Over 50 years ago, Springfield was mostly a residential area with neat houses, huge wooded areas, very few commercial enterprises. A real estate office, a pharmacy, Fischer’s hardware, a small, country-style grocery store, a few other businesses were clustered in our "shopping mall" at the intersection of Shirley Highway and Franconia Road. Doc Baker’s office was upstairs near the real estate office.
One light, at the corner of Old Keene Mill Road and Backlick Road, controlled the flow of traffic. That was the Springfield I found when I arrived from Ohio in 1953. From a farm area, fresh out of college, and with a new job with a government agency; I liked the non-city atmosphere of Springfield. Contrary to all I had been told about the terrible weather, I found the Springfield weather to be comfortable compared to Ohio; mild winters and, with windows open and a small fan, the summers were quite tolerable. My corner of Springfield was mostly wooded, my street wasn’t paved, there were no street lights, I could count thousands of stars on a dark night.
My Springfield was a nice place to live.
A few things have changed since 1953, Springfield and I have both gotten older — and a little larger in circumference. Many changes have taken place; some for the better, some not. In many ways Springfield has improved; I haven’t.
The weather hasn’t changed significantly; otherwise, the old Springfield is barely recognizable. The traffic light at Old Keene Mill and Backlick is gone, but hundreds of others have taken up residence here. The simple clover leaf access to Shirley Highway — now Interstate 95 — is rapidly morphing into one of the most complex highway interchanges in the world. The "Circumferential Highway" (that’s what we originally called it) — now "Beltway", circles Washington and cuts right through Springfield. The wooded tracts have turned into thousands of residences, with shopping areas and businesses. The sleepy little Springfield has turned into a busy, bustling, (and traffic-jammed) metropolis minus the trappings of its own government (fortunately Fairfax County takes care of that). A Metro station makes travel to Washington a relaxing ride. The conveniences and woes of the big cities have come to Springfield.
In my corner of Springfield, there are many more houses — all bigger and nicer than my 1953 model. Much of the woods are gone, many more streets, with lights, surround me. With the coming of city lights, I can no longer count the thousands of stars on a dark night. But it is still peaceful to me.
My Springfield is a nice place to live!