, etc is) was a Fayva shoe store, if I remember correctly.

1995hoo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For many years there was a church on the corner of
> VA-7 and International Drive where the large
> mirror-glass building is now (the one where the
> Capital Grille is). I was always surprised that
> church stayed there as long as it did, simply
> because the land must have been so valuable.
>
> I remember the movie theatre around the back
> facing Giant and the nearby Lum's Restaurant.
>
>
> This thread also prompted me to recall one thing
> that was very unfortunate about the demise of
> Hecht's when they became Macy's: The end of the
> old "Washington Shopping Plate" credit card.
> Anyone else remember those? It was a plastic card
> with no magnetic strip that was valid at certain
> DC-area stores; the ones I recall being involved
> were Hecht's, Woodies, Garfinckel's, Raleigh's,
> and I forget the others but I assume Lansburgh's
> was one. Part of why I say it was too bad Hecht's
> met their end is that my father still carried, and
> used, his Washington Shopping Plate right up to
> when Hecht's became Macy's, even though they were
> the only store that still took it. I found it
> quite entertaining the time or two I went shopping
> with my father in the past 10 years or so and he'd
> pull out that card. Almost every time the cashier
> would be some young kid who had never seen one and
> didn't know what to do with it, but my father
> would insist on using it and they'd have to call a
> manager. Usually one of the older ladies working
> at the stores would recognize the card and know
> what to do. My mother was relieved when Hecht's
> became Macy's because she found it embarrassing
> that my father still insisted on using that card.
> Hmm, next time I talk to them later this month
> I'll have to remind her about that.


I remember the Washington Shopping Plate Card - had a picture of the Capitol didn't it? My mom had one and used it at all those stores right up until the bitter end as well. We always had the same experience where some young cashier would look at us like we were handing them a snake. Sorta like the old Diner's Club card that used to be out there.

I think the Washington Shopping Plate was one of the first credit cards out there and specifically marketed to help tysons get going. My mom said they had some special promotion when the mall first opened and she got the card. Back then there was no FICO score/instant approval of credit. You had to apply, wait a couple weeks, and maybe even send them a pay-stub or something to show you'd pay your bills. I wonder who issed that thing and who was on the hook for bad debts? Wow, that's going deep, thanks for reminding me of that....

I too remember fondly the Washington Shopping Plate Card. It was light blue, and my mom found it helpful for evading arguments with my dad about her shopping for my siblings and me. Since the card covered numerous stores, and I'm not sure if the charges were detailed that well on the bills, she'd hold her breath every month when my dad read the bill and hope he assumed he spent most of the balance on himself at one of the 3 department stores where we mainly shopped.

My dad was a controlling, narcissistic ass who only approved spending on himself, so my mom needed means to work around him when buying necessities for the family. I never owned a thing from any stores outside the big department stores covered by that card until I was old enough to start working (mid-teens) and buy my own stuff. After that point, I loved shopping at stores that specialized in goods for kids such as the Gap.

I remember walking down Rt,7 W. , from Lisle Ave to Gallows and 7 at 9 at night in a dense fog. Walked down the yellow line and was about 20 feet from the traffic light before I saw it. This was around 1968.
I lived near Gallows and Old Ct. Hse. Rd. and when I first moved there, I used to walk from Pimmit Hills to my house. Fairfax County cops would stop me and
ask what I was doing out "so late". It was rarely after 10 PM !
I worked at the first office bldg. at Tysons at 8150 Leesburg Pike on a cleaning crew. Used to go to Lums, slam 6 or 7 beers and go to work.
You could see the mountains to the west from the upper floors.
I got stuck on an unfinished floor one night for an hour or so. Elevator stoppe
on the wrong floor , I got out in total darkness except for the lights below.
Well, the beer helped ease the pain anyhow.

About The Washington Shopping Plate; I'll bet that it also included Kann's. Another stalwart, gone circa 1972.

I believe they were golden "pheasants", not "peasants"

Great thread with tons of memories!

Wasn't there an ice rink in Tyson's Corner in the 70's? If so, where was it?

I worked at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor in Springfield Mall. The Zoo had 30 scoops of ice cream. "Ladies and Gentlemen, cut the music,fountain noise, drum roll please" then the Zoo came out on a stretcher carried by 2 people. The Gibson Girl was announced as "The Prettiest Girl in the world". Pikes Peak was announced as "the only mountian you can eat with a spoon." Hands down, the most fun job I ever had!

What a great thread. My wife and I just came back from Tyson's about an hour ago ... she was having problems with her new Xmas gift -iPhone 4s - so we took it to the Apple store.
Traffic? Over 90 minutes from the intersection of route 50 and I-495 to the parking garage at Lord and Taylor’s (we didn’t dare think about trying to get into the parking garage at Bloomingdales). I’m sure “back in the day” traffic wasn’t anywhere this bad in NoVa.

We’ve lived here since 1996 and despite all of its issues, such as the traffic, I do think Tyson’s Corner Center is a great mall. The AMC addition a few years back, along with Brio, Gordon Biersch, Barnes and Nobles, etc. really injected life into that end of the complex.

Where exactly was the movie theater everybody keeps talking about? Where Bally’s was located? One of the posts mentioned it was near the current Lord & Taylor. I can’t imagine a theater there unless it was attached to the mall and torn down.

By the way, our family is a huge fan of Luciano’s pizza located in that area of the mall. I understand they’re one of the few remaining original businesses.

Final comment: it’s nice to see there are normal people on FFXU who can post without using profanity and racial epithets.

Gunner-Back in the 1970s, when the Beltway was just two lanes each way, it wasn't unusual for traffic to Tysons to back up to 236 on Black Friday, and without parking garages trying to find a space in the early evenings during Christmas season was a challenge.

Here's an interesting and true story: When I worked in the sporting goods dept. at the woolworths in 1985, I caught two teenage males trying to steal camping equipment. Following protocol, I called the store manager (Bucklee Reed) who took down their names and informed them to never come back.

One of the two teens was a kid named David Grohl. The same David Grohl who would later become a rock god with Nirvana and now the Foo Fighters.

That's my brush with (future) greatness. I'm sure he remembers this incident.

Old AMC theaters were across the street near Tiffanys.

-----------------------------------------------

"...your suffering will be legendary even in Hell!"

JDW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great thread with tons of memories!
>
> Wasn't there an ice rink in Tyson's Corner in the
> 70's? If so, where was it?
>
> The ice rink was over at Tyco road. I think it's now a auto body repair place now.

The restaurant you are wondering about was Le Mistral

OldtimeResident Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Gordon Blvd Wrote:
>
> >
> > to whoever asked before, the Patio.Com used to
> be
> > a Roy Rogers. What's funny is that the
> McDonlands
> > across the street ALSO used to be a Roy Rogers.
>
> > Before that, it was a Hardee's. When Roy
> Rogers
> > bought Hardees in this region, THAT was the
> > begiining of their initial downfall - they
> TOTALLY
> > glutted the market and ended up going out of
> > business.
> Actually it's the other way around - Hardees
> bought Roy Rogers from Marriott and tried to
> convert all the Roys to Hardees. People preferred
> the Roy Rogers menu and let Hardees know by voting
> with their feet causing business to drop to zero.
> Hardees then revived the brand and converted most
> of the Hardees back to Roy Rogers. In the 90's
> Hardees sold the Roy Rogers division to McDonalds
> who promptly closed all the Roys and either tore
> them down, converted them to McDonalds or sold off
> the properties.
>
> The group of Roys that's left now is because one
> of the large franchise owners
> sued to not be included in the McDonald's sale.
> They negotiated a deal to buy the Roy Rogers brand
> and go independent, thus we still have Roy Rogers.


Wasn't there a very short time when their signs said Roy Rogers then underneath said Hardee's Breakfast?

Tyson's Movie Theatres.....I worked/managed several in NoVA in the mid-to-late '80s. In the mall, you had Neighborhood Theatres, Inc. (NTI) Tyson's Centre 4 Theatres and Roth's had 5 theatres (then expanded to 8).

NTI's theatres were on the Upper Level next to Farrell's Ice Cream. These theatres were located in the Fashion Court right about where The Children's Place store is now. It had 3 levels with red walls...the box office was as you entered and nothing else up there, then you had to walk down 2 flights of stairs (no elevator in those days) to get to the 2nd level. It had art for sale all around the middle level and a video game room on the left side. Then, to get to the theatres, you could take an escalator down the middle toward the circular concession stand downstairs or stair the satirs on either side of teh escalator. You had two theatres on the right side (Theatre #1 & #2), both held about 500 ppl and had capacity for 70mm or 35mm films, and two theatres on the left, both holding about 300 seats. Now, before I got there in the summer of 1984, it may have only been 2 theatres (one on each side) but I'm not sure. Louis Wakefield was the GM of the theatre for many years, followed by Bob Werking, then Kelly Calcote (sp?), among others. Cineplex Odeon took over all NTI Theatres in the area in the late 80's (I think it was 1988 or 89). The theatre closed in the early 90's I believe.

The Roth's 5 Theatre's expanded at some point in the mid-80's to 8 theatres and switched/was bought out by Loew's Theatres. It was located on the "lower level" on the other side of the mall (side facing Rt 123). This was the only "downstairs" the mall had back then. It was next to a Jerry's Subs and Pizza and down the hall from Lums (later "Summers") the The Magic Pan (loved their crepes). These theatre were smaller but easier to sneak in and out of (lol :)). It was in the same general area that Neishai Thai Cuisine and Modern Nails are now.

There was another NTI Theatre just down the road about 1/2 mile west on Rt 7 in the Pike 7 Plaza in the current home of, I believe, Gold's Gym. It was first a single theatre. Then, I believe in the late 70's or early 80's became 2-plex theatre. For those that remember the area it was near Night Dreams and Mr. Smith's Restaurant. i think it closed down in the late 80's. Jim Loudoun was it's GM.

Later, in the 1990's Cineplex Odeon opened up the theatres across the street from the mall where Tiffany's is located. It was on the back side. As an earlier poster noted, it shut down right about the time that the AMC Theatres opened up on the 3rd level of Tysons Corner. I think it was maybe about 5 years ago or so.

So, there is your long-winded Tysons movie theatre history. Thanks for the thread and the great memories! :)

Adding to my last post.....before there were parking garages, out behind the NTI theatre was a one level parking lot with Hecht's Automotive. Also, there were many fun night's camping out for tickets for concerts. They were sold in Hecht's Ticketron location. I remember for Bruce Springsteen's 1985 concert at RFK Stadium, the line started at Hecht's door and went all the way around Bloomingdale's. This is what we did long before anyone had ever heard of the internet :). the mall security tried to enforce the rule of "no lining up before dawn", so we stayed in the theatre all night...about 30 of us! Finally, because of the crowds surrounding the outskirts of the mall, they started letting folks line up in the middle of the night....pretty cool.

Miss the crepes at The Magic Pan. Roy Rogers in the mall. Lums burgers with the spices on it...yum.

Fun times after work at Shakey's Pizza, behind JR's Stockyard Inn. Yes, they served beer to anyone, lol. Farrell's Ice Cream was always fun. I remmeber that church on the corner of Rt 7 & International Drive (now where Capital Grille buiding is). Sunday mornings, the church bell would ring and ring.

A bit further away, does anyone remember Chelsea's? It was a 24-hour restaurant just off Rt 123 going toward Vienna. Taco Bell is there now.

Finally, if anyone has any photos from Tysons Corner Mall back in the 1980's, I'd love to see them.

Yeah, Dave Grohl grew up in both nearby Alexandria and Springfield, VA before he headed out west to become a star. Funny story.

Scott Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Wasn't there a very short time when their signs
> said Roy Rogers then underneath said Hardee's
> Breakfast?

Yes, during the period going from Hardees back to Roys before the McDonalds sale

Remember that brookestone had a conveyer in the basement, anything you ordered they put on that conveyer.

I remember when there was a Kmart next to the Chesapeake bay seafood (where Chili's is now). I think the company that owned the chesapeake bay seafood actually owns that Chilis and a bunch of others.

I remember when Tyson's II was just a dirt hill. I guess some of you all knew what was on the other side of that hill.

Remember the Woolworth's had a old-time restaurant attached to the store and it had booths and red-seated stools up by the counter. I worked at Hecht's in 1984 and would go there on my lunchbreak and order a tomato soup, grilled cheese and a vanilla shake. Those were the days...

Woolworths closed that restaurant and made it a jewely store selling inexpensive items. I forget the name of the store, but it was a subsidiary of Woolworths- something like "After Thoughts" or "Remembrances"?

Anyone know???

I recall the ice rink. As someone noted, it was off Tyco Road where the auto body shop is now. I recall it being a lot bigger inside than the Fairfax Ice Arena and usually less crowded as well.

The comments by "tvt" reminded me of how the Roth's theatre chain used to have a summer movie pass for kids. It was something like $5 for the summer and it got you into one designated movie each week. The roster of designated movies was set in advance, but which movie played at which theatre varied, so if you missed one you wanted to see you could go to a different cinema (if your mom would drive you there) and see it there. I recall we used to go to Roth's Americana on Heritage Drive in Annandale fairly often because it was closest to where we lived. Back then they didn't restrict you from bringing in your own food and drinks, either.

I remember seeing Back to the Future at the NTI cinema on the back side of Tysons when the schools were closed for a hurricane and it turned out to be a nice day. I also recall seeing Amadeus there and the showing being delayed when the projector got too hot and melted the film.

The "TVT" you refer to was actually TST, which stood for "Twilight Savings Time". Roth Theatres used to have a trailer for it on every movie there. You could get discounted tickets for around $5.25 if I recall.

I ran the projection booth at Roth's Tyson's 5 from 1976-1980. It was a real experience. Went on to become sound engineer for the Roth Theatre Empire...

Prior to that I worked at McLean Cinema, which was originally a Jerry Lewis Theatre, in McLean Square Shopping Centre. I think there's a Sutton Place or Balducci's or whatever trendy foodie place there now. Started as an usher, then finally convinced the management I had some mechanical aptitude and was trained up in the projection booth. Along about that time Lipsner sold out to some other theatre business, new management and ownership came in. Tyson's 5 paid better and I had a gas hog '68 Mustang with a 428 CJ so the choice was obvious.

While at McLean Cinema, I also worked shifts at the Pizza Hut and bussed tables at Evans Farm Inn. The Evans job didn't last long. Nice place, but the pay sucked, the meals we got there sucked, and the wait staff was just plain nasty to us underlings. Plus those knickers and tri-corner hats. Some of the spoonbread girls were sort of hot looking though...

Back to Tysons...

Being stuck up in a projection booth for a 6+ hour shift, we used to have to sweet talk the concession girls or bribe the ushers to go out and get us something to eat. To this day I still can't stomach popcorn that easily. Every time they would break in a new concessionaire the popcorn would burn and all the ventilation went directly into the projection booth to cool the lamphouses.

After the shift was over we used to go drinking over at Lums, later Le Mistral, or H A Winston's. I used to love that place. 26 or so different burger combinations and you didn't have to ask for them to toast the roll. Cold beer, too.

I am fortunate to have seen McLean as it was back then. Also sorry to see McLean lose its soul with all the development. So much has been lost. My younger brother used to work at 3 Pigs, and while it wasn't top shelf BBQ, it was one of the last landmarks in McLean.

RIP

I remember that restaurant off woolworths. Yeah That jewelry store was some forgettable thing for the teenage girls. Didn't the restaurant become a burger king for a while first? Or, wasn't there burger king in that area at some point? Tis would be around 88 or 89.


Speaking of ice rinks....does anyone recall one in Reston back in the very early 80's? I think it was sort of set low in between some office buildings. I think you had tow step down a couple of steps to get to the ice. Nothing like the one a Reston town center these days. Anyone?

1995hoo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I recall the ice rink. As someone noted, it was
> off Tyco Road where the auto body shop is now. I
> recall it being a lot bigger inside than the
> Fairfax Ice Arena and usually less crowded as
> well.
>
> The comments by "tvt" reminded me of how the
> Roth's theatre chain used to have a summer movie
> pass for kids. It was something like $5 for the
> summer and it got you into one designated movie
> each week. The roster of designated movies was set
> in advance, but which movie played at which
> theatre varied, so if you missed one you wanted to
> see you could go to a different cinema (if your
> mom would drive you there) and see it there. I
> recall we used to go to Roth's Americana on
> Heritage Drive in Annandale fairly often because
> it was closest to where we lived. Back then they
> didn't restrict you from bringing in your own food
> and drinks, either.
>
> I remember seeing Back to the Future at the NTI
> cinema on the back side of Tysons when the schools
> were closed for a hurricane and it turned out to
> be a nice day. I also recall seeing Amadeus there
> and the showing being delayed when the projector
> got too hot and melted the film.


Americana was the nicest theatre in the Roth Theatre Chain in my honest opinion. Actually had a curtain, and really nice machines up in the projection booth. Century projector heads were about the best I'd ever worked with, or on. The Ballantyne projector heads at Tyson's 5 were junk. The intermittant sprocket mechanism was poorly designed and the sprocket danced around. The sprocket teeth would dig in to the corners of the film sprocket holes, and combined with the 1600 watt Xenon lamphouses, and other factors, eventually the sprocket holes in the film would tear out, become unstable, and the film would break.

Not so funny story here...

At Tyson's 5 We were running "The Goodbye Girl" with Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason. Good movie, everybody wanted to see it. The main office decided we'd run it in 2 theatres, since they were small, but only use one copy of the movie. That meant we had to build it up in 3 separate reels and hope nothing happened in the first theatre to prevent the second theatre from getting the second reel of the movie in time. We called it "bicycling", running back and forth between theatres with only one print. Showtimes of course were back to back, with maybe 5 minutes to spare.

After a couple weeks of this, the sprocket holes were shot, and I had to splice in part of a coming attraction in order for there to be continuity.

Next day in theatre 4, the 8:00 (or so) show, we experienced 45 film breaks in an hour's time, had to refund everyone's money. At the time I could fix a film break in 15 seconds flat. The conduits in the booth had strips of masking tape stacked up just waiting for the next break.

Stressful job, but I guess at the time it was a lot of fun. Met a lot of great people, fell in love a time or two, and got to study up in the booth.

No regrets.

KW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 1995hoo Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I recall the ice rink. As someone noted, it was
> > off Tyco Road where the auto body shop is now.
> I
> > recall it being a lot bigger inside than the
> > Fairfax Ice Arena and usually less crowded as
> > well.
> >
> > The comments by "tvt" reminded me of how the
> > Roth's theatre chain used to have a summer
> movie
> > pass for kids. It was something like $5 for the
> > summer and it got you into one designated movie
> > each week. The roster of designated movies was
> set
> > in advance, but which movie played at which
> > theatre varied, so if you missed one you wanted
> to
> > see you could go to a different cinema (if your
> > mom would drive you there) and see it there. I
> > recall we used to go to Roth's Americana on
> > Heritage Drive in Annandale fairly often
> because
> > it was closest to where we lived. Back then
> they
> > didn't restrict you from bringing in your own
> food
> > and drinks, either.
> >
> > I remember seeing Back to the Future at the NTI
> > cinema on the back side of Tysons when the
> schools
> > were closed for a hurricane and it turned out
> to
> > be a nice day. I also recall seeing Amadeus
> there
> > and the showing being delayed when the
> projector
> > got too hot and melted the film.
>
>
> Americana was the nicest theatre in the Roth
> Theatre Chain in my honest opinion. Actually had a
> curtain, and really nice machines up in the
> projection booth. Century projector heads were
> about the best I'd ever worked with, or on. The
> Ballantyne projector heads at Tyson's 5 were junk.
> The intermittant sprocket mechanism was poorly
> designed and the sprocket danced around. The
> sprocket teeth would dig in to the corners of the
> film sprocket holes, and combined with the 1600
> watt Xenon lamphouses, and other factors,
> eventually the sprocket holes in the film would
> tear out, become unstable, and the film would
> break.
>
> Not so funny story here...
>
> At Tyson's 5 We were running "The Goodbye Girl"
> with Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason. Good
> movie, everybody wanted to see it. The main office
> decided we'd run it in 2 theatres, since they were
> small, but only use one copy of the movie. That
> meant we had to build it up in 3 separate reels
> and hope nothing happened in the first theatre to
> prevent the second theatre from getting the second
> reel of the movie in time. We called it
> "bicycling", running back and forth between
> theatres with only one print. Showtimes of course
> were back to back, with maybe 5 minutes to spare.
>
> After a couple weeks of this, the sprocket holes
> were shot, and I had to splice in part of a coming
> attraction in order for there to be continuity.
>
> Next day in theatre 4, the 8:00 (or so) show, we
> experienced 45 film breaks in an hour's time, had
> to refund everyone's money. At the time I could
> fix a film break in 15 seconds flat. The conduits
> in the booth had strips of masking tape stacked up
> just waiting for the next break.
>
> Stressful job, but I guess at the time it was a
> lot of fun. Met a lot of great people, fell in
> love a time or two, and got to study up in the
> booth.
>
> No regrets.


Great stories - both of your posts, and well written, too. Many thanks for sharing.

The gent with one arm was Sam Gaddell. He had an accident at the family business when he was in 4th grade at Our Lady of Good Counsel school in Vienna. I was in the same class with him at the time. The business moved to Chantilly, and the last time I saw Sam was back in the late '80's or thereabouts.

I had a cousin who did a huge mural at one end of the mall; forget which storefront it covered for a while.

Anyone remember the "Chess King" clothing store? Spent many an hour hanging out at the mall, with numerous trips thru Bar Mart, etc back in the early '70's.

I am old enough to remember when Reston and Tyson's Mall were built... this thread certainly brings back some memories. :- )

Love this thread-i found it trying to remember when the Hot Shoppes closed.
I started working at Woodies in 1987 and worked there until I went to Hecht's in 1994.
I came back again in to work at Nordstrom in 2000.So I spent about ten years of my life working there! It's great to read things I never knew about,like cages filled with birds,wishing fountains, and that great ice cream place (Farrells) that I've never heard of (moved here in 1986).
The mall had a big makeover in the early 90's when the Galleria came in and then when Nordstrom opened. A lot has changed since the new addition but we still enjoy shopping there! My husband and I had one of our first dates at the theater near Tiffany's.
I really miss Woodie's-it was like working with a family all those years.
Great memories of a shopping mall!

mamacox Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 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!

Just in case...

That would have been Le Mistral (after both a train -- which they had a picture of -- and a seasonal wind in the south of France), and it was absolutely wonderful in my book. A cozy, comfy bistro sort of place. Ate there several times a month for years in the 70's. Wonderful cream-of-something soups, a new one every night, and a great place to dine and just talk away the hours. Wish it were still there. Have never found an equal.

Shopped for years at the Giant just across from Le Mistral toward 123 as well. It beat the Safeway at the Commons. I still have five wood-framed nature photo-prints from Spencer's Gifts displayed in my home. They'd date from the early 70's and they are still as nice today as the day I bought them. Not sure anymore what the head shop was called. There was certainly Penguin Feather at the time (and "I Brake for Penguins" bumperstickers) but I'm not at all convinced that the Tysons place was part of that. Still have a couple of "items" from there too, but there's no name on them, unfortunately.

In addition to the nearby Burger Chef, there was a free-standing Gino's on the Route-7 side of Tysons. Started by former NFL player,Gino Marchetti. And Lum's had really good hot dogs and sauerkraut. Not sure I ever did the one at Tysons, but there was one in Falls Church also -- where the Steak & Egg Kitchen eventually was. Lived right down the street in the early 70's, so stopped in often.

Monsieur Croque Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> mamacox Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > 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!
>
> Just in case...
>
> That would have been Le Mistral (after both a
> train -- which they had a picture of -- and a
> seasonal wind in the south of France), and it was
> absolutely wonderful in my book. A cozy, comfy
> bistro sort of place. Ate there several times a
> month for years in the 70's. Wonderful
> cream-of-something soups, a new one every night,
> and a great place to dine and just talk away the
> hours. Wish it were still there. Have never
> found an equal.
>
> Shopped for years at the Giant just across from Le
> Mistral toward 123 as well. It beat the Safeway
> at the Commons. I still have five wood-framed
> nature photo-prints from Spencer's Gifts displayed
> in my home. They'd date from the early 70's and
> they are still as nice today as the day I bought
> them. Not sure anymore what the head shop was
> called. There was certainly Penguin Feather at
> the time (and "I Brake for Penguins"
> bumperstickers) but I'm not at all convinced that
> the Tysons place was part of that. Still have a
> couple of "items" from there too, but there's no
> name on them, unfortunately.
>
> In addition to the nearby Burger Chef, there was a
> free-standing Gino's on the Route-7 side of
> Tysons. Started by former NFL player,Gino
> Marchetti. And Lum's had really good hot dogs and
> sauerkraut. Not sure I ever did the one at
> Tysons, but there was one in Falls Church also --
> where the Steak & Egg Kitchen eventually was.
> Lived right down the street in the early 70's, so
> stopped in often.


Where was that Giant? Where the Circuit City was more recently?

Where was Shakey's in relation to the mall? I remember going to Shakey's (or Farrells) before movies, but I was only about six or seven when the second level was added and everything changed. Was Shakey's next to the Hecht's?

And anyone remember the pet store? I think it was in the section of the mall near Farrell's and the theater.

Shakey's was in that stand alone building behind JR's, where a Thai restaurant is now, sort of across from the golf place. So, not in the mall.

Mikes Tyson Wrote:> Where was that Giant? Where the Circuit City was
> more recently?

Yes. There was a succession of restaurants at the far left of the building as you faced it, but they were pretty inconsequential in comparison as far as I was concerned.

Monsieur Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Mikes Tyson Wrote:> Where was that Giant? Where
> the Circuit City was
> > more recently?
>
> Yes. There was a succession of restaurants at the
> far left of the building as you faced it, but they
> were pretty inconsequential in comparison as far
> as I was concerned.


Not sure if anyone's noticed, but that whole strip of buildings (where Circuit City & La Madeleine were) was razed in late 2011. Another piece of the old Tysons Corner that is now an obscure memory.

TheMeeper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not sure if anyone's noticed, but that whole strip
> of buildings (where Circuit City & La Madeleine
> were) was razed in late 2011. Another piece of
> the old Tysons Corner that is now an obscure
> memory.

Yes, the space was needed for the Tysons Central 123 Metro station complex, so away it went.

Monsieur Croque Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Yes, the space was needed for the Tysons Central
> 123 Metro station complex, so away it went.


I heard it's going to be a hotel property on that site.

I can remember growing up out in Manassas, when you wanted to go to a big mall, Tyson's or Springfield were the only ones. Landmark was all open air at the time and there was no Fair Oaks. My uncle lived off of Gallows on Byrd Drive, so we used to go to Tyson's the most. Like all malls, it has that nasty lacquered dark stone with the orange/red/yellow/black bad acid trip swirly carpet. Oh and it was one level apart from the movie theaters. We used to hit the Shakey's back then as well for dinner at times. tons of fun watching the 3 Stooges or Buster Keaton movies playing on the big screen and playing Battlezone.

Great memories of Tysons. Don't you wish you could time travel or even be a fly on the wall, even just for one day, to revisit those days? :) I wouldn't mind refreshing those dusty old memories of the '80s a bit....

tvt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great memories of Tysons. Don't you wish you
> could time travel or even be a fly on the wall,
> even just for one day, to revisit those days? :)
> I wouldn't mind refreshing those dusty old
> memories of the '80s a bit....


Yes, would especially love to revisit the days of less traffic and easier parking.

I miss the good ole days.

Ok, I'm wondering if you all could help me here.

People mentioned that there were different movie theatres at different times and places, and I'm trying to picture in my mind where the theatre was where I went. There is this long (or atleast it was long to me) and narrow hallway where it would connect (I guess one part of the mall) to where the theater was. A small part of that hallway is still there which most of it is blocked off. If you are looking from the parking lot, there is a restuarant on the left side and Lord and Tailors on the right side. When you enter that hall way and walk all the way down (Towards Tailors), right around the corner, there is a small foodcourt with Subway and other little restuarants. You keep going, there is an esculator that is sort of in the middle. Ok, now I"m going too far. Let me back up a bit.


I didn't go to the Tysons much. We lived in Sterling int he 80's and 90's (and most of this past decade), but in the late 80's and early 90's, there were were not a lot of options with the exception of the dollor theatre in sterling and then the theatre in Herndon (World Gate---before the Reston Town Center opened)

Ok, so this is what I'm trying to figure out. In 1992, (I was ten), my dad and I drove down to Tysons, parked where Lord and Tailors is and entered where that narrow hall way is. We went to see Alladdin, so whatever movie theatre that was, don't know. Then my other memory was just a year or two later when that movie "The Big Green" came out, I had a party, (Must have been close to 13---mid 90's) and I strictly remember walkign down that hallway (Where would we have been coming from?) and seeing a poster for Toy Story: Coming soon). Then we walked around the corner and went up this long elevator.

Ok, last night, I went to Tysons and walked around and can't for the life of me think where the theatre used to be. Could someone, in detail, walk me through it? If I am walking down that narrow hall in the mid 90's, and now where subway would be on the left, where would I go to see the movie? I thought we'd go upstairs, but I can't seem to remember. Is the lobby where Lord and Tailors is now?

I don't mean to post again, but I wanted to add.....I know people have described already where those theatres were, but I'm trying to look it it from where they were it we were walking down that narrow hallway today (Or atleast that small part of it) If someoen were to have some old pics, that would be great.

Daniel, my brother...there is a Pizza place at the top of the stairs...not Listrani's, but something like that. It is Old School.

If you are walking from the main corridor of the mall, out one of those little "spine halls", the pizza place is on the right, almost all the way at the end. As a matter of fact, it has a picture next to the take out counter showing the place in 1977.

There used to be a big escalator then, at the end of the hall, and it went straight, ie, was aligned with the hallway, as opposed to turning left or right. At the bottom, your only option was to go right, down the narrow hallway towards the movie theater. If you went left, you would walk into a french restaurant.

The escalator os gone, and that area has been re-worked, so now it is a stairway and some stores.

However, the pizza place is in the same place and I think is exactly the same on the inside. Probably the only remaining place that hadn't changed from the 70's.

I remember circa 1983 a friend of mine went in the bathroom to wash his hair, because somebody going the opposite way on rubbed some chocolate on his head. I think it was because he was wearing a Langley jacket and the other kid had a Marshall jacket.

I remember that the restaurant attached to Woolworth's was called 'Harvest House'. It was owned by Woolworth's and had both a mall entrance and in-store entrance. Woolworth's got out of food service about the time Woolco closed and the restaurants were licensed to Burger King. Landover Mall Woolworth's in MD was a carbon copy twin of the Tysons store, except the Burger King remained even after Woolworths went out of business. The store entrance was walled off.

Anyone remember what the name of the Chinese Restaurant in Tysons was called? It seems like all malls had one Chinese restaurant but the fad died out. Springfield Mall once had a big one, and so did Seven Corners. I remember they were quite ornate and served Polynesian type drinks in souvineer glasses that you could bring home. Somewhere I still have one of those buddha glasses where the straws went into it's belly....

pizza place Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Daniel, my brother...there is a Pizza place at the
> top of the stairs...not Listrani's, but something
> like that. It is Old School.
>
> If you are walking from the main corridor of the
> mall, out one of those little "spine halls", the
> pizza place is on the right, almost all the way at
> the end. As a matter of fact, it has a picture
> next to the take out counter showing the place in
> 1977.
>
> There used to be a big escalator then, at the end
> of the hall, and it went straight, ie, was aligned
> with the hallway, as opposed to turning left or
> right. At the bottom, your only option was to go
> right, down the narrow hallway towards the movie
> theater. If you went left, you would walk into a
> french restaurant.
>
> The escalator os gone, and that area has been
> re-worked, so now it is a stairway and some
> stores.
>
> However, the pizza place is in the same place and
> I think is exactly the same on the inside.
> Probably the only remaining place that hadn't
> changed from the 70's.
>
> I remember circa 1983 a friend of mine went in the
> bathroom to wash his hair, because somebody going
> the opposite way on rubbed some chocolate on his
> head. I think it was because he was wearing a
> Langley jacket and the other kid had a Marshall
> jacket.


Luciano's. But I don't remember it being around back in the day...I could be wrong, though, my memory isn't what it used to be.

"Pizza Place" described it right. I believe you are talking about the Roth's (then Loew's) 5 (then 8) Theatres. The were on the Rt 123 side of the mall. The wing it was on was sort of by itself. At the time, there was no lower level of Tyson Corner Center. i believe that was the only "lower level" at the time.

You'd go down the escalator and to the left was The Magic Pan Restaurant. The only "hallway" was to the right. Back in those days, it was either a Lum's Restaurant (know for their Ollie burger...yum!) or it had switched to Summer's Restaurant. Further down the hall closer to the theatre was a Jerry's Subs and Pizza and a few other stores.

The other theatre in the mall until the early 90's was the NTI (then toward the end it was Cineplex Odeaon) Tysons 4 Theatres, located where I believe is a Haagen Daas ice upstairs, leading down and escalator inside where the theatres were. The batting cages downstairs are basically where the actual theatres were. This theatre was basically all red.

The mall has changed a lot since then, with adding the whole lower level throughout the mall and that whole hallway wing where the Roth's/Loew's Theatres were being re-worked.

Man, that's funny...you mention the movie theater being "red"...I do specifically remember that red hallway.

I do believe a Wendy's was there at one time, as well...

I do remember Tyson's Locker Plant. My folks used to go there yearly to stock up on frozen meat. It came in wooden slat type boxes. The pits were great, I don't guess that big microwave tower is there anymore??? That tower was the only thing out there when I was a kid.

While not in Tyson's, but just up the road, there was Evan's Farm Inn that closed, ripped down, and replaced with a housing development right on 123 near Lewinsville. Went there a couple times as a kid for Easter or something similar.

The tower's still there. After 9/11 the govt. put up a sign telling you not to photograph or even look at it, or off to Gitmo you go.

Was there ever a Jack in the Box along route 7 in the early 70's? I may have Tyson's confused with another area, but for some reason I recall it was Tyson's.

Does anyone remember the side of Tysons where the Towers Crescent office complex is now (kind of "in front of" LL Bean and Nordstrom) there used to be houses there? Nice, brick houses.

I do remember this from the mid '70's...if you take that right off of 7 (route 7 heading west, that is) and go down that perimeter road towards Nordstrom, with LL Bean on your left, you could see the backs of these houses off on your right until around 1977 or so...as a matter of fact, there was the remnants of an old, residential style chain link fence there up until about 4-5 years ago, when construction resumed and they started the new tower.

Since I have been in the Tysons area, I always looked to see that fence there...it was remnant of someone's backyard on Mimosa Drive (the previous name of Towers Crescent until the late 70's).

Weird to think that there were houses built there in the 40's, ripped down in the late 70's, and a very small portion of someone's fence and backyard survived another 35 years.

As for a Jack in the Box...do remember one in McLean, accross from the old fire house. Drive through. Best freakin tacos ever. Greasy, though. Could have been one in Tysons, as well. Can't remember.

Remember a pet store in Tysons Corner mall, accross from the place that had bar furniture and pool tables. Weird to think you could pay rent in that place selling gold fish and parakeets.

Also, on the right side of 8133 Leesburg Pike, where a bagel place is now...there was an old house there until maybe the early 90's-at least until the late 80's.

Thank you! I have been wracking my brain for the name of the movie theaters in the Aivery court next to Farrels, Now all I need is the name of the original Multiplex just off the lower level of one of the Dept stores

There was another NTI Theatre just down the road about 1/2 mile west on Rt 7 in the Pike 7 Plaza in the current home of, I believe, Gold's Gym. It was first a single theatre. Then, I believe in the late 70's or early 80's became 2-plex theatre. For those that remember the area it was near Night Dreams and Mr. Smith's Restaurant. i think it closed down in the late 80's. Jim Loudoun was it's GM.

It was called Tyson's Cinema and it looked like it held about 1,000 people. I know i saw Jaws for the first time in that theater with my Mom

Orange Bowl pizza man. That stuff was awesome!

We used to park in the underground delivery tunnel like it was our personal private parking area.

We didn't know how good we had it in pre-9/11.

David G Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There was another NTI Theatre just down the road
> about 1/2 mile west on Rt 7 in the Pike 7 Plaza in
> the current home of, I believe, Gold's Gym. It was
> first a single theatre. Then, I believe in the
> late 70's or early 80's became 2-plex theatre. For
> those that remember the area it was near Night
> Dreams and Mr. Smith's Restaurant. i think it
> closed down in the late 80's. Jim Loudoun was it's
> GM.
>
> It was called Tyson's Cinema and it looked like
> it held about 1,000 people. I know i saw Jaws for
> the first time in that theater with my Mom


Tysons Cinema was a great place to see a movie. Larger than any of the other theatres in the area with a cool upper level balcony in the rear. The place started to go down hill after the upper balcony was renovated as a tiny second theatre with an additional screen as David G mentions...

The head shop was in the back of Pier One, but that was not Bar Mart. Bar Mart was a serarate store. I bought a $200 "Wave" from Bar Mart that I loved. $200 was a lot of money for a decoration back in the mid-70s. It was so much better than the cheap ones that are around. It was whale oil and really amazing to watch. The spa in the basement was European Health Spa, and I was a lifetime member :( That also cost me a lot of money. I worked after school at Geno's - not inside the mall, but an easy walk. Melart Jewelers was where I had my ears pierced, but also where my husband bought my engagement ring.

I remember when you could smoke inside the mall....lol

There was an old farm house on the other side of 123 from Tyson's One that had a pond in front of it. One winter it froze enough for us kids to ice skate on it. Hard to believe how different it is now in that area.

I worked at the Mall in the 70's. Lots of good memories as mentioned already.

ON-ON!

Yes! !! I remember the snooty lil French place under the elevators! 'croque 'something or other? I worked @ Lums ( home of coatracks) and deep fried mushrooms! I also worked @ Luciano's Pizzeria above and then @ Bbb in Vienna circa 81/82. Don't remember birds ; that must've been awesome. Loved me some Hotshoopes Farrels, advoining Bk/ Wworths, Spencer's and Peoples as well as Dart drug! I used to people watch with my pal Erin on those curvy groovy orangey loungey chairs :)

Worked at Bar Mart during late grad-school years -- no head shop in the back, as mentioned by previous poster, as the owner was a retired Navy sub captain -- they had two retail levels, with stairs to lower retail level located within the main retail floor. There was a third level below the second retail level, which was a storage area that opened out onto the underground tunnel area loading docks. Trucks used to go into the one-way tunnel from the Landsburgh's (now Bloomingdales) end of the Tysons Mall -- tunnel entrance was located in the Bloomie's parking lot area. The loading tunnel ran down the center of the mall, three levels down from the main retail floor level, and was large enough to drive medium-sized semi-trucks through. The tunnel ran from Landsburgh's/Bloomies down to Hecht's, where it turned right and continued onward, all the way down to Woodies. The tunnel exit came out in the Woodie's parking lot. As far as I know, originally, all of the main level stores had a storage area at the tunnel level, and a second storage area located directly above, with their main retail floor space on top. Some opened up the second storage area as retail space -- don't know how that worked or was done/decided as to which stores were able to open two retail floors. All stores originally had access to the tunnel loading docks, as far as I know. Early in my budding career, used to drive a box delivery truck for a couple of the retailers, and always loaded/unloaded in the tunnel area.

Someone mentioned that Lums was on the lower level area, between Hecht's and Woodies, next to the Roth's Theaters, but did not understand where the loading tunnel would be located, when considering all of those lower level establishments -- i.e., where would the tunnel fit? The loading tunnel was either one level BELOW Lums and the Roth's theaters, or directly BEHIND them -- don't recall specifically.

Another mention of unmarked stairways going up, out of the tunnel -- there were quite a few of them, and they all exited up on the mall main level, one way or another. Some would exit onto the main level via blind painted unmarked doors -- you would open the door, and would find yourself exiting onto the main retail space from an unmarked door placed between two retail storefronts -- or sometimes, directly into a retail store space, as mentioned about Castro Convertibles.

What was the store that was in the Bloomies space before Bloomies took over? Originally, it was Landsburgh's (or was it originally Jelleff's?) -- then ???? -- then Bloomingdales. Tysons Corner Mall was designed around three large anchor stores -- Woodies on one end, Hecht's in the middle, and Landsburg's/Bloomies on the other end. Tysons Shopping Mall opened fully in 1968.

Recall how there would be school kids who would pour bubble-bath soap into the main fountain, outside of Hecht's, and watch the fun as the fountain would froth up the bubbles mix, which would spill out into the mall main floor area, much to the delight of SOME of the mall patrons -- typically a Friday or Saturday night event, when lots of kids would be hanging out at Farrell's and/or the movie theaters..

Also remember the concerts given at various times of the year -- often local school choirs, but also would occasionally have semi-professional mens choruses with 50-60 men singing some great musical arrangements of well known or seasonal songs. Wow -- have not thought about that in 40+ years.

Remember the Aviary Court bird cages, too -- and the "outdoor" birds that had gotten trapped inside the mall -- occasional sparrow, robin, Jay or whatever -- would be flying around the ceiling areas.

Was recollecting how the Roth Theater patrons (read: 75 or more standing in a single file line) would stand on the sidewalk, outside of the theaters, waiting to go inside -- 1974 perhaps? -- typically a warm summer night -- we would swoop through with our handy-dandy electric-pump powered, custom-built industrial-grade "water cannons," backed by 5-10 gallon water tanks and pumping/pressurizing mechanisms hidden in the trunks, dual hose feeds into the passenger compartments , adjustable squirt ends with squeeze valves, usually pillaged from old garden bug-spray cans. -- this is LONG before super-soakers became all the rage -- would slowly drive down the line, hosing as we drove, all from the comfort of the back seats of our convertible cars --typically, nobody was soaked down, rather more of a damp spritz per person -- an example of one of the "fun" summertime things that bored, home-for-the-summer college engineering geeks/majors would put together -- would also occasionally catch a Friday night dating couple sitting at a stoplight, windows rolled down (this is the time-era before car AC was typical) rock music blaring -- a couple of quick spritzes from a hidden source always produced delightful mayhem, with the girl ducking and not knowing where the water was coming from, worried about their makeup and hair, and the guy confused and bewildered as to WTH was going on, with the light turning green and traffic moving away at about the same time -- 'tis one of the things that date-less geeks would do for entertainment, in the pre-internet/computer/game era.

Anyone remember the night, right around closing time, that Hecht's caught on fire? -- had to have been springtime 1977, IIRC.

Moving to Vienna -- remember the W.T. Grant store in the Giant Food shopping center? Or, the Peter Pan store, located next to the Acme supermarket (now Magruder's) ? Rolling Road restaurant, located where the Herbert & Burke bank now sits, across from the Vienna Inn, which was owned by the same families who now own and run the Amphora restaurants? Or Lowes, which used to occupy the Whole Foods supermarket space? Or that Lowes had their own railroad siding, directly off of the W&OD railroad (now the W&OD bike trail), which is how they received their lumber? Do you recall what year the last trains ran on the W&OD railroad? How about the A&P supermarket, located in the shopping center next to Giant Food? Ketterman Jewlers? How about the hobby shop, next to the A&P, which had a huge slot-car track inside, where you could race slot-cars? Or the Burger Chef, located where the Wendy's is, now? Or, Kinney shoes?

Onward to Oakton -- do you recall that the Oakton Market (became Appalachian Outfitters, at the corner of Hunter Mill and 123) was run by an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Myers, who lived above the store? How about Moyer's Hardware, located next to the Oakton Market (also became part of the Appalachian Outfitters retail space). How about the E&O market, in Oakton? Clay's Welding? That the Oakton Post Office was in space attached to the Oakton Amoco gas station? The very large oak tree that used to split Hunter Mill Road at the 123 intersection? No stoplight at Hunter Mill Road and 123?

Lastly, remember when Dulles Airport was being built, and also when 66 was being built through the Oakton area (both somewhere in the 1960-1962 timeframe), and that 66 ended in Gainesville, exiting all traffic onto Route 29. Or, that Route 28 was a two-lane road with a blinking yellow light/blinking red at the route 50 crossing, in Chantilly?

Great thread -- thanks for the discussions and remembrances -- enjoyed! Was a different era, perhaps even a magical time, with innocent values and hopes and wishes -- now to exist only in fading memories and faint echoes.

Per Granny's comment regarding Kann's department store

The main flagship Kann's department store was located nearby the old F St. shopping district, at the corner of Pennsylvania Ave. and Eighth St. N.W.

From Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._Kann_Sons_Co.)

Kann's was the second Washington D.C. based department store chain to open a suburban location in nearby Northern Virginia. Just two weeks after the Hecht Company opened its store at Parkington Shopping Center, on November 16, 1951, Kann's opened its store at N. Fairfax Drive and N. Kirkwood Rd., in Arlington County, Virginia. The $4.5 million, 3 story store, known as Kann's Virginia, opened in conjunction with the neighboring Virginia Square Shopping Center. At opening, the store featured imported Squirrel Monkeys from Brazil named Teeny, Weeny, Eeny, and Miney to entertain children in the shoe department; a package assembly system using conveyor belts; "Kannteen" restaurant; customer lounge; and hospital room with nurse in attendance.[7] After closing in 1975, the store was acquired in 1979, by George Mason University, who used it for their Arlington Campus. The building was used first for the law school and later for the School of Public Policy. Current plans are for the building to be part of the redevelopment of the site slated for completion in 2010, then eventually demolished.[8]


Regarding the Washington Shopping Plate -- the stores that participated were the Hecht Co., Jelleff's, Kann's, Lansburgh's, Raleigh Haberdasher and Woodward & Lothrop. Julius Garfinckel & Co. was added later.

Answering JDW -- the Tysons Ice Rink was located off of Tyco Road, back behind Peacock Buick and the Brown Dodge dealerships.

Responding to Pimmit hills native asking about the old Reston Ice Rink -- now called Skatequest, located off of Michael Faraday Court in Reston.

Arlingtonkid -- there was a Jack In The Box that was located at the corner of Gallows Road and Route 29, in nearby Merrifield -- across the street from the what used to be the Lee Highway Drive-In Theaters.
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OMG mamacox () YES I remember the French restaurant under the escalators.

Le Mistral -- and I will never forget their braised beef short ribs -- the best ever! I think they moved to Old Dominion Drive in McLean some years later to a store-front place, but that, too, is closed.

I, for some odd reason, remember going there one dark and stormy night, seeing the movie "Flashdance," (1983) getting that darn song stuck in my head for weeks (and now it will be there again for many more weeks) and enjoying that dinner that I still remember!

How is it I can't remember what I had for dinner 3 days ago, but I can remember something from nearly 30 years ago?

The onion soup was to die for too.

And, speaking about songs that get stuck in one's head! The Tyson's version with the store names in it was called "We've got em all" and was a two-minute thing, with an intro by Rick Dees (remeber him? I think he was the Ryan Seacrest of the 80's) that ran on local radio stations -- very much one of my favorite Tyson's memories:

http://www.icsc.org/srch/education/awards/maxi2002/maxi_2002_cons_tysons.php

And the song, I can't find, but the original song I think is called ":Life is a Rock" by Reunion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16kh-AP4OCU

Here's something more about the campaign:


Jingle Jangle



[FINAL Edition]




The Washington Post (pre-1997 Fulltext) - Washington, D.C.


Author:

CRISTINA DEL SESTO



Date:

Jul 5, 1992



Start Page:

w.09



Section:

MAGAZINE



Text Word Count:

225








I catch myself singing it in the car. It plays in my head while I shower and while I sit in business meetings. I hear it in my dreams. And it's not "Stairway to Heaven."

It's a jingle for a shopping mall.

Nordstrom, Woodies, Hecht's and Zales/Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdale's . . .

"The idea was to communicate that Tysons Corner has the best mix and more merchants than anybody else," says Ellen Ehrman, account supervisor at Adworks in Georgetown.

The solution was "We've Got 'Em All," a two-minute song listing 105 of Tysons Corner's 200-plus stores; there's also a 30-second version with a male singer breathlessly listing 28 of them.

Turns out even local radio stations like WCXR and Mix 107 are getting requests to play the tune, which was adapted from "Life Is a Rock," a '70s release by the Reunions.

"The response has been overwhelming," says Ehrman about the "audio logo puzzle" that will air sporadically until the end of the year. In fact, Tysons is even having a karaoke contest this summer for anyone who dares. So mark down August 15 if you think you can sing "We've Got 'Em All" without getting totally tongue-tied.

Britches Great Outdoors, Mondia/Luciano's Pizzeria . . .

TicketMaster has your ticket,

Lee's has ice cream, you can lick it . . .

Baby Gap, Natisse Salon,

and Benetton and on and on . . .


Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.

yes- woolworth's got rid of their eatery and turned it into an inexpensive (okay, cheap!) jewelry store named "afterthoughts." i'm sure they got half the business that the restaurant brought in and as a company, had their own afterthoughts about what a bone-headed move that was.

the best grilled cheese, tomato(e- here's to you, dan quayle!) soup and vanilla shakes... all for about six bucks!

BK took over

Before Soup or Sandwitch the resturant was called Mosiure Crepe, the kitchen was under the mall area. Restaurant closed due to theft and sabsentee ownership
This place sold Beer & wine the closest bar for liquor was the Holisay Inn across RT 123

Another fun memory.....back in the day, way before the Internet, you use to have to wait in line for tickets from TicketMaster (in Hecht's). Although lines were often long, the longest line I can remember was for Bruce Springsteen playing RFK Stadium in 1985.

Normally, the mall security wouldn't let lines begin on property before dawn. However, there were so many people hovering around the mall property that they let everyone line up in the middle of the night around the mall. The line started outside the lower level door of Hecht's (now Macy's), wrapped all the way around the mall beyond Bloomingdale's. One of the guards I knew estimated 1,000-2,000 people in line! Pretty amazing.

It was a fun memory, camping overnight on a nice summer night in line with friends, Springsteen music playing all night. Almost as much fun as the concert was!

This is probably verboten, but Fairfax Underground is in the Washington Post again today so we probably have some fresh eyes on the forum. Bumping this thread for the new readers.

Taken 1984




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The place you were thinking of was Mosiur Crepe across from the Firts Va Bank Aviary Court entrance.

remember a guy named barry moats at cycle sport. he had a wicked green '69 z/28!

Re-reading this thread, someone wanted to know why International Drive wasn't simply named Gallows Road.

They used to be totally separate roads. The road now called Old Gallows Road (hits Route 7 across from the old Roy Rogers near the Marriott) used to be Gallows Road. Gallows Branch Road and the bridge across Route 7 didn't exist. Old Courthouse Road went all the way down to Gallows (now Old Gallows) and ended at a T-intersection. It was all redesigned sometime in the mid- to late-1980s around the same time when the mall was expanded.

Aerial view from 1979 at the following link. Gallows Road comes right up the center of the picture. You may have to zoom out a bit to get a better sense of location (it insisted on resetting the zoom when I copied the link). Click the years at the left side of the image to compare it to today.

http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=8E-06&lat=38.9105317254721&lon=-77.2220158417972&year=1979

Wow, I remember the coat check and the Aviary court. When I was a little kid, my mom would participate in craft shows there and at Springfield mall. I always loved spending the day roaming the mall and loitering in Spencer Gifts. A few years later a couple friends and II snuck down into the "loading dock" tunnel to get high once before a movie. Ah..the good old days. I haven't been back to Tyson's in years. I avoid it like the plague. If I have to go to a mall it's Fair Oaks for me.

is that Farrell Kelliher? Who rembembers Stiegs?

Another interesting thing about Gallows Road routing.

If you look at the 1964 photo, it looks like Gallows went totally straight until it reached the Kidwell property. Then a 90 degree left turn, and straight back up. (If you didn't take the left, you would be on what is now called Kidwell Drive.) Sometime between 1964 and the early 70s, Gallows was bent into a wide left arc to avoid that stopping intersection. From there, it still went straight (today's "Old Gallows Road") up to Route 7.

I don't remember Gallows Road having that stop-turn-left intersection at Kidwell's. Might have been down there as a child, but maybe not, as there was no reason to go to Tysons Corner much. We used to take our deer to the meat locker / butcher there (before we got a big freezer in the basement and butchered in our back yard in Annandale. I didn't start driving until the early 70s, and I think Gallows Road had the big curve in it by then. It came out at the 7-11.

The road on the other side of Route 7 across from "Old" was probably not called Gallows Road, either. It was basically what is now called "Towers Crescent Drive", but used to just be a suburban ring, predating the mall by decades.

I have a page on facebook called Roth Tysons Corner 8 Theaters Former Employees that has some information on that theater and pictures.

Do you have a link for that Facebook page? I looked but can't find it.

Ah Tysons. Used to be a great place. Now just another cookie cutter mall. I remember the two sets of theaters (although Roths was tiny), Farrell's, and all the other long gone stores.

Places I worked at Tysons Corner before it went to two levels:

People's Drug - Jan 1985 to November 1985. Worked the Cigarette counter/front register. The store had a restauranrt and a whole aisle of arcade games. Lots of porn magazines at the back counter too. Try finding them in a drug store these days. Downstairs storage area was full of hundreds (thousands?) of mice, was dark and scary.

Waldenbooks - Nov 1985 to Feb 1986. I knew nothing about books. People would come in and ask if we had a certain book, like I have them all memorized or something. The Rev. Robert Schuller came in once for a book signing along with a few other celebrties I can't remember.

Woolworths - Feb 1986 to Feb 1987. I worked the back counter where tapes/CDs were, along with batteries, the key machine, etc. We had a restaurant that closed during the end of my time there. Downstairs was storage and an employee break area. I got fired because a lock was broken on the case where we kept cameras and they said since i didbn't report it I was fired...even though tons of other people worked the counter too and didn't report it. Whatever. They soon went out of business anyway.

Haven't been to Tyson's in about 10 years, since I live right across the street from Fair Oaks Mall.

Douglas Raney Wrote:
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> I have a page on facebook called Roth Tysons
> Corner 8 Theaters Former Employees that has some
> information on that theater and pictures.

Found it. Thanks.