Growth in Northern VA 1984-2011: NASA satellite images (Arlington, Centreville: live, mall)

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by GustavoFring

I don't think people really had reason to cross over as frequently. Everyone who happened to live in NoVa at the time worked at the Pentagon or in DC itself. The days of MD and VA people crossing the river to get to other edge cities for work simply didn't exist. There were no edge cities, the only jobs that existed were direct federal employment or blue collar support industries (contracting didn't exist until the 1970s when Nixon created it to "shrink" the federal government, ha!).

Yes, when you drive around outside the beltway how many things do you see that were built before the 60s? I can't think of many.

[car54]

[quote=snowdenscold;25056553]Sorry, to clarify - I was thinking about Montgomery County.
In that case, I can't imagine they'd go way out of their way to the bottom of 14th street instead of the Chain Bridge, right?

Yeah, the GWP was there so they might have crossed Key or Memorial Bridges....or I suppose Chain, it depended on where you were going. As a kid, riding with the folks we seldom if ever used Chain Bridge.

Somebody mentioned those "temporary" War Dept buildings on the Mall. I'm 61 and I remember seeing them...so I don't think they were demolished until the late 50's or early 60's....way after the Pentagon was completed in '43.


EDIT: Yikes, no wonder I remember the temporary "Munitions Buildings" on the Mall....they weren't demolished until 1970! I was driving a car from 1967 on...LOL.

[car54]

Originally Posted by GustavoFring

...Really cool to see the major roads being built. The beltway was being constructed in 62 in these images, Tysons Corner didn't even exist, they were just carving out interchanges for 123 & 7...

Tyson's Corner goes back to the Civil War. 123 & 7 WAS Tyson's Corner. There was a country store/gas station there and that's about it. A relative had a farm near there and I remember going to that store for a grape Nehi and a Moon Pie....this is the late 50's.

[GustavoFring]

Yes, Tysons Corner was actually Tyson's Corner. It was a gas station on the intersection of two dirt roads. Tysons Corner (note there is no possessive in that name so a proper name is not implied) simply did not exist at that time.

As for the trips outside the geographic area of the beltway back then, nothing really existed, which makes things like the Original Herndon & Vienna special. They were originally country towns/homes for city workers looking to escape the cities. They had spur railroads that went out to them and are now only rail-trails and historic districts (ever been stopped by that damn bike trail on 123 through vienna, that was the spur to herndon for rich city folks). Thats the reason Vienna and Herndon are special in this area, they existed before the strip mall paradise that sprung up in the last 30 years.

I'm originally from Charlottesville, and I chuckle at anyone who talks down to me like I'm a country bumpkin because I'm from Cville. I like to point out that Charlottesville, as a city, existed 200 years before the target shopping center by which they define their hometown ever existed. The severe lack of history and cultural identity is what makes NoVa such a sterile, horrible place. That is why the few places that existed 100+ years ago should be celebrated and embraced (Herndon, the real falls church (Not Baileys crossroads), Alexandria City, Arlington, Vienna, Leesburg and not much else).

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by GustavoFring

Yes, Tysons Corner was actually Tyson's Corner. It was a gas station on the intersection of two dirt roads. Tysons Corner (note there is no possessive in that name so a proper name is not implied) simply did not exist at that time.

As for the trips outside the geographic area of the beltway back then, nothing really existed, which makes things like the Original Herndon & Vienna special. They were originally country towns/homes for city workers looking to escape the cities. They had spur railroads that went out to them and are now only rail-trails and historic districts (ever been stopped by that damn bike trail on 123 through vienna, that was the spur to herndon for rich city folks). Thats the reason Vienna and Herndon are special in this area, they existed before the strip mall paradise that sprung up in the last 30 years.

There are also some "unspecial" places that existed before the boom that began in the '60s. Like Route 1. There must have been something going on South of Old Town since the original Mount Vernon High went in in the '30s, which was when the Parkway down to George's place was built as well. There's at least one neighborhood down here in MV I can think of that was built as worker housing during WWII.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by GustavoFring

Yes, Tysons Corner was actually Tyson's Corner. It was a gas station on the intersection of two dirt roads. Tysons Corner (note there is no possessive in that name so a proper name is not implied) simply did not exist at that time.

Interesting post, and I agree with most of it. You are correct that the U.S. Board on Geographic Names discourages apostrophes. But the agency's own site admits they don't know the reason for this when the rule was instituted back in 1890! (Scroll down to question 18.)

It always bugs me, because it's profoundly wrong and contributes to people's apostrophical* ignorance. Tysons Corner was, as you indicated, named after a guy named Tyson, who had the shop at that particular corner. Thus it should be Tyson's Corner. I recall that when I lived in Atlanta, "East Paces Ferry Road" sounded odd--until I realized it was supposed to be "East Pace's Ferry"--a road named after a ferry run by a guy named Pace.

Had the Board followed its own rule of dropping the "s" as well as the apostrophe, that would've made more sense, in that keeping the "s" makes it look like the name is instead a plural noun. E.g., "White's Ferry" is a lot different from "Whites Ferry."

Sorry for the threadjack!

[car54]

Looks like before William Tyson bought the land, the area was called Peach Grove.

Should we change it back to Peach Grove, or is that too Georgia-y?

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by car54

Looks like before William Tyson bought the land, the area was called Peach Grove.

Should we change it back to Peach Grove, or is that too Georgia-y?

Make it Peach's Grove! After the original landholder, Wm. Whitworth Peach, Esq.

Just kidding.

I think of Tyson's chicken when I think of Tysons, so I think Peach Grove would be an improvement--though obviously incongruous with the current character of that locale!

[VAFan]

Originally Posted by GustavoFring

I'm originally from Charlottesville, and I chuckle at anyone who talks down to me like I'm a country bumpkin because I'm from Cville. I like to point out that Charlottesville, as a city, existed 200 years before the target shopping center by which they define their hometown ever existed. The severe lack of history and cultural identity is what makes NoVa such a sterile, horrible place. That is why the few places that existed 100+ years ago should be celebrated and embraced (Herndon, the real falls church (Not Baileys crossroads), Alexandria City, Arlington, Vienna, Leesburg and not much else).

I think my many generations of family in Fairfax City/Fairfax would be upset they we were not included in your list.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

Make it Peach's Grove! After the original landholder, Wm. Whitworth Peach, Esq.

Just kidding.

I think of Tyson's chicken when I think of Tysons, so I think Peach Grove would be an improvement--though obviously incongruous with the current character of that locale!

I think of Mike.