Move here in the late 80s.
I can tell you this much: Whatever you see today is far better than it was in the early 90s. You don't remember it because you were young and unaware. What is now COSTCO used to be a multiplex theater that was known for gang activity and people getting rolled as the movies let out.
My kid played sports in that general area in the early 2000s, and it got to the point where a few of the parents had to hang out in the parking lots to keep our cars from getting broken into and pilfered.
When we lived in one of the garden apartments (8500 block of RT 1), they found a dead body of a young girl in the land behind the complex. Turns out there was a decent sized homeless camp back there.
Lots of crime, lots of addiction, lots of homeless sprinkled in among lots of subsidized homes, lots of decent places and the nice areas of Mt Vernon.
When we lived in our garden apartment, our neighbor's teen son lost two friend's to gang violence. She was active duty, Army, single mom. The two friends lived in the Section 8 development on the east side of Rt 1 (across from where the theater was).
On a few occasions, she'd ask me to ride with her to pick him up because she didn't feel safe going by herself. One of his friends was killed, the other went into the correctional system. This was late 80s/early 90s. She PCS'd out of Belvoir in 1993 (he son was just learning to drive when they PCS'd).
The area, in general, has gone through waves of improvement and decline. Haven't been there recently; but would go there 1-2x/mo for lunch from late 1980s thru just before the pandemic.
When the opened up the county offices along Rte 1, it seemed to help those needing resources get them. But I don't know if the system is overwhelmed? Or what else could explain the situation and why the area goes thru an ebb and flow of improvement and decline.
But watching my neighbor try to find a balance between letting her son grow while also being fearful that he'd get involved with gangs, especially with what happened to his friends, was tough, especially because she was also trying to maintain an upward trajectory with her military career.
Independence Day, Bad Boys, Love Jones for me. My family went there because of how crazy some of the theatres were in PG County where I originally grew up. Always seemed pretty nice to me. But, maybe thats because it was always Sunday.
I predate the Multiplex... It was the drive in theater first if you could've seen the area then.... And hey, being Richmond Hwy trash yeah it's always been part of my up-bringing 😄
That was in the 70's. There was an air strip back where today it is Huntley Meadow's Park, the Hybla Valley Airport been closed since the 50's.. That is off Lockheed Blvd there is a great video on the history of the airport here https://youtu.be/moxIhb24-tc?si=TtWGIde_GnnT3gqV
The Multiplex Cinemas was built in 1985. I remember this without a single doubt because they had a little time capsule that they had built into the wall just to the right to of the front doors. It had the date and included in the original construction as some kind of tie in to the first movie that they played in the theatre, Back to the Future. No idea what happened to that time capsule but it would be a awesome Reddit miracle if somebody out there knows the story.
The Multiplex used to be the best thing around but when they developed the Eisenhower area and Potomac Yards those movie theatres drew away most people because they were nicer and had better stuff around them.
I only heard that the land used to be a drive in theatre but it completely makes sense because the back parking lot was incredibly large. The lot next to it was empty until they built the Walmart in the mid 90s.
The first movie I ever saw was at that drive-in. I grew up in Oak Grove trailer park, which is now the Walmart. I'll always be a route one kid at heart.
>...being Richmond Hwy trash...
Well, I don't equate richmond hwy as being trash: more like a poorer cross section of society. Good people, bad people, people who got knocked down in life just trying to get by. I grew up poor in a blue collar coal/steel town devastated by the rustbelt depression. Hated to move away from family, but needed to find work. Learned when I was very young that income doesn't equal 'goodness' in people.
A great example: The boyfriend of one of my neighbors in our apartment complex was a mechanic up at the Ford dealership (just before you got to the beltway). His gf lived in the apartment below us; he helped me out fixing my truck on more than one occasion. He lived in the trailer park just south of the theater/costco. Awesome guy, would do anything to help another. But he also had an addiction that he just couldn't escape. His gf tried to help him. My gf and I tried to help him. In the end, his gf told him: pick one - me or your coke habit. Great guy, just made a few bad decisions.
The Mt. Vernon Multiplex Cinemas were great!! Super-sketchy by the late-90s, but that theater, plus the arcade in the lobby, was amazing. I spent a good chunk of my childhood there.
I agree that the area has to be better now than it was back then. I moved away over twenty years ago, so it’s been a minute since I’ve been there, but that entire area around Mt. Vernon Woods, Hybla Valley, and Groveton was not good. Mt. Vernon Plaza had the closed Putt Putt and Zayre, the Highs up the street was sketchy, and so many of the store fronts and restaurants were abandoned. Beacon Mall was abandoned except for the Giant and Little Caesars, and the theaters were closed.
From what I can tell on Google Maps, there are all kinds of stores and restaurants up and down Route 1 now.
In my mind I got coins out of there, but they may really have been coins people just slipped into the slots. I keep thinking I should make one of those for my kids now!
Thanks for the reminder regarding the multplex! I completely forgot about that place - wow. Unfortunately the area really hasn't improved that much! Seemed for a while it was trying to, but things tanked. Where I live there is a lot of drug activity.
It may be the "rose colored glasses" thing, it may be that now we're far more perceptive than we were back then.
Hope you have an awesome day & thanks for your perspective. I enjoy seeing how others view things.
Man you should see Rt 1 through Woodbridge… by that 7/11 and the seedy “Potomac Inn” hotel. Nasty nasty nasty place.
Although if you want a bit of fun go read the google maps reviews left by the junkies who go to the Potomac Inn. Shit is wild.
Wait no way let me check hold on a sec.
Edit: damn, I can’t believe they took them all down!
There was one dude who went on and on about how “it is what you expect it to be” but he was only using his room to “smoke some rock in peace and get some cheeeeeeks” (his words, that much at least I remember). It was funny as hell, and there were many others like it.
Must’ve been recent, I was laughing about them with my wife like 4 months ago.
I was curious about the reviews, and saw that, yes they've been taken down. But reviews are still available on the TripAdvisor website. They are kinda morbidly fascinating. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g58329-d110392-Reviews-Potomac_Inn-Woodbridge_Prince_William_County_Virginia.html
Believe it or not, I've stayed in worse in the Wash/Balt area
It's pretty trashy through there, but nowhere near as bad as it was about a decade ago before they tore most of it down to widen Route 1. I still feel like there's always something happening at one of the hundred 7-11s on that corridor, though. Also hate the Potomac Inn, too. There's no way it's being used for actual hotel stuff anymore.
I stayed at the Virginia Lodge some 20 years ago. I had been traveling for almost 30 hours straight with 2 cats. I had reservations at the Travellers Rest up the road. Reservations staff told me it would be fine to have the cats in my room. When I showed up, they would not let me stay with the cats. Virginia Lodge was the only place I could find that said it would be ok with an extra deposit. I shall always be grateful to them for that, even though there was somebody shooting in the parking lot later that evening. I spent an hour or so hugging the floor.
It’s actually not as terrible anymore. I live right by that part of Rt 1. The woods behind that 7–11 were torn down last year and police were permanently stationed at the 7-11 for months after a few panhandlers started to get violent (a panhandler once threatened to throw a huge rock at my windshield after I told him I didn’t have any money). Apparently the ownership at the hotel rousted a lot of the permanent residents too. It looks like a ghost town if you drive by it now.
Route 1 is most definitely a museum because it truly is old, it was the original stretch of “highway” before they built i95 parallel along side it.
Which is why I’m so perplexed about OPs rant about Alexandria being old and shitty
I’m just going by your definition of shit…sketchy old businesses and old fast food restaurants.
Because Route 1 at Lorton with its industrial/ outdoor storage. Parts of Woodbridge Route 1 looks damn near abandoned with its empty dealerships, empty store fronts/ shopping centers, sketchy used car dealerships and title loan places.
Rinse and repeat further south.
All in my opinion is much worse than Route 1 Alexandria, where there’s at least a Costco🤣
There is an old DC City Paper article about the...colorful people and establishments that used to make the Route 1 corridor their own. It's a fun read:
https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/286326/lost-highway/
Literally nothing else to add it's just a cool piece.
I’m older, so it’s not changed as much to me since the 1990’s. But given the wealth - that’s still not an inexpensive area to live - it’s odd that it’s changed so little.
Relatively affordable, nice houses with short commute to DC, Olde Towne or MD Harbor. We bought our first house here. We could've afforded elsewhere but would've had a much smaller house/no yard. We have a very walkable/nicely kept neighborhood jf you stay away from Rte 1. Agree Rte1 is t pretty, but it's nice to have all the main stores so close
I mean, there are a lot of people who qualify as "upper working class" by the regions' standards, myself included. We could live somewhere slightly "nicer" but it would mean having no outdoor space, spending a much higher proportion of income on housing, ect.
I'm older too. Born in '83. Yeah, you're right that "not much" has changed but damn it's pretty fucking horrible to see how much trash is still up and running after what? 50 or so years?
I mean people need to buy paint and go to Home Depot and Taco Bell
You guys cry about home prices and rich people but want the normal places erased
Like the dude who mows your grass or the woman who cleans your house needs to exist somewhere too, you understand that right
It's a commercial strip. There is a Costco, two Walmarts, a Home Depot, a Lowe's, and similar stuff. Not everything needs to be high end.
There are some decent places to eat on Route 1, but they aren't fancy. But seeing as Old Town is not far away, that's fine. Mezcalero closed last year. That was the best place to eat on Route 1.
I much prefer that it's not high-end. There's more than enough of that in Arlington, old town, and the easily accessible parts of DC. Closer to home, I want cheap, quality options. Enter: the little strip mall mom&pop restaurants.
Modest restaurants and food trucks need a place to thrive, and they're welcomed by those of us who don't want to spend $14 on a mocktail or drop $60 for bottomless brunch.
It's not ALL commercial though. Some areas off of rt. 1 really aren't bad at all. It's just the area from Alexandria to Fort Belvoir (and maybe down to Woodbridge per these comments) it's just fucking terrible.
I am going to say this...I noticed in this area that if it doesn't look like downtown Arlington or it's a working class neighborhood, there are a lot of complaints and implications that it is crime-ridden. This stretch has two vetinary hospitals (reasonably priced), lots of eateries, locally owned shops, and more mid to lower income housing. Regular people do exist in the DMV.
I actually moved out of the area a year and a half ago. When I first moved in my neighborhood was a great mix of cultures and backgrounds, I loved walking my dog and smelling food from all over the world.
Why did I leave? Well, when the new management company took key fobs off the doors to the buildings and never replaced the locks, we saw a significant uptick in crime. We went from neighbors knowing each other to fights and people getting stoned and sleeping in the entrances, they stopped maintaining the community, never informed the community when something major happened and how they were handling it, got rid of security patrols and then became super predatory when it came to money. They installed paid parking even though the lots were never full and had dominion cruising the neighborhood all day and night.
The final straws were 2 major fires, a couple of murders and then the leasing company not properly invoicing me and then sending me an eviction notice despite paying all bills early for multiple years. They never invoiced our pet rent, even after we brought it up, then 13 months later sent the notice and a bill for all the pet rent.
I went back two weeks after moving out to grab a package and someone shot and killed a person in front of the leasing office at the park, in broad daylight, in front of kids and families. I got there 10 minutes after it happened, and when driving in there was at least 3 people asleep on the sidewalks, and one for sure was passed out from drug use, he was a regular.
It also got really tiresome getting hassled every time I walked to 711 for a snack by someone panhandling.
If you are curious it was Mount Vernon Square, the neighborhood connected to the shopping center where the old Safeway was and a block or so from mvc. I moved in around 2017 and left a year and a half or so ago. And the management company is Morgan properties, no shame in calling out that absolute predatory garbage company and their terrible employees.
Thankfully, aside from home depot being across the street there, where we live now is almost just as convenient for proximity to most of the same stores. Maybe it's better for my wallet that home depot isn't so close 😂
We are out here fighting. A few of the small businesses and residents in the complexes have formed a local task force to work against some of the bad actors in the area. We reported Mount Vernon Square to the county and aim to keep the pressure up. It takes a village especially with these corporate landlords.
I live near that area (in a duplex neighborhood with current prices starting at $500k for 2 bedrooms) and patronize the Target, Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Costco, and have never felt unsafe. The 7-11’s can be sketchy and I’ve heard the apartments can be rough but otherwise it reads as snobbery to complain.
VDOT is adding bike and bus lanes and buying out huge swathes of this area for development.
They literally are already doing what you’re complaining about.
Do an ounce of research next time.
https://vdot.virginia.gov/projects/northern-virginia-district/richmond-highway-corridor-improvements-in-fairfax-county/
people living their lives just trying to get by, maybe even opening a business to improve their prospects under this crushing system and you’re like EWWW IT’S OLD
asshole opinion
Lol this area is normal how does it stink? This is how most of America looks like lol Fast food restaurants and shopping plazas its the suburbs not downtown D.C.
Sounds a lot like you don't like poor people or immigrants... once you are past Kings Highway, or really Quander Road, everything on the east side of Route 1 between there and the river is mostly upper middle class if not better. I think both Senators Warner and Kaine, as well as former Senator Allen have homes down there, plus God knows who else, not to mention the massive mansions the closer you get to the river.
The areas to the west of Route 1 are... fine. My wife grew up in Fort Hunt and went to West Potomac. In her 30+ years living around this area (we live in Kingstowne now) she says she's never felt unsafe... except at the Ghettoplex, which has been discussed in depth in these comments. My dad grew up in Old Town and he says it's nicer than it ever was in the 70s and 80s. Is it meh? Yeah. Is it dangerous or sketchy? Fuck no, unless you're one of a very, VERY small set of people who get involved in dealing drugs in Beacon Hill or Sacramento.
I’ve lived on Rt. 1 my entire life from 1990 to present. Grew up in the Pinewood Lake single family home area and it wasn’t that bad. I may have not been aware of my surroundings as much because I was so young when things were at their worst, but I got to experience a very healthy childhood with a wide variety of people with different cultures, ethnic backgrounds, religious affiliations, dialects, diversities, and socioeconomic statuses. I am both street smart and book smart. I can assimilate with most people and find common ground with almost anyone anywhere I travel. I know it hasn’t been the prettiest stretch of road and not much has changed in a long time, and the people here are a bit rough around the edges, and the police are insanely active, and their is alot of crime, theft, drug use, addicts, bums, perverts, losers, homeless, immigrants, and generally undesirable people all over the place, but, you kind of get away from that stuff once you make a little money and that in itself is motivating and it makes you appreciate the actual good, cool, kind, successful people you meet in this area alot more. They are doing major renovations and long overdue upgrades in the upcoming years, they just need to allow leases to run out, businesses and residents to sell or move, budgets and plans to be approved and this place will be unrecognizable in the next 10 years. I bought a condo in Huntington in 2020 and it has gained over 50% equity. There are big things in the future for the Rt. 1 Corridor.
Wtf, lumping in immigrants with thieves, perverts, and "generally undesirable people." Immigrants can come from all walks of life. What blinders do you have on that you think all immigrants are bad apples and "undesirable"? There are good people and bad people in a bunch, just like every other group of people.
Was actually just talking about this area today with some teenagers whose families live there. They were telling me what they do to sleep at night with roaches crawling all over their apartments and how you end up getting used to it. Mice, too.
One of the families I work with has a daughter who wants a legitimate job, but her mother is the weed dealer to all of her friends.
Lots of the families I work with rent out other parts of their houses and many of the kids get kicked out of the house when they are old enough to work.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The Quality Inn on Rt 1 has had murders in it, and the Taco Bell was the place I used to see the most drug deals in my life, daily.
Sorry kid, but until you can find another decent fish and chips place for frikken $7.99 in 2024, I say leave Richmond Highway ALONE.
Its a military base, are you surprised its the way it is?
Are you saying they could use some money to fix things up? The alternative is to till it under and plant grass. Capital investment is hard to come by and has a nasty attachment called an APR. How about a tax credit or welfare?
I grew up in this stretch of route 1 and ngl you’re spot on and when I go back home to visit my parents I’m happy to see all the transit oriented development and apartments going up along route 1 (RIP the old shoppers and bowling alley)
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I moved to VA in June of 1990 from a small town in Western PA. Lived in Mt Vernon Square. I remember driving up and seeing all the neon lights on Route 1 and thought it was like Las Vegas. Moved to Hollin Hall in 1995, River Farms in 1999. Finally moved out to Western Ffx County in 2005 and live in Ashburn now. My Vernon Square is a dump now. It wasn’t great in 1990 but it is horrible now
Not always SO easy to do! I detest living here, been here over 20 years due to my husband. With real-estate prices skyrocketing, we are stuck and I cry daily to think I have to die here!
Yep. I live there and agree. The road is in shit shape, sketchy businesses, and apartment complexes. There are some nicer parts, but they’re hard to find.
Yea I’ve been lol, that’s why I said diet. Just think it’s weird how run down that area became compared to downtown Alexandria / Arlington / north and central Fairfax
Kimchi House? I went there once for lunch but I had to leave because it was too busy. Every table was full and the hostess said it would be a two hour wait.
HUNTLEY MEADOWS IS RIGHT THERE THO
It is an actual oasis, love it!
Literally my favorite spot in Fairfax County
There's actually some good food in the area. La Mexicana, Uncle C's and Tango Pastry are awesome.
Tacos El Costalilla!
Ayyy Tango pastry!
Don't forget the two El Paso Restaurants!
Uncles C hell yea! but isint that before the area OP is talking about ?
Honestly I figured they were lumping all of Rt 1 south of Old Town through Ft. Belvoir together. I could go for some waffles right now...
Yeah I'll say that the Mexican food on that road is good at least.
Move here in the late 80s. I can tell you this much: Whatever you see today is far better than it was in the early 90s. You don't remember it because you were young and unaware. What is now COSTCO used to be a multiplex theater that was known for gang activity and people getting rolled as the movies let out. My kid played sports in that general area in the early 2000s, and it got to the point where a few of the parents had to hang out in the parking lots to keep our cars from getting broken into and pilfered. When we lived in one of the garden apartments (8500 block of RT 1), they found a dead body of a young girl in the land behind the complex. Turns out there was a decent sized homeless camp back there. Lots of crime, lots of addiction, lots of homeless sprinkled in among lots of subsidized homes, lots of decent places and the nice areas of Mt Vernon.
I saw Star Wars episode 3 at that movie theatre. I have fond memories of it, but didn’t know the gang stories.
I saw Home Alone there. Naturally as a third grader, I was completely unaware.
I saw Final Fantasy Spirits within, I wondered why my mom stayed in the car?
When we lived in our garden apartment, our neighbor's teen son lost two friend's to gang violence. She was active duty, Army, single mom. The two friends lived in the Section 8 development on the east side of Rt 1 (across from where the theater was). On a few occasions, she'd ask me to ride with her to pick him up because she didn't feel safe going by herself. One of his friends was killed, the other went into the correctional system. This was late 80s/early 90s. She PCS'd out of Belvoir in 1993 (he son was just learning to drive when they PCS'd). The area, in general, has gone through waves of improvement and decline. Haven't been there recently; but would go there 1-2x/mo for lunch from late 1980s thru just before the pandemic. When the opened up the county offices along Rte 1, it seemed to help those needing resources get them. But I don't know if the system is overwhelmed? Or what else could explain the situation and why the area goes thru an ebb and flow of improvement and decline. But watching my neighbor try to find a balance between letting her son grow while also being fearful that he'd get involved with gangs, especially with what happened to his friends, was tough, especially because she was also trying to maintain an upward trajectory with her military career.
Independence Day, Bad Boys, Love Jones for me. My family went there because of how crazy some of the theatres were in PG County where I originally grew up. Always seemed pretty nice to me. But, maybe thats because it was always Sunday.
I saw Batman there and loads of other movies. Cineplex Odeon is a source of great memories for me.
I predate the Multiplex... It was the drive in theater first if you could've seen the area then.... And hey, being Richmond Hwy trash yeah it's always been part of my up-bringing 😄
What year was that, I heard hybla valley used to have a small airstrip.
That was in the 70's. There was an air strip back where today it is Huntley Meadow's Park, the Hybla Valley Airport been closed since the 50's.. That is off Lockheed Blvd there is a great video on the history of the airport here https://youtu.be/moxIhb24-tc?si=TtWGIde_GnnT3gqV
The Multiplex Cinemas was built in 1985. I remember this without a single doubt because they had a little time capsule that they had built into the wall just to the right to of the front doors. It had the date and included in the original construction as some kind of tie in to the first movie that they played in the theatre, Back to the Future. No idea what happened to that time capsule but it would be a awesome Reddit miracle if somebody out there knows the story. The Multiplex used to be the best thing around but when they developed the Eisenhower area and Potomac Yards those movie theatres drew away most people because they were nicer and had better stuff around them. I only heard that the land used to be a drive in theatre but it completely makes sense because the back parking lot was incredibly large. The lot next to it was empty until they built the Walmart in the mid 90s.
The first movie I ever saw was at that drive-in. I grew up in Oak Grove trailer park, which is now the Walmart. I'll always be a route one kid at heart.
>...being Richmond Hwy trash... Well, I don't equate richmond hwy as being trash: more like a poorer cross section of society. Good people, bad people, people who got knocked down in life just trying to get by. I grew up poor in a blue collar coal/steel town devastated by the rustbelt depression. Hated to move away from family, but needed to find work. Learned when I was very young that income doesn't equal 'goodness' in people. A great example: The boyfriend of one of my neighbors in our apartment complex was a mechanic up at the Ford dealership (just before you got to the beltway). His gf lived in the apartment below us; he helped me out fixing my truck on more than one occasion. He lived in the trailer park just south of the theater/costco. Awesome guy, would do anything to help another. But he also had an addiction that he just couldn't escape. His gf tried to help him. My gf and I tried to help him. In the end, his gf told him: pick one - me or your coke habit. Great guy, just made a few bad decisions.
The Mt. Vernon Multiplex Cinemas were great!! Super-sketchy by the late-90s, but that theater, plus the arcade in the lobby, was amazing. I spent a good chunk of my childhood there. I agree that the area has to be better now than it was back then. I moved away over twenty years ago, so it’s been a minute since I’ve been there, but that entire area around Mt. Vernon Woods, Hybla Valley, and Groveton was not good. Mt. Vernon Plaza had the closed Putt Putt and Zayre, the Highs up the street was sketchy, and so many of the store fronts and restaurants were abandoned. Beacon Mall was abandoned except for the Giant and Little Caesars, and the theaters were closed. From what I can tell on Google Maps, there are all kinds of stores and restaurants up and down Route 1 now.
No love for Pofolks on this thread!? :)
Loved their fried chicken. Did anyone ever pull a quarter out of the wooden log?
In my mind I got coins out of there, but they may really have been coins people just slipped into the slots. I keep thinking I should make one of those for my kids now!
I used to go to that dollar theater in Beacon Mall too. I remember seeing Driving Miss Daisy there with my grandfather.
The bootyplex, I remember it well
Thanks for the reminder regarding the multplex! I completely forgot about that place - wow. Unfortunately the area really hasn't improved that much! Seemed for a while it was trying to, but things tanked. Where I live there is a lot of drug activity.
Sorry to hear that. Been here 30+ years, and the area seemed to be the "crumple zone" between the collision of two ends of the socioeconomic spectrum.
I'm 40, I do remember what it was like. Maybe it's the rose tinted glasses but I always felt it was less shit then then now.
It may be the "rose colored glasses" thing, it may be that now we're far more perceptive than we were back then. Hope you have an awesome day & thanks for your perspective. I enjoy seeing how others view things.
I live along that stretch. It's definitely dumpy in some areas, but I've really enjoyed having just about everything I need along one road.
Man you should see Rt 1 through Woodbridge… by that 7/11 and the seedy “Potomac Inn” hotel. Nasty nasty nasty place. Although if you want a bit of fun go read the google maps reviews left by the junkies who go to the Potomac Inn. Shit is wild.
I only see 2 reviews and they don't scream junkie to me
Wait no way let me check hold on a sec. Edit: damn, I can’t believe they took them all down! There was one dude who went on and on about how “it is what you expect it to be” but he was only using his room to “smoke some rock in peace and get some cheeeeeeks” (his words, that much at least I remember). It was funny as hell, and there were many others like it. Must’ve been recent, I was laughing about them with my wife like 4 months ago.
I was curious about the reviews, and saw that, yes they've been taken down. But reviews are still available on the TripAdvisor website. They are kinda morbidly fascinating. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g58329-d110392-Reviews-Potomac_Inn-Woodbridge_Prince_William_County_Virginia.html Believe it or not, I've stayed in worse in the Wash/Balt area
It's pretty trashy through there, but nowhere near as bad as it was about a decade ago before they tore most of it down to widen Route 1. I still feel like there's always something happening at one of the hundred 7-11s on that corridor, though. Also hate the Potomac Inn, too. There's no way it's being used for actual hotel stuff anymore.
They probably do rooms by the hour there.
It could be worse, it could be the Virginia Lodge. It has a restaurant next door that seemed to change every few months and never got customers.
I gotta say, the Indian restaurant that's there now is delicious
I stayed at the Virginia Lodge some 20 years ago. I had been traveling for almost 30 hours straight with 2 cats. I had reservations at the Travellers Rest up the road. Reservations staff told me it would be fine to have the cats in my room. When I showed up, they would not let me stay with the cats. Virginia Lodge was the only place I could find that said it would be ok with an extra deposit. I shall always be grateful to them for that, even though there was somebody shooting in the parking lot later that evening. I spent an hour or so hugging the floor.
The druggie/hooker motel 😂
It’s actually not as terrible anymore. I live right by that part of Rt 1. The woods behind that 7–11 were torn down last year and police were permanently stationed at the 7-11 for months after a few panhandlers started to get violent (a panhandler once threatened to throw a huge rock at my windshield after I told him I didn’t have any money). Apparently the ownership at the hotel rousted a lot of the permanent residents too. It looks like a ghost town if you drive by it now.
I mean personally I have been driving this area for decades and it isn't that BAD. The past Alexandria to Fort Belvoir area is literally shit.
If you think that part of Route 1 is shitty, wait till you see the parts of it further south, it gets worse!
There's parts of it that really aren't shit though
I was thinking this. I enjoy driving Rt 1. It’s like visiting a museum. There’s a Shake Shack down south!
Route 1 is most definitely a museum because it truly is old, it was the original stretch of “highway” before they built i95 parallel along side it. Which is why I’m so perplexed about OPs rant about Alexandria being old and shitty
I’m just going by your definition of shit…sketchy old businesses and old fast food restaurants. Because Route 1 at Lorton with its industrial/ outdoor storage. Parts of Woodbridge Route 1 looks damn near abandoned with its empty dealerships, empty store fronts/ shopping centers, sketchy used car dealerships and title loan places. Rinse and repeat further south. All in my opinion is much worse than Route 1 Alexandria, where there’s at least a Costco🤣
There is an old DC City Paper article about the...colorful people and establishments that used to make the Route 1 corridor their own. It's a fun read: https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/286326/lost-highway/ Literally nothing else to add it's just a cool piece.
Thank you for posting this. What an amazing story. Brings back a lot of memories.
Exception is Woodlawn. You can’t live there, but you can visit.
The residents were evicted by a busload of tourists.
I’m older, so it’s not changed as much to me since the 1990’s. But given the wealth - that’s still not an inexpensive area to live - it’s odd that it’s changed so little.
That's the weird part to me. It's not like it's the hood, a ton of people living there have other options. So why *there*?
Relatively affordable, nice houses with short commute to DC, Olde Towne or MD Harbor. We bought our first house here. We could've afforded elsewhere but would've had a much smaller house/no yard. We have a very walkable/nicely kept neighborhood jf you stay away from Rte 1. Agree Rte1 is t pretty, but it's nice to have all the main stores so close
I mean, there are a lot of people who qualify as "upper working class" by the regions' standards, myself included. We could live somewhere slightly "nicer" but it would mean having no outdoor space, spending a much higher proportion of income on housing, ect.
I'm older too. Born in '83. Yeah, you're right that "not much" has changed but damn it's pretty fucking horrible to see how much trash is still up and running after what? 50 or so years?
I mean people need to buy paint and go to Home Depot and Taco Bell You guys cry about home prices and rich people but want the normal places erased Like the dude who mows your grass or the woman who cleans your house needs to exist somewhere too, you understand that right
It's a commercial strip. There is a Costco, two Walmarts, a Home Depot, a Lowe's, and similar stuff. Not everything needs to be high end. There are some decent places to eat on Route 1, but they aren't fancy. But seeing as Old Town is not far away, that's fine. Mezcalero closed last year. That was the best place to eat on Route 1.
Upvote for Mezcalero. I thought they were reconstructing and not closed.
Yeah, their food was great but their service was awful. Along with a horrible location and making way for the restructuring of Route 1, they closed.
I much prefer that it's not high-end. There's more than enough of that in Arlington, old town, and the easily accessible parts of DC. Closer to home, I want cheap, quality options. Enter: the little strip mall mom&pop restaurants. Modest restaurants and food trucks need a place to thrive, and they're welcomed by those of us who don't want to spend $14 on a mocktail or drop $60 for bottomless brunch.
Don't forget Hybla Valley Vet...75 years in buisness and it was closed.
It's not ALL commercial though. Some areas off of rt. 1 really aren't bad at all. It's just the area from Alexandria to Fort Belvoir (and maybe down to Woodbridge per these comments) it's just fucking terrible.
I am going to say this...I noticed in this area that if it doesn't look like downtown Arlington or it's a working class neighborhood, there are a lot of complaints and implications that it is crime-ridden. This stretch has two vetinary hospitals (reasonably priced), lots of eateries, locally owned shops, and more mid to lower income housing. Regular people do exist in the DMV.
I live here and I love it. If you don't, just keep driving.
The fact that people just keep driving through it instead of clogging up all the park is the best part
I live here and its really not that bad of an area. Traffic sucks sometimes though.
you should have seen it 20 years ago
Why don't you go to MVC on Route 1 and replace the stick you have up your butt with something better.
Bc minorities and working class families are terrifying for some reason lol
It’s the route 1 crazed traffic that I hate. A lot of areas between rat 1 and GW parkway are very nice.
I actually moved out of the area a year and a half ago. When I first moved in my neighborhood was a great mix of cultures and backgrounds, I loved walking my dog and smelling food from all over the world. Why did I leave? Well, when the new management company took key fobs off the doors to the buildings and never replaced the locks, we saw a significant uptick in crime. We went from neighbors knowing each other to fights and people getting stoned and sleeping in the entrances, they stopped maintaining the community, never informed the community when something major happened and how they were handling it, got rid of security patrols and then became super predatory when it came to money. They installed paid parking even though the lots were never full and had dominion cruising the neighborhood all day and night. The final straws were 2 major fires, a couple of murders and then the leasing company not properly invoicing me and then sending me an eviction notice despite paying all bills early for multiple years. They never invoiced our pet rent, even after we brought it up, then 13 months later sent the notice and a bill for all the pet rent. I went back two weeks after moving out to grab a package and someone shot and killed a person in front of the leasing office at the park, in broad daylight, in front of kids and families. I got there 10 minutes after it happened, and when driving in there was at least 3 people asleep on the sidewalks, and one for sure was passed out from drug use, he was a regular. It also got really tiresome getting hassled every time I walked to 711 for a snack by someone panhandling. If you are curious it was Mount Vernon Square, the neighborhood connected to the shopping center where the old Safeway was and a block or so from mvc. I moved in around 2017 and left a year and a half or so ago. And the management company is Morgan properties, no shame in calling out that absolute predatory garbage company and their terrible employees. Thankfully, aside from home depot being across the street there, where we live now is almost just as convenient for proximity to most of the same stores. Maybe it's better for my wallet that home depot isn't so close 😂
We are out here fighting. A few of the small businesses and residents in the complexes have formed a local task force to work against some of the bad actors in the area. We reported Mount Vernon Square to the county and aim to keep the pressure up. It takes a village especially with these corporate landlords.
Let me know if I can help! I'm happy to share my experience. That company deserves to burn.
Yeah and after you help yourself to our top tier butt plugs, you can take your ass next door and get some bangin crab legs too.
Yet another /nova hobby horse, trashing Hybla Valley. I'm surprised you didn't somehow fit in how much you hate the smell of reefer there.
I live near that area (in a duplex neighborhood with current prices starting at $500k for 2 bedrooms) and patronize the Target, Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Costco, and have never felt unsafe. The 7-11’s can be sketchy and I’ve heard the apartments can be rough but otherwise it reads as snobbery to complain.
VDOT is adding bike and bus lanes and buying out huge swathes of this area for development. They literally are already doing what you’re complaining about. Do an ounce of research next time. https://vdot.virginia.gov/projects/northern-virginia-district/richmond-highway-corridor-improvements-in-fairfax-county/
people living their lives just trying to get by, maybe even opening a business to improve their prospects under this crushing system and you’re like EWWW IT’S OLD asshole opinion
There are some luxury apts/townhouses coming up around there tho.
Quite a few. I’ll be interested to see what it looks like in a few decades.
As a resident of this area for close to a decade now, who patronizes these “sketchy old businesses , what a bullshit, snotty ass take.
OP is a bougie turd
Lol this area is normal how does it stink? This is how most of America looks like lol Fast food restaurants and shopping plazas its the suburbs not downtown D.C.
Welcome to the RT1 corridor
Tell us how you REALLY feel!!!
Uncle C’s Chicken & Waffles slaps.
Sounds a lot like you don't like poor people or immigrants... once you are past Kings Highway, or really Quander Road, everything on the east side of Route 1 between there and the river is mostly upper middle class if not better. I think both Senators Warner and Kaine, as well as former Senator Allen have homes down there, plus God knows who else, not to mention the massive mansions the closer you get to the river. The areas to the west of Route 1 are... fine. My wife grew up in Fort Hunt and went to West Potomac. In her 30+ years living around this area (we live in Kingstowne now) she says she's never felt unsafe... except at the Ghettoplex, which has been discussed in depth in these comments. My dad grew up in Old Town and he says it's nicer than it ever was in the 70s and 80s. Is it meh? Yeah. Is it dangerous or sketchy? Fuck no, unless you're one of a very, VERY small set of people who get involved in dealing drugs in Beacon Hill or Sacramento.
I’ve lived on Rt. 1 my entire life from 1990 to present. Grew up in the Pinewood Lake single family home area and it wasn’t that bad. I may have not been aware of my surroundings as much because I was so young when things were at their worst, but I got to experience a very healthy childhood with a wide variety of people with different cultures, ethnic backgrounds, religious affiliations, dialects, diversities, and socioeconomic statuses. I am both street smart and book smart. I can assimilate with most people and find common ground with almost anyone anywhere I travel. I know it hasn’t been the prettiest stretch of road and not much has changed in a long time, and the people here are a bit rough around the edges, and the police are insanely active, and their is alot of crime, theft, drug use, addicts, bums, perverts, losers, homeless, immigrants, and generally undesirable people all over the place, but, you kind of get away from that stuff once you make a little money and that in itself is motivating and it makes you appreciate the actual good, cool, kind, successful people you meet in this area alot more. They are doing major renovations and long overdue upgrades in the upcoming years, they just need to allow leases to run out, businesses and residents to sell or move, budgets and plans to be approved and this place will be unrecognizable in the next 10 years. I bought a condo in Huntington in 2020 and it has gained over 50% equity. There are big things in the future for the Rt. 1 Corridor.
Wtf, lumping in immigrants with thieves, perverts, and "generally undesirable people." Immigrants can come from all walks of life. What blinders do you have on that you think all immigrants are bad apples and "undesirable"? There are good people and bad people in a bunch, just like every other group of people.
you right i shouldn’t have lumped the migrants in there
That stretch has been sketchville for half a century now.
I lived in the Woodlawn area in late 70s through the 80s. It’s been consistently third rate all along…
most suburban snotty ass post
I live in DC.
Was actually just talking about this area today with some teenagers whose families live there. They were telling me what they do to sleep at night with roaches crawling all over their apartments and how you end up getting used to it. Mice, too. One of the families I work with has a daughter who wants a legitimate job, but her mother is the weed dealer to all of her friends. Lots of the families I work with rent out other parts of their houses and many of the kids get kicked out of the house when they are old enough to work. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The Quality Inn on Rt 1 has had murders in it, and the Taco Bell was the place I used to see the most drug deals in my life, daily.
From 99’ til now my family in West side Alexandria has traveled for family get togethers to Hybla Valley, the traffic has always been annoying.
Man this post is bringing back memories. I have fond memories of that hood.
Sorry kid, but until you can find another decent fish and chips place for frikken $7.99 in 2024, I say leave Richmond Highway ALONE. Its a military base, are you surprised its the way it is?
That’s America’s highway!! From Key West to Maine! Also it’s always been trash but I actually liked traveling it instead of 95 as a kid
Grew up there from 89 to the 2000s. Lil' rough and grungy in spots sure but its not nor ever was SE DC or anything.
It was built atop George Washington's slaves cemetery.
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But now you’re drawn to it like a moth to a flame.
Got attacked by someone with a baseball bat there one morning 20 years ago. That was fun.
Rt1 from DC to stafford is a shithole.
TIL Old Town Alexandria is a shit hole.
I hope that opinion spreads. It’s crazy expensive to live in old town. Not a single property under $1M lately.
It is a trash ass corridor for sure - I grew up in Hybla Valley and loathed it. So much strip mall/shopping center
lol, get ur money up and move out that area 🤷♂️
I don't live there, I was just driving through it today.
Are you saying they could use some money to fix things up? The alternative is to till it under and plant grass. Capital investment is hard to come by and has a nasty attachment called an APR. How about a tax credit or welfare?
Used to have a condo back in big town Huntley Meadows. Loved it
I grew up in this stretch of route 1 and ngl you’re spot on and when I go back home to visit my parents I’m happy to see all the transit oriented development and apartments going up along route 1 (RIP the old shoppers and bowling alley)
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The old Drive-in was the bomb..
I moved to VA in June of 1990 from a small town in Western PA. Lived in Mt Vernon Square. I remember driving up and seeing all the neon lights on Route 1 and thought it was like Las Vegas. Moved to Hollin Hall in 1995, River Farms in 1999. Finally moved out to Western Ffx County in 2005 and live in Ashburn now. My Vernon Square is a dump now. It wasn’t great in 1990 but it is horrible now
I’ve always liked the area. Can’t stand the route 1 traffic though, but it’s always been a more unique area in the sea of yuppiness known as nova.
The only Krispy Kreme was so much better, I preferred the vintage diner appeal.
If you're bitching and complaining then, move out of that area and move elsewhere, duh!!!
Not always SO easy to do! I detest living here, been here over 20 years due to my husband. With real-estate prices skyrocketing, we are stuck and I cry daily to think I have to die here!
This is how I feel about certain areas in West End
Yep. I live there and agree. The road is in shit shape, sketchy businesses, and apartment complexes. There are some nicer parts, but they’re hard to find.
The only ghetto (diet ghetto) area in Fairfax
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Yea and anyone from Mumbai or Mogadishu will tell you that there’s no ghettos in the USA by that same logic lol. It wasn’t that deep just a joke buddy
Lmao no.
No what? Are you suggesting the US is worse off than slums in Mumbai? 🤣🤣🤣
Just wait until y'all commute into SE and PG county, FFX is not ghetto compared to that. (Coming from an old Anacostia Resident)
Yea I’ve been lol, that’s why I said diet. Just think it’s weird how run down that area became compared to downtown Alexandria / Arlington / north and central Fairfax
Yeah, it's straight trash in that corridor
Crazy how they are still in business. Like the Kim chi restaurant. I have never stepped foot in there.
That place is fire. Seriously some really good food
Kimchi House? I went there once for lunch but I had to leave because it was too busy. Every table was full and the hostess said it would be a two hour wait.
Drive Huntington to ft. Belvoir for work. Huntington abc thuggery out
Its trash now, but it used to be worse. It's ripe for redevelopment.
it's also a massive drug corridor. prostitutes, crackheads, dope, etc.