Edward Stroger's Commentary

Seven Corners Center was located at the intersections of VA Rte 7 (Leesburg Pike), Wilson Blvd, and US 50 (Arlington Blvd) in Falls Church, VA. This mall happens to be the first regional shopping center in Northern VA. It was believed to be built in the early 1950s.

I believe the original mall contained two or three anchors Woodward & Lothrop, Raliegh's, and a Garfinkel's (all 3 department stores went out of business in the late 80s and early 90s.) In the late 80's or early 90's a Ross: Dress for Less or Marshall's was put in the mall and the mall possibly died because of demographic changes around that time. There was a department store on across the street believed to be once a Lord & Taylor (stand-alone). It was believed to have closed in the late 80s and a Caldor replaced the space. Since the bankruptcy, a Sears now occupies the space... Not far from the shopping center is a Syms which has been there for years.

In the late 1990s the mall was demolished and the Ross Dress for less is still there. The current shopping center is now a large strip mall with a Shoppers Food Warehouse, Best Buy, DSW Shoes (not sure), Home Depot, Barnes & Noble Bookstore, and other national and small chain store. In Oct 2002, the mall made national news for the sniper shooting of a woman coming out of Home Depot with the accomplice of John Allen Mohammed. Restaurants and fast food includes a Wendy's and Uno's.

I believe that the mall failed initially with the closing of Woodward & Lothrop, Raliegh's and Garfinkels. These stores were some of the original prominent stores in Washington D.C. There were other locations of these 3 stores including - Springfield Mall (Springfield, VA), Landmark Center (Alexandria, VA), Fair Oaks Mall (Fairfax, VA), and Tysons Corner Center (McLean, VA).

I believe this is all I could possibly contribute or remember. I've seen an aerial view of the Seven Corners area of Falls Church at one of the Fairfax County Libraries...

Tammie Knuth's Commentary

Born in the 1960s, down the road from Seven Corners Mall (Falls Church), I shopped there all my life, until I moved away from the area in 2009. I remember I got my ears pierced for the 1st time in there, I sat on Santa's lap every single year, then took my oldest daughter when she was a baby, I remember shopping with my Mom; alot of great memories. Yes, the mall lost two large, higher-end department stores, due to 'old money' dying off or moving away, and more lower income families moving to Falls Church & Bailey's Crossroads area. But I, and most who grew up there and lived there, believe the main down-fall of this mall was a greedy developer who decided to take away the relaxing and convenient "inside" shopping experience, to increase the value of every square inch/foot, for retail space, turning a nice mall into a piece of crap strip mall, where customers had to walk outside, in the weather, to go in and out of each business, with no easy access from the upper level to the lower level, except at 1 end. The County even invested alot of money to build a foot bridge from the mall, over Arlington Blvd (Rt. 50), to the apartment complexes, due to people getting hit by cars, while trying to short-cut their way to of all things, the bus pick-up, at the mall, and not to shop. So my blame on this mall being a "Dead Mall", I place on the greedy real estate owner.

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