A Guide to Falls Church, Virginia

Falls Church, Virginia is a bustling suburb of Washington, DC which has a rich and varied history. It was first settled by the Colonists in 1699. It became a village in 1776, a town in 1875 and finally gained its independence as a city in 1948. Falls Church took its name from a church that was established in 1769. Located at the corner of West Fairfax Street and Maple Avenue, the Falls Church continues to serve its congregation to this day.

Falls Church is memorialized in the National Register of Historic Places for quite a few historic places. The Falls Church was registered in 1970, and the Federal District Boundary Marker, West Cornerstone, which identifies the corner of the City of Falls Church, and Arlington and Fairfax Counties, was registered in 1991.

Other historic landmarks include the Fairfax Chapel and Oakwood Cemetery from 1779, the original Columbia Baptist Church from 1857, and a marker for an official hangman's tree from 1860. Legend has it that during the Civil War Colonel John Mosby of the Confederate cavalry had ordered his men to hang union soldiers from this tree. Unfortunately, the tree was destroyed in 1968 because of a construction accident, and only a marker remains today.

One popular historic structure that has survived as a working establishment is the State Theater. It first opened its doors to the public in 1936, showing the movie, "Thanks A Million" starring Dick Powell. The theater operated continuously until 1988. On November 27 of that year it showed its last movie, "Die Hard" starring Bruce Willis before closing its doors to the public. In its time it had been considered one of the finest theaters in the entire region, and one that was the first theater to open for Sunday performances. It was also the first theater on the East Coast that was centrally air-conditioned for the comfort of its patrons.