A McCrory 5 & dime in PARKINGTON CENTER closed for good in the early 1970s. The building was repurposed by J.C. Penney, who opened their first PARKINGTON store in May 1974.
Drawing and graphic from the J.C. Penney Company
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The DC Metro initiated Orange Line service to PARKINGTON CENTER in December 1979. Originally known as Ballston, the train terminal was renamed Ballston-MU (Marymount University) in 1997. Silver Line service began in July 2014.
Photo from Wikipedia / Jarek Tuszyński
By 1982, PARKINGTON CENTER was on the skids. A 42 million dollar redevelopment revitalized the past-its-prime property. The shiny new BALLSTON COMMON MALL opened for business in October 1986.
Graphic from Forest City Enterprises
BALLSTON COMMON MALL encompassed approximately 578,000 leasable square feet and contained over 100 inline stores. The 4-level facility was fully-enclosed. It included a new J.C. Penney, basement food court and high rise office building. A newly-built parking garage had spaces for 2,900 autos.
A 1990s-vintage aerial view shows the original BALLSTON COMMON MALL. This snapshot was taken before a 1998-2001 renovation, which greatly enlarged the complex.
Photo from http://ballston-common.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
An expanded BALLSTON COMMON MALL is depicted in this circa-2003 site plan. At this juncture, the complex covers around 678,300 leasable square feet. There are a new megaplex cinema and two high rise office towers.
The mall's main court and glass-enclosed elevator.
Photo from Wikipedia / Ser Amantio di Nicolao
