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Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Rod ()
Date: April 16, 2009 10:03PM

Dose any remember this park? I guess you'd bring the kids there on weekends. It lingered maybe up tothe eighties with enpty buildings being finally jacked up and moved away. It was a small theme park. In the early sisties westerns were all the rage on TV so I guess people wanted to see the "real" thing.

edit by Cary: Fixed typo in subject.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/2010 10:27PM by Cary.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: tubby ()
Date: April 16, 2009 11:06PM

It was "Old Virginia City" and I remember it well. They used to stage gunfights and had dancing girls in the Saloon (a lot of the "cast" were Fairfax High School students).

I'm 99% sure it was on Rt 29....possibly near where Wegman's is now.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: old nova ()
Date: April 16, 2009 11:27PM

The theme park was where Home Depot is on Rt 29 and West Ox/FFX County Pkwy. There was an old Country & Western Bar (Partners 2) next door and that survived longer (mid 80s when it burned down). The amusement park closed early 70s and a drive in theater (Super 29) was behind the park and Partners 2 that lasted into the late 70s/early 80s. All that is now Costco and the stores on the Home Depot side.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: GMU Hokie ()
Date: April 16, 2009 11:37PM

You are correct.

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: old school ()
Date: April 17, 2009 12:39AM

Actually not. The bar was the historic Hunter's Lodge which hosted such legends as Patsy Cline, Mel Tillis, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, etc. Some believe that developers tore this down as soon as possible to prevent Hunter's Lodge from becoming a historic landmark and thus interfering with profit margins... I mean progress. It would be several more years, after Hunter's was torn down, before the Price Club (Costco) and other retail stores were constructed.
The Super 29 Drive-In closed its doors in 1985. (I remember the Snack bar/restaurant was like a time warp because everything in there was authentic/vintage 1950's. Old Coca-Cola signs etc.) I don't think the place was ever remodeled after it was built in 1957. I believe that Virginia City closed in the early 70's.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Spacy ()
Date: April 17, 2009 01:39AM

I went there when I was a kid.

See also Pick Temple: http://kidshow.dcmemories.com/pick2.html
Attachments:
006.jpg

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Date: April 17, 2009 06:22AM

Why have a fun Western-themed park that creates childhood memories when you can have another place to buy door hinges and giant boxes of corn flakes? I know my kids will have fond memories of the Costco when they grow up.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Sculler ()
Date: April 17, 2009 07:20AM

Hearing stories like this makes it that much more depressing to know that there was a time when this area was actually interesting.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: TomMadison ()
Date: April 17, 2009 08:27AM

Sculler Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hearing stories like this makes it that much more
> depressing to know that there was a time when this
> area was actually interesting.


Very true...I am in my mid-40s and have fond memories of growing up in Pittsburgh which had a lot of rich culture and history in many of the neighborhoods, but most of that is gone now. By the 70s much of the dirt and pollution from the steel mills was gone, but the mills had character, employed a ton of people and gave you an up close and personal view of the industries that made the USA an economic powerhouse.

When I moved here in 1990 I thought that everyone was from somewhere else, but over time I met more and more people around my age who were born and raised here. It was hard to picture that a time when Sterling and eastern Loudoun was all farmland, I-66 ended around Fair Oaks Mall, Gilbert's Corner was more than a controlled intersection and the Redskins were actually a good football team.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: formerhick76 ()
Date: April 17, 2009 09:25AM

Hey, everyone wants a nice 3000 sf house on a 1/4 acre lot.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: just me ()
Date: April 18, 2009 09:15AM

Tom,

When was the last time you been to Pittsburgh. South Side has totally changed according to family memebers. Nice place to visit. For I have always considered it a second home to me.

As for a theme park in fairfax co. I would not believe it if I had not read this. It is amazing what you find out on this site.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: TomMadison ()
Date: April 18, 2009 07:39PM

just me Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Tom,
>
> When was the last time you been to Pittsburgh.
> South Side has totally changed according to family
> memebers. Nice place to visit. For I have always
> considered it a second home to me.

I am there 2-3 times per year and was not saying the South Side was not nice, it has just been gentrified like many urban areas and most of the character that existed even 20 years ago is gone. This is a hip, trendy neighborhood with condos, bars, neat shops and parks and there is nothing wrong with that. However, there was something nice about a bar where you could get a shot and a beer and hang out with your buddies without all the hoopla of places like Champs and Glory Days.

If you know the area, the area around Carson Street and Mission Street was a bit gritty when I was growing up and it had tons of character. You can still hit Primanti's in the Strip district, but that is more of an exception these days.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: just me ()
Date: April 18, 2009 08:24PM

I was just in Pittsburgh last month. Though I usually I do go down to the Strip District, but did not make it there. This time I went down to Station Square and to my youngest son on the Incline and hit up at the Hard Rock instead. Since it was my son's birthday that weekend. Even though I have to admit I did find a bar down at Station Square that serves Beer I think for a $1.00 from noon to midnight. Right across from the Hard Rock. But unfortunately, my son is not yet 21 for he is only 19. There will be another time.

I did hit Primanti's the last time I was in the Strip. But I also go down to Bloomfield as well.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Spacy ()
Date: April 20, 2009 11:47AM

Are we going to talk about Storybook Land now?

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Date: April 20, 2009 11:48AM

Is it true that Midgetville was never occupied by midgets?

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: WingNut ()
Date: April 20, 2009 11:52AM

Spacy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are we going to talk about Storybook Land now?


Storybook Land was cool in the early and mid 80's when it was a rundown, graffiti'd up party spot, I had friends in Newington who took me there and the old crypts. If I went there as a child when SBL was open, it didn't make a big impression, I don't remmeber nothing!

Old VA City I never got to see either. There was some codger who lived on my block growing up who had a sticker from it on his camper and I always wondered what it was.

I did get to go to Marshall Hall in the late 70's- a really dinky dink and rundown amusement park if I ever saw one. The little roller coaster shook like a drunk with dt's, I thought it was going to fall down,

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: just me ()
Date: April 20, 2009 03:14PM

Gee talking about bringing back memories. I use to go to Storybook when I was just a child. I have not driven that way to see if it is still there. But I believe it is.

Bet you all did not know if you are not from Pittsburgh that they had their own amusement park and still does today. I can not remember the name of the one that is closed down. But the other is call Kennywood. I am sure some have heard of it.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: CB78 ()
Date: April 20, 2009 03:41PM

I had friends in Newington who took me there and the old crypts

Not to distract the thread but how many remember the crypts off of Rt 1 in Ft. Belvoir back in the 70's? It was a pretty crazy place to party. You had to crawl down inside to see all the old monuments, etc.

Any other details people remember about the place?

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Spacy ()
Date: April 21, 2009 09:15AM

I used to go to Storybook Land in its heyday when I was little.
It was in Woodbridge on Route 1, approximately here if I remember right:

Lat: 38°37'37.81"N
Lon: 77°16'38.13"W

and there are just woods there.
(Put 14934 Jefferson Davis Hwy into Google Earth to see.)

I think it closed down in the late 70s.

Here's someone's page about it:
http://www.billreeves.us/archived-features/storybook-land.html

What about "crypts"???



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/2009 09:19AM by Spacy.
Attachments:
storybookland-map.jpg

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: WingNut ()
Date: April 21, 2009 09:49AM

Spacy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I used to go to Storybook Land in its heyday when
> I was little.
> It was in Woodbridge on Route 1, approximately
> here if I remember right:
>
> Lat: 38°37'37.81"N
> Lon: 77°16'38.13"W
>
> and there are just woods there.
> (Put 14934 Jefferson Davis Hwy into Google Earth
> to see.)
>
> I think it closed down in the late 70s.
>
> Here's someone's page about it:
> http://www.billreeves.us/archived-features/storybo
> ok-land.html
>
> What about "crypts"???

The crypts if my memory is correct were close to Lorton off of US 1, maybe around the intersection of Telegraph or maybe Old Colchester Rd.I never saw the place in the daytime.

It was an old mausoleum with monuments, a lot of it had been bullbdozed up with dirt. You couldn't crawl around the bodies or anyhting ( though some people claimed to have found bones) you could see the doors and the old memorials and it was a weird party spot to say the least.

Like Story Book Land it was over run with weeds, trash, and derelicts of all ages looking for a place to hang out. I was there a couple of times in maybe 1984, would love to see some photos of that one if they're around.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Cris ()
Date: April 21, 2009 10:12AM

I remember going to "the crypts" in the 1975, 1976 time frame during high school. I thought it was near route 1 somewhere but don't rember exactly where. It was a pretty wild place; you had to crawl through a hole to jump down and get in. My visit ended when FCPD showed up and busted a handful of visitors (fortunately not me!).

I often wondered what the history behind it was and whatever became of it.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: John B ()
Date: October 03, 2009 03:43PM

I googled Storybook Land and found all these childhood memories - wow. I was a little kid in the 60s and SVL was an absolute fav with me and my little friends. The Burdas were family friends (I think mom still keeps in touch) and neighbors as some of the original "colonists" in Marumsco Acres. A few of my youngster female friends had jobs there performing as Little Bo-Peep and Snow White. Others worked the go cart ride or pony ride. Picnics, souvenirs, little cars to drive. It was a little kids paradise. Sadly, it was recently bulldozed.

Old VA City - I went there once and was awed by the gun fights. It was a bit of a drive from Woodbridge back then. The road system was no where near as developed as it is now. And to a little kid, that was a looonnng trip. I shop at that Costco now. I had no idea that was where VA City once stood.

And "The Crypts!" Ahh, yes, popular place for the "heads" to hang out in my high-school years. What you're talking about is the "Remeum" - the Remy family mausoleum. It's still there, but most of the structures are destroyed or inaccessible because they bulldozed dirt over the entrances (yes they did it once before and someone dug a hole in the mound to get in the door you had to slide down in - very spooky. Fairly complex inside with several unused stone sarcophagi in the back rooms. Any residents had long sense been moved. Google Remeum if you're curious.

It's on the back property of the old Pohick Episcoal Church (George Washington's family church) on Rt 1 in Lorton. Along with many No Tresspassing signs - and the holes are once again filled over. It's a shame because back when it was new, it must have really been something to see. There was a bas-reilef of a WW2 battleship set in one of the exterior wall and other stuff of that sort. Statues, etc.

Other fun kiddie stuff I recall, that's long gone; the Super Slide in Springfield, that amusement park on the Potomac in the MD side that you could take a ferry from Mt Vernon to get to called Marshall Hall. The pony rides near BXR...

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: InvisibleBox ()
Date: October 03, 2009 05:56PM

John B Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Other fun kiddie stuff I recall, that's long gone;
> the Super Slide in Springfield,



Do you remember where exactly that Super Slide was? Or maybe I should ask..what's in its place now??

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Deja ()
Date: October 04, 2009 10:44PM

I believe that the Super Slide was in the area near the then-new Springfield Mall.

Google Norva Pics and you'll find some discussion on there about Northern Virginia of the past.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: WingNut ()
Date: October 05, 2009 08:04AM

white-space.jpg



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/13/2015 09:49AM by WingNut.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's "VIRGINIA CITY"
Posted by: DUDE BROTHER 1971 ()
Date: October 05, 2009 01:54PM

THE WESTERN PARK IN FAIRFAX WAS CALLED "VIRGINIA CITY"...ONE OF THE OLD SHACK BUILDINGS SAT ON STRINGFELLOW ROAD IN CHANTILLY, UNTILL THE EARLY 2000'S....

GREAT TIMES....WISH I WAS A KID AGAIN....BACK THEN (NOT NOW)

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: FurfaxTownie ()
Date: October 05, 2009 02:07PM

So where the heck is this place? I've been eagerly reading this thread but its former location keeps being moved around. I think we need RobertGreyberg to investigate.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2009 03:25PM by FurfaxTownie.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: More Complete ()
Date: October 05, 2009 03:52PM

http://www.fairfaxunderground.com/forum/read/2/223473/223982.html#msg-223982


In Northern VA there is this restaurant that before you get there you go threw a forest/jungle then go on?
Posted by: tbluhp ()
Date: August 06, 2009 03:35AM


an boat or kano ride what was the name of the place? They also had other places to eat (before you enter the jungle/forest) I think it was some sort of underground area. Also at the end of the road there was a huge movie theater.

I remember going back in early 90's in Virginia and want to know the status and what it called.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: TomRock ()
Date: October 19, 2009 09:59PM

i remember visiting Old Va City when i was about 3yrs old. an actor pointed a gun at my family and said "gimme all your gold!" i thought it was a real robbery.

the crypt was just as scary for a teenager as Va City was for a little kid. my older brother and his friends took me there a couple of times in the 1970s. we would drive my mom's station wagon down Pohick Rd to Rt1, park a few blocks away, and sneak across the highway and down the gravel drive to the mausoleum entrance. at that time it was all there, but seriously vandalized. the perimeter wall was shaped like a cross, with the main vault at the head. someone had broken through the brick wall, so you could climb inside... i don't know if i was more scared of a) the cops, b) seeing something gross, or c) surprising other thrill-seekers and scaring each other into cardiac arrest.

as for the pony rides at Bailey's X-roads... the business still exists, as the Bernie Amusement Company, in the back of Mantua. Bernie brought ponies to my older brother's b'day party in the 1950s; i worked for him a couple of summers in the 1970s, and now my brother rents a moon bounce from him every year for his kids end of school party. if i recall correctly, he owned the land that he sold to the developer of Mantua, keeping a small farm for himself. haven't been down there in decades, but i think he's still there. going back a little further, Bailey's X-roads got its name from Bailey of Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey Circus - that's why you see those little signs with a circus tent as you enter the area now. Bernie took over the remnants of that circus and kept some of the rides working right at the x-roads until at least the 1970s.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: trangert418 ()
Date: October 19, 2009 10:24PM

> as for the pony rides at Bailey's X-roads... the
> business still exists, as the Bernie Amusement
> Company, in the back of Mantua. Bernie brought
> ponies to my older brother's b'day party in the
> 1950s; i worked for him a couple of summers in the
> 1970s, and now my brother rents a moon bounce from
> him every year for his kids end of school party.
> if i recall correctly, he owned the land that he
> sold to the developer of Mantua, keeping a small
> farm for himself. haven't been down there in
> decades, but i think he's still there. going back
> a little further, Bailey's X-roads got its name
> from Bailey of Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey
> Circus - that's why you see those little signs
> with a circus tent as you enter the area now.
> Bernie took over the remnants of that circus and
> kept some of the rides working right at the
> x-roads until at least the 1970s.

I read this and remembered back 2-3 years ago when I followed some Yard Sale signs and it led me down Prince William Dr off 236. The guy had all kinds of cool stuff like old jukeboxes.....had to be this Bernie guy.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: trangert418 ()
Date: October 19, 2009 10:29PM

Deja Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I believe that the Super Slide was in the area
> near the then-new Springfield Mall.
>

I recall the Super Slide being close to where the Dunkin Donuts is on Commerce St

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: trangert418 ()
Date: October 19, 2009 10:31PM

WashingTone Locian Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is it true that Midgetville was never occupied by
> midgets?


Isn't Midgetville located on Braddock Rd between Clifton Rd & Union Mill Rd?

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Mofo ()
Date: October 19, 2009 11:00PM

Does anyone remember segregation in Fairfax? I'm curious to hear details about it. My mom went to elementary school in McLean in the late fifties but doesn't remember anything about it and said blacks just didn't live in that area.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: kdub ()
Date: March 05, 2010 10:03AM

An ad from 1939
Attachments:
hunters lodge.jpg

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Spacy ()
Date: March 05, 2010 05:46PM

I remember people saying, "I'm black you black we all black at Luther Jack!"

1970s. However, I don't think I knew anyone from the school, and I suspect they didn't chant that, themselves, LOL.

This "discrimination in FFX" seems like it should be a separate thread, though.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/2010 05:47PM by Spacy.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Registered Voter ()
Date: March 05, 2010 08:07PM

Spacy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I went there when I was a kid.
>
> See also Pick Temple:
> http://kidshow.dcmemories.com/pick2.html

Yeah, I have a picture with my dad from that place when I was a kid. They used to dress you up in western outfits for the pics.

If you can’t model the past, where you know the answer pretty well, how can you model the future? - William Happer Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics Princeton University

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Scott ()
Date: March 05, 2010 08:24PM

trangert418 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> WashingTone Locian Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >>
>
> Isn't Midgetville located on Braddock Rd between
> Clifton Rd & Union Mill Rd?


No, it was on Cedar Lane in Vienna. Tore it down a few years ago and now they're starting to build these mega-mansions -- Wederburn Estates, I think.

I remember the Super 29 Drive-in, and barely remember Virginia City.

I remember going to Storybook Land.

I remember the building collapse in Bailey's X-Roads in 1973 -- I know, I know, there is a thread on that somewhere on here.

Didn't Bailey's X-roads have an airport also?

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Whobe ()
Date: March 05, 2010 09:03PM

Another good thread. I went in that old false front building that was on Stringfellow Rd. before they tore it down and found a bunch of old tickets and other papers etc. from Va. City. I wasn't sure where it was located , good to know.

Too bad Storyland got bulldozed, I do remember going there when little and drove by a couple times the last few years and always thougth of checking it out again.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: sa ()
Date: March 05, 2010 09:23PM

formerhick76 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey, everyone wants a nice 3000 sf house on a 1/4
> acre lot.

Damn right.

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: blankend ()
Date: May 25, 2011 07:02AM

I remember Old Virginia City. I loved it as a kid and begged my parents to take me there. I liked the staged gunfights in the street. I remember talking the train ride. The bad guys would jump on the last car and then pull the 'train robbery' when the engine stopped at the water tank to take on water.

Later they would be captured by the sherrif and taken the the little jail to wait for their trial that was held in the saloon. I remeber they even had a hanging tree right beside the jail, but I never saw them hang anyone.

They also had some teepees and some real native Americans in traditional customes that you could take pictures of and pose with for free.

I remember pony rides, stagecoach rides, surry rides, and stage shows in the saloon.


I also remember segregation in the early 60's. My mother would sometimes let my brother and I walk about 2 blocks to the local Pitts theatre in Manassas on Saturday for the 10 cent matinee.

We purchased our tickets at the booth out front and went inside, but on the side of the building there was a brick wall with a plain door where black people would line up and purchase their tickets. They went straight up to the balconey from there and never mingled with the white people. I never saw them in the lobby, so I must assume they had concessions and bathrooms upstairs.

I would look up and see them sitting above us in the balconey and would ask my brother how come we couldn't sit up there? It looked like a fun place to sit to me. I am not sure if he understood, either, becuse I don't remeber him explaining it to me. He just made sure we sat under the baloney, because sometimes things would get thrown from above and we would be underneath where we couldn't be hit.

I told my daughter about this when she was studying the civil rights movement in school and she relayed it to her young teacher. The teacher told my daughter how lucky I was to have been around to see that. I don't think it would be something you should feel lucky to have experienced. Even though I didn't understand it at the time, I still know it was wrong and don't feel lucky to see it first hand.

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Raptured ()
Date: May 25, 2011 08:18AM

Wow - I didn't remember Old Virginia City until just now reading this thread - yeah, I went there probably in the earliest 60s. There also was a fairytale place the name of which escapes me - I don't remember "Storybookland" as the name though but it looks like it could be. The only thing(s) I remember about it was lots of bright colors and something like an "Alladin" (Ali Baba?) building that had fake diamonds spread all over the floor that were JUST reachable by a little arm extended thru a bunch of bars...

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: GMU Hokie ()
Date: May 25, 2011 08:46AM

Sure. Most FCPS schools were either black or white until 1964. Most blacks and whites just didn't know each other. At Robert Frost Intermediate there was a curious alliance of low income blacks and red necks from Centreville and Clifton. One might have expected them to have hated each other, but that was not the case. They usually got along fine. Their hate was reserved for the kids from Kings Park and Ravensworth Farm.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: OldtimeResident ()
Date: May 25, 2011 11:12PM

trangert418 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Deja Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I believe that the Super Slide was in the area
> > near the then-new Springfield Mall.
> >
>
> I recall the Super Slide being close to where the
> Dunkin Donuts is on Commerce St

The Super Slide was where Safford Dodge is now. I think there was a gas station where the Dunkin Donuts is that was part of the car wash. The place next to the DD was originally a Lums and the Mexican place next to it was a Village Inn Pizza place. They had the first pong game in the area. The Asian buffet place was originally O'Brien's Pit BBQ when it was built in the late 70's

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: blankend ()
Date: May 25, 2011 11:52PM

I remember Alladin's (or was it Ali Baba's?) cave. It was definitely at Storybook Land located on Rt.1 outside of Woodbridge. I remember they had it rigged so you couldn't go inside, or touch any of the 'treasure'. I seem to remember they also had a giant Easter egg with portholes you could look through to see live rabbits inside. Other than that, all I can remeber is the crooked man and his crooked house, Humpty Dumpty on his wall, and the old lady who lived in a shoe.

As far as the Rt.29 corridor goes, the main thing I remember, besides Bacholors 3, Partners 2, Hunters Lodge, Super 29 Drive-in, and Old Virginia City, was the little rundown, cheap looking motels that were all along the highway from Centreville to Fairfax.

I can remember watching WTTG Channel 5 and seeing Bill Gormley advertise Old Virginia City during a commercial break in The 3 Stooges, or Cap'n Tugg.

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­
Posted by: chuckhoffmann ()
Date: May 26, 2011 01:01AM

­



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2014 12:26PM by chuckhoffmann.

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: blankend ()
Date: May 26, 2011 03:00AM

Thanks for sharing. That old sign sure brought back a lot of memories.

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: 6X ()
Date: May 26, 2011 07:08AM

.
Attachments:
fairfax_ovcr.jpg

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: jcr ()
Date: January 25, 2012 04:59PM

I lived almost across the street from VA City back in the day. We use to go there after church on Sunday if we had been good.
I remember coming back from the service and going to Hunters Lodge, Partners2 and The Green Dolphin before it became John's Place.
Use to take all my dates to Super 29 Drive In where Costco is now. Actually that is where VA City was and Hunters Lodge.
Fairfax use to be a great place. I remember going to Tops Drive Inn Rest. at Fairfax Circle and watch the hot rodws roll around the circle on Friday and Sat. night, all the muscle cars of the day. God takes me back now.
I remember when the street I grew up on was a dirt road half way between Fairfax and Centerville.

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Hay Zeus ()
Date: January 25, 2012 05:02PM

what else used to be in that Shopping center where Johns Place is

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: mel tillis ()
Date: January 26, 2012 02:51AM

was reading the facebook page for John's Place. apparently still has same owner now as it did back in its Green Dolphin days


Was Storybookland sort of a chain on the east coast/ mid atlantic. I remember going to the place a few times as a kid. Same for virginia City. Even broke in after the place had been closed and fortunately the redneck family living on the property didn't call the cops on us. man where have all the rednecks gone?

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: SunnyD ()
Date: January 26, 2012 06:48AM

Does anyone remember the old putt-putt golf course where the Patriot Harley Store is on Lee Highway? Fond memories.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Bob in Southeast Loudoun ()
Date: April 12, 2012 09:24AM

sa Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> formerhick76 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Hey, everyone wants a nice 3000 sf house on a
> 1/4
> > acre lot.
>
> Damn right.

I went for the 1/2 acre!

This is a good thread. I grew up in New England and we had the same sort of cheesy attractions, many in New Hampshire -- another Storybook Land (or something like that), Six-Gun City, Benson's Wild Animal Farm...

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Mt. Washington ()
Date: April 12, 2012 09:40AM

Probably not many drive in theatres I'd guess?


Virginia City and Hunter's Lodge(was Hunter's considered a restaurant or a bar or a dance hall? I guess laws were different back then) and 29 Drive In theatre all at same intersection what a day of fun fairfax county sucks these days for entertainment


let's go to Reston Town Center and watch the peacocks strut

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WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Donna White ()
Date: August 29, 2013 01:02PM

Just got a real kick reading this string - but wanted to let those of you who visited Old Virginia City in days gone by that one of the Can-Can girls from the Golden Horseshoe Saloon's stage show is still alive and kicking! However, I've moved back in time and am now "Margaret Wentworth, Lady Drury, Baroness Williams of Thame" in the Fishers, IN Renaissance Faire!

You can take the lady out of the saloon, but you can't take the ham out of the lady!

As a saloon gal, we not only performed 5 shows a day on weekdays and 7 shows a day on weekends, but added "color" to the robberies/gunfights by crying over the bad guys when they were "shot and killed" in the streets! Met my first husband there in 1959 - he was one of the bad guys, and also ran the printing press in the newspaper office! Another job us gals had was riding the steam train and leading the screaming whenever the robbers or Indians attached the train! Those were really full days, but so much fun for a teenager!

I do have lots of photos if anyone is interested.........

Donna
Attachments:
Fishers2008-1.JPG
ChoirISC Messiah 2009.JPG

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Marf ()
Date: August 29, 2013 01:18PM

Nice can-cans!

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Mike from Maryland ()
Date: May 16, 2014 11:55AM

Hey, noticed there hasn't been a post in a while, but I worked at Quantico Marine Corps Base in the 90s and Storybook land was still there. I was out at lunch, and saw the entrance ( all this is now gone) and stopped. At that time a lot of the stuff was still visable, and I walked around for an hour or so. Like someone posted, I almost thought this was just some kid fantasy memory,and not real. I lived in Maryland and went there a couple of times. It was really something to walk through as an adult. It is all gone now. I wished I could have contacted someone to get some memories. I would love to have these in the woods behind my home.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Interesting ()
Date: August 04, 2014 02:28AM

Some photos of Storybook Land....

http://theimaginaryworld.com/sblva.html

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Lived here forever ()
Date: August 04, 2014 02:35PM

Interesting Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Some photos of Storybook Land....
>
> http://theimaginaryworld.com/sblva.html

Near Mt. Vernon? I went there on a field trip in Kindergarten and it was just south of Woodbridge on Rt. 1.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Don DePoy ()
Date: February 23, 2015 12:38PM

My dad played at the saloon in 1960 - i think - Hope you might have some more pics- He played with Big Dave at the time== Don
Attachments:
CarlDePoy-OldVACity-1960-lo.jpg

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Roy jr ()
Date: January 05, 2016 02:04PM

Hello everyone, I know I'm late to the game but I'm very interested in old Virginia City. My dad, Leroy "Roy" Faircloth, passed three years ago and had tended bar and played a cowboy at the theme park. My grandmother, Maxine owned the property Hunter's lodge sat on and sold to the developer that built price club and HD. Love to see any additional pictures or find out if anyone may have known my dad or his parents. I also have a hutch front that my dad gave me. At the time he said it was from the theme park. If anyone might remember, I'll post a picture to see if it might be familiar, love to know more about it being that I've incorporated it into my home as a built in liquor cabinet. Donna, if you're still out there love to hear form you and see your pics. Thanks, Roy, jr.

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: NASCAR fan ()
Date: January 05, 2016 06:38PM

Scott Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> trangert418 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > WashingTone Locian Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > >>
> >
> > Isn't Midgetville located on Braddock Rd
> between
> > Clifton Rd & Union Mill Rd?
>
>
> No, it was on Cedar Lane in Vienna. Tore it down
> a few years ago and now they're starting to build
> these mega-mansions -- Wederburn Estates, I
> think.
>
> I remember the Super 29 Drive-in, and barely
> remember Virginia City.
>
> I remember going to Storybook Land.
>
> I remember the building collapse in Bailey's
> X-Roads in 1973 -- I know, I know, there is a
> thread on that somewhere on here.
>
> Didn't Bailey's X-roads have an airport also?


Anyone remember the oval race track in Hybla Valley?

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Pontiac 1 ()
Date: January 06, 2016 11:01PM

Back when families could safely go out and enjoy life.

Now all of northern Virginia has become a violent, 3rd world hell hole. O well

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: G ()
Date: January 06, 2016 11:44PM

Pontiac 1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Back when families could safely go out and enjoy
> life.
>
> Now all of northern Virginia has become a violent,
> 3rd world hell hole. O well


maybe you should move to DC where their draconian gun control and half-billion dollar police state of 3800 officers will keep you safe.

2015 murder tally:
D.C. - 162
P.G. County - 81
Baltimore - 344

Fairfax County, Arlington, Alexandria, Prince William, and Loudoun combined - 32

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: ggwr92b ()
Date: December 29, 2016 06:36PM

Westworld?

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Bankrupted? ()
Date: December 29, 2016 06:45PM

Speaking of theme parks and such stuff, whatever happened to Medievil World that was down on RT 3 a few miles south of Fredericksburg VA. It was back in the woods and had castles and buildings and shit all over the place. I drove by there a few weeks ago and it looks like it vanished?

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: google is your friend ()
Date: December 29, 2016 07:52PM

Bankrupted? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Speaking of theme parks and such stuff, whatever
> happened to Medievil World that was down on RT 3 a
> few miles south of Fredericksburg VA. It was back
> in the woods and had castles and buildings and
> shit all over the place. I drove by there a few
> weeks ago and it looks like it vanished?


http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/abandoned-virginia-renaissance-faire

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Joke Insurance ()
Date: March 01, 2017 04:10AM

NASCAR fan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Scott Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > trangert418 Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > WashingTone Locian Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > >>
> > >
> > > Isn't Midgetville located on Braddock Rd
> > between
> > > Clifton Rd & Union Mill Rd?
> >
> >
> > No, it was on Cedar Lane in Vienna. Tore it
> down
> > a few years ago and now they're starting to
> build
> > these mega-mansions -- Wederburn Estates, I
> > think.
> >
> > I remember the Super 29 Drive-in, and barely
> > remember Virginia City.
> >
> > I remember going to Storybook Land.
> >
> > I remember the building collapse in Bailey's
> > X-Roads in 1973 -- I know, I know, there is a
> > thread on that somewhere on here.
> >
> > Didn't Bailey's X-roads have an airport also?
>
>
> Anyone remember the oval race track in Hybla
> Valley?

Maybe your great grandparents will remember this horse track in Burke:

http://m.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2016/aug/04/mount-vernon-copperthite-race-track-receives-histo/?templates=mobile

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Tim Beasley ()
Date: April 29, 2020 04:31PM

Back in 1970, I had just moved into Vienna, VA for a short summer run, and remember a restaurant (like the roadside ones you'd now see on TV's "Diners, Dives and Drive-ins." I believe the place was called "Pig & Chicks," however, the first time I ever ate steamed crabs was there! Or, am I imaging the name or the place???

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Tim Beasley ()
Date: April 29, 2020 04:35PM

Hello! Was there ever a roadside restaurant-bar called "Pig & Chicks" anywhere close by???

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Re: WWestern theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Reblrousr ()
Date: May 02, 2020 06:04PM

Actually partners2 was further up 29 going towards Centreville. The Hunters Lodge was at the intersection of West Ox and 29. The Old Virginia City was on the opposite other corner of West Ox and 29. Behind Hunters Lodge was 29 drive in theater.

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: Social Circle aka Partners II ()
Date: May 02, 2020 08:38PM

Paynes , Janets Place , Hunters Lodge, Green Dolphin , Dixie Pig Bum . There were lots of Pigs and Chicks at these places DAJAX King Of Hobos

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Re: Western theme "park" on route 50 or 29 back in 60's
Posted by: ADAMANTMAN ()
Date: August 20, 2021 05:19PM

I remember Old Virginia City. I went once and saw a gunfight. The place was quite busy. I remember thinking how out of place the visitors looked all wearing present-day clothing. It was near SUPER 29 Drive-In. After the 'town' closed down, it became an empty lot. Everything was gone except the church. It stayed that way for years.

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