Clarendon, VA
After 10 days or so after purchase, my baby Mac Mini died. Yesterday, I wandered over to the Apple Store in Clarendon to get it fixed/ replaced. They replaced it and on my way back to the metro, with a clear mind, I took note of my surroundings. Hey, I thought, I remember when there was a whole lotta 'not much' here. Back in the mid 90s Clarendon was that spot between Courthouse (where there was a Pizza Hut, a Greek place, the theater, and Wendy's) and the library at Virginia Square. Yes you could also use the Ballston exit but Va Sq was easier. Ok, there was Witlows, a few Indian restaurants, but when it's a night and it's dark and you're walking down Wilson by yourself, there was not a lot around or open. Also, back then, the sidewalks were crap. This is all pre-Whole Foods mind you. And now, it is Friendship Heights with a better grocery store and voting rights.
posted by Mari @ 19.7.06
4 Comments:
I've been to that one to get my Mac serviced too. The parking is terrible but my iMac is too big to carry on the metro.
The Pentagon City Mall aslo has a Mac Store, it's metro accessible and much larger.
Friendship Heights like, or Reston Town Center? It is amazing how much it has changed over there. Even the old 7-11 on Wilson is gone in courthouse.
I is definately different, although not completely sure it is better. The same has happened in Silver Spring, a bunch of chains in a small area. Kinda strange.
But, they actually have places to eat, and good stores to shop as opposed to TC.
Parking there isn't too bad if you're willing to use the garage. The Apple store will validate for like half of it and Whole Foods validates 2 hours free. The Arlington County Dept. of HHS also has free parking evenings and weekends several blocks away.
I lived in Clarendon for decades before moving to Shaw a year ago. I saw it go from its funky Little Saigon phase to the current yuppie haven it has become. I have mixed feelings about what happened to the area, especially the invasion of all the chain stores and restaurants. I basically knew it was all over when Cheesecake Factory opened up.
But I gotta say it would sure be nice to have some of those businesses, eateries, and services around here. In Clarendon, I could walk to my bank, post office, 20 restaurants, shoe repair shop, hardware store (now gone, alas), Whole Foods, Container Store, Barnes & Noble, Stein's Costume & Theatrical store, etc. in just a few blocks. It would be sweet to have even a few of those amenities around here.
That's one reason I like what Shaw Main Streets is trying to do, and I wish our ANC reps would quit bickering with each other and help support fledgling business that would give us something beside plexiglass-protected corner stores that sell nothing but singles and lotto tickets.
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