Talk:Falls Church, Virginia

Is it true that Pop Rocks are out of Falls Church or Fairfax? Wondering how to edit this U.S. City Entry?
The WikiProject Cities standards might help.

Salvadoreans

This should be removed. The article says it's unclear whether they're from the City or from the surrounding area. They're from the surrounding area, the Falls Church region of Fairfax County. Some may work in Falls Church City, but the city itself is very heavily white. Most Salvadoreans in the area live in Annandale, Fairfax County and Arlington County. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 138.16.38.71 (talk) 01:16, 12 November 2009 (UTC)

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Who is Paul Burningham and should he be listed here?

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—Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.163.41.108 (talk) 11:50, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

Is the Commodore Alexander Fairbanks Douglas something that should really be here? Quite frankly, it appears as something farsical, something that isn't appropriate for Wikipedia. Bo-Lingua

I humbly apologize. Several people from my school thought that it would be a funny joke. I tried to explain to them that it was totaly out of place in wikipedia but that didn't go over so well. Alexander Fairbanks Douglas is a person that attends my school. Again, sorry for the inappropriat behavior of my fellow students.

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What is the source for "Ali al-Tamimi, convicted terrorist."? My quick research shows that he was a resident of Fairfax county. Did he actually live in the City of Falls Church, or in the Falls Church area of Fairfax?

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If Ali al-Tamimi lived in FAirfax County he was NOT a Falls Church resident. The City shares no land or jurisdiction with the County. 24.215.179.72 20:20, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

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Current City Council, in case anyone wants to format it for this page
Robin Gardener Mayor Term: 7/1/04 - 6/30/08 First elected: 7/1/00

M.R. Lindy Hockenberry Vice Mayor Term: 7/1/04 - 6/30/08 First elected:7/1/00

David C. Chavern Council Member Term: 7/1/04 - 6/30/08 First elected: 7/1/04

Harold Lippman Council Member Term: 7/1/06 - 6/30/10 First elected: 7/1/06

Daniel K. Maller Council Member Term: 7/1/06 - 6/30/10 First elected: 7/1/06

David F. Snyder Council Member Term: 7/1/06 - 6/30/10 First elected: 7/1/94

Daniel X. Sze Council Member Term: 7/1/06 - 6/30/10 First elected: 7/1/06

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Does Reza Pahlavi still live in Falls Church? I think he's moved to Maryland.

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—Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.241.255.104 (talk) 20:32, August 25, 2007 (UTC)

JAG

In the television show JAG, the headquarters were shown as "Falls Church, VA." This, however, refers to a region of VA collectively known as Falls Church, not to the city itself. Furthermore, the show wasn't actually filmed here. The "JAG Headquarters" building shown on the show was actually the American Red Cross building in Pasadena, California.

Greater Falls Church

People living in northern Virginia use the term "Falls Church" to refer to what this article calls "The Greater Falls Church Area", a term which appears to have been invented herein to support a POV. It's not even clear to me that most people who say they live "in Falls Church" live in the city, as opposed to the surrounding region in Fairfax County. I think the accurate thing to do would be to check with the Census beaurea to see if "Falls Church" is a CDP, and describe that (and it's various neighborhoods), and then have a seperate article "Falls Church (City)". I've lived in this area for 50 years and "Falls Church" has never specifically meant the city to me, who lives outside the city. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.199.132.43 (talk) 17:56, 15 November 2008 (UTC)

For that reason, and because the official name from the charter is "City of Falls Church," I have retitled this article w/ that name. It currently redirects from Falls Church and variations on that. Perhaps a disambiguation entry should be created for Falls Church (postal code areas of Fairfax Co.). I could not find Falls Church (Ffx Co) as a separate CDP; it is not listed on the Fairfax Co. page, for example (though several parts of it are, e.g., Jefferson).Troutfang (talk) 04:54, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

I see that a Wikipedia editor has reverted the name of this article to "Falls Church." That's fine by me. It means this article is about Falls Church, which includes the City of Falls Church but also the areas historically referred to as Falls Church but not in the current City boundary. Troutfang (talk) 23:45, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

Starbucks

Removed the statement in the introduction about the number of Starbucks stores in Falls Church being the highest per capita in the nation. First of all even if the statement is accurate it is hardly something that would be worthy of being included in the introduction. Second it is incorrect information, despite the fact that a citation to epodunk.com was included. The city of Falls Church (which is the focus of this article) only has two Starbucks stores, not 8 as was implied by the statement in the introduction.Wikiuser1239 (talk) 23:03, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

Correct: there is no basis in fact for SBUX density being highest in the City of Falls Church. There are only two stores, one mile apart (by the library and at the west end of town). In most cities, there is one per block. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hendaj (talk • contribs) 02:22, 31 July 2009 (UTC)

Removing Popular culture

I am removing the popular culture section of this article. I looked at the WikiProject Cities guideline (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:USCITY) and it did not seem to me that the popular culture section was appropriate for this article. In addition, the information in the popular culture section did not cite any references and so I was not able to verify if it was accurate. Wikiuser1239 (talk) 04:34, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Removing Notable Residents

I was looking at the history of this article, and "Arthur Douglas, leader of Virginian Jousting Association VJA" had been listed in the notable references for as far back as I could search the history. However, this entry is clearly vandalism as could be seen by clicking on any of the links associated with it. I have removed all possibly suspicious unreferenced entries in the notable references section because there may have been additional vandalism.Wikiuser1239 (talk) 05:09, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

You took out Peter Overby, who lives right there on on Hillwood Street. If you're not familiar with him, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Public_Radio_personnel#N.E2.80.93R—Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.90.176.194 (talk) 21:36, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

delete Memorial Day section, esp. re: predatory towing

What is the purpose of the Memorial Day section? Does this really rise to the level of encyclopedic information? Perhaps a heading simply listing annual events would suffice?

Most problematic is the bit on predatory towing. This violates wikipedia standards in a number of ways: it is POV (point of view), it is insignificant in terms of encyclopedic knowledge, it is enormously selective (how many other newsworthy items are worth reproducing here?), and it partly represents original research (e.g., the links to the video). It should be deleted. Troutfang (talk) 21:19, 3 November 2009 (UTC)

History

I have been editing & adding to the history section rather extensively (though still in overview mode, as Wiki wants), esp. for the 20th century. It focuses only on the most noteworthy state and national level events, or local events that were part of those state and national events, and is based on some excellent interviewing and writing done by a FCNP reporter a few years ago (see citations).

I'd like to rework the earlier sections at a later date. If you would like to work on any of this, post some notes here about your knowledge/interest.

Other than the Victorian Falls Church book, what are other good local histories?

Troutfang (talk) 05:25, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

Organization

I started a bit of reorganization, trying to follow Wiki:Cities models. Added an Events section w/ annual & weekly ones added (I know there are more, incl. First Night, Falls Church Farm Days?, etc.).

Other ideas about organization? Troutfang (talk) 05:27, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

Inclusion of Pope-Leighy House; & larger issue: what to do w/ stuff referred to as "Falls Church" but not w/in official boundaries?

I added a section on the Pope-Leighy House because much of the literature about it refers to it as once having been in Falls Church. Technically, that is incorrect, as its location was not w/in current boundaries or, I think, even in the town boundaries at the time. But all Wright's correspondence w/ Pope is addressed to East Falls Church, which is actually that area of Arlington that was once part of Falls Church as a town (til the 1930s). And the location is literally about 300 yards from the Falls Church border & on streets that are part of the grid of streets of Falls Church City.

Someone removed this section w/out discussing it first. Please abide by Wiki editing standards and discuss major edits first, esp. deletions or anything that significantly changes the article. We can all improve this article by discussing things first.

So to start discussion of this instance:

The larger issue is whether to talk about events, places, etc., that lie outside the current city limits or outside then-town limits for those time periods. (And in which case, where do we draw the line before town status?)

Here's my perspective, reading the secondary sources on Falls Church history:

Before incorporation in the 1940s, there was an area know to everyone as "Falls Church" and it included areas outside the official town boundary. This included Seven Corners, for example (all of it); and the airport that once occupied what is now Loeman's Plaza was called Falls Church Airfield. East and West Falls Church Metro stations are outside current boundaries. Yet these things are significant and should be discussed, it seems, in association w/ Falls Church (now City of) when we are talking about the history of the place. And the town boundaries changed, too, at least three times (once to exclude an African American section on the south side of town; once to connect to the former DC cornerstone; and once to cede "East Falls Church" back to Arlington). And proposals were made to annex large parts of these areas from the 1940s on, including Seven Corners to the southeast and parts of McLain and Tysons. From this perspective, then, the City of Falls Church is only the most recent incarnation of Falls Church. The article title is, after all, "Falls Church," though it does and should have a strong emphasis on that current incarnation, the City of Falls Church.

We should clarify when necessary, sure (e.g., whether now inside or outside current boundaries) but why not include something as significant as the Pope-Leighey House when its history was tied up w/, yes, "Falls Church"?

At the very least, please leave it in place while we discuss it. Maybe we can reach a consensus, which is the Wiki preferred way of doing things. Thanks. Troutfang (talk) 20:05, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

Troutfang: You've added much to the history here, and I give you credit for that. My comment would be only one of categorization: that which belongs in Fairfax County should be in that entry. We have had too many extraneous items in the Falls Church City entry that are MILES from here. Mailing address does not a City make. I'm sure you understand.

-- Regards Lexicon 72.192.220.36 (talk) 02:11, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

Actually, mailing address has nothing to do with it. Historical usage of the term does. If you read Steadman's book or Gernand/Netherton's book, you'll see that the name Falls Church applied to a fairly sizeable area that included Seven Corners, a slice of Arlington County, and present day Loeman's Plaza, where the "Falls Church Airpark" was located. The City of Falls Church, in fact, tried to annex all this area, plus more in 1949, right after incorporation. The current City boundaries are arbitrary and historically contingent; they only encompass the central portion of "Falls Church." And this article is about "Falls Church," not just the City of (a wiki editor cleared this up by changing the name back to Falls Church, from City of Falls Church). The article, then, should discuss Falls Church in all its historically relevant iterations. The Pope-Leighey House is arguably the most significant architectural event (encyclopedic, even) in Falls Church history; to keep deleting it based on the technicality that that area was not incorporated into the present day City boundaries seems petty. At the very least, please observe Wiki protocols and discuss it first so that some consensus might be reached. Thank you. Troutfang (talk) 05:31, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

The WP entry for "Falls Church" clearly demarcates its borders. We can include things from miles of surrounding areas that have been loosely called Falls Church for decades, but it has to end at some point, in part because of the problems of duplication it entails. For example, do we also need to add an "East Falls Church" entry to the Arlington portion of WP? Wikipedia keeps it simple for us. We discuss things in the Falls Church portion that are physically in the present day Falls Church entry. Things that are in Fairfax or Arlington Counties, respectively, belong in THOSE entries. We have more important things to deal with and should stop chasing our tails over this. I'm sure we can move beyond this minor point. Regards, Lexicon 72.192.220.36 (talk) 15:12, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

Hearing no response...this entry about the Pope-Leighey house does not merit WP guidelines for inclusion for the above reasons and because it refers to a building that has never been in Falls Church, that has been relocated to another place (again) outside of Falls Church, that was designed by an architect with no ties and no other buildings within Falls Church, and that was never owned by anyone shown to have any connection with Falls Church. All of that also applies, by the way, to the London Bridge, which is why THAT entry is located elsewhere in Wikipedia. For these reasons, respectfully, this digression has been deleted. Regards, Lexicon 72.192.220.36 (talk) 05:12, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

So, by this argument, we need to remove all reference to East Falls Church Metro station, West Falls Church Metro Station, and all those Civil War events that did not take place inside the city limits (the balloon ascent, etc., despite that all the major histories of FC consider 7 Corners part of Falls Church for that period.) We could also remove all reference to the high school and middle school which are not inside the city limits, right? Again, please discuss this issue by responding to the historical argument for the term "Falls Church." This entry is for "Falls Church," not for "City of Falls Church," and therefore should include those areas that HISTORICALLY are known as Falls Church, even though they were not included in the arbitrary boundaries created in the 1940s. We're not talking about things miles away; we're talking about the roughly 4 mile diameter area that was always known as Falls Church and still is. (Notice that the Falls Church News Press has at least half its distribution points outside city limits.) There is no issue of duplication, as there is no Falls Church section of the Fairfax County entry. Some people who live in the City of Falls Church might think the City of Falls Church is the only area legitimately called Falls Church, but the truth is that Falls Church has been around a lot longer than the City of Falls Church. And Falls Church is a larger area than the City of Falls Church. The WP article should reflect that history, not just what happens to have been caught within these boundaries. As for the London Bridge argument: if the London Bridge had originally been located several hundred yards from the current City of Falls Church boundaries, in an area known historically as part of Falls Church, then I'd argue that it ought to be included here. Troutfang (talk) 04:04, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Falls Church residents rely on EFC and WFC metro stations, and they merit inclusion both to clarify their location and to explain their importance to the residents of Falls Church. Similar arguments can be made about the Falls Church schools system. I'm not going to respond point by point to this tediousness. The Pope-Leighey house simply has nothing to do with the City of Falls Church, whether it's 40 feet away or 40 miles. Proximity alone doesn't mean it should be included in the article. There is no significance to Falls Church here. By your argument, we should be cataloging every old house OUTSIDE the city limits...for how many miles? This thread has reached a level of absurdity far beyond any alleged importance of the Pope-Leighey house. Please, drop it and move on. Lexicon. 72.192.220.36 (talk) 19:27, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Falls Church City residents also rely directly on Tysons businesses and residents who pay for Falls Church City water, but I'm not proposing we include Tysons here. And I'm not proposing we include anything that isn't legitimately, historically known as part of Falls Church. You have still not responded to my central point, so let me try one last time, to see if you can bring yourself to agree to a reasonable solution (which is the WP way). So here's what I propose:

(1.) Since "Falls Church" historically was larger than the current boundaries of the City of Falls Church, and since this article is about "Falls Church" (WP admin. changed the name of the article from City of Falls Church back to Falls Church), then I propose that for the HISTORY section, we discuss relevant, encyclopedic information directly related to the history of Falls Church. This would include things like the Falls Church Airpark and the Pope-Leighey House in East Falls Church (both of which were in the area that Falls Church City tried to annex immediately after incorporation in 1949).

(2.) For the sections of the article that are about present day City of Falls Church, we can exclude discussion of anything outside those current city limits, with the exception of West Falls Church Metro, East Falls Church Metro, and the City schools that lie in Fairfax County.

If you're not willing to discuss this in a rational way as WP editors are supposed to--if you're going to keep dismissing this issue as 'absurd' and 'tedious'--then I think you should stop editing this essay.Troutfang (talk) 03:25, 10 March 2010 (UTC)

Troutfang: I appreciate your patience and tenacity in working this issue. I think you have hit on an excellent idea for a historical section that discusses the surrounding region that one might term "Historical Greater Falls Church," although I'm not proposing that as an exact title. In such a section, I could see a home for such topics as the PL-House and Airpark. Best regards, Lexicon. 72.192.220.36 (talk) 22:44, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

Lexicon: Thanks. Okay, maybe we should continue discussion here a bit before we change the entry. I agree w/ you about the term "Greater Falls Church"; I've never really liked that term (if that is what you mean). But maybe "Historical Falls Church"? And I think it might be helpful for the intro to that section to briefly clarify that this section will discuss the areas historically known as part of Falls Church as well, even if they were not included in the current boundaries (and I'd say, even if they weren't in the town boundaries, to the extent that the town boundaries didn't matter as much as the city boundaries do now, or as much as common identification of the place by name). This will then include the areas you name, but we don't have to go as far afield as some others have apparently done. E.g., I'd like to know why such a large area of Post Office zip codes are called Falls Church, as they include areas I've never seen refered to otherwise as Falls Church, e.g. Culmore & Bailey's Crossroads, but I see no need to include those here. I think this section could help clarify misconceptions a lot of people have about the relationship between the current boundaries of Falls Church City and the historical areas of what was once "Falls Church." I'm glad we can work this out. Troutfang (talk) 17:55, 29 March 2010 (UTC)

I'd say go with whatever you think best. Regards, Lexicon. 72.192.220.36 (talk) 00:24, 1 May 2010 (UTC)

Having lived over half my life in the Falls Church area (my old street addresses just outside of the current boundary limits in the Westhampton neighborhood were named to match streets inside the city and once had three digit numbers that coincided with the still extant city system) and knowing that historically the town was separated by time and distance from other local communities, I feel that the Greater Falls Church idea has merit. I have read, and possess, all of the local histories mentioned above, and can confirm that the city did have the intention of encompassing areas that ultimately went to Fairfax County when that jurisdiction resisted annexing by the city. The Falls Church water system supplies large areas outside the city limits, and it is not unrealistic to understand that those areas were under the local "spell", as it were. The town limits ended up being limited more by politics than by tradition. Mark Sublette (talk) 01:00, 1 May 2010 (UTC)Mark SubletteMark Sublette (talk) 01:00, 1 May 2010 (UTC)

Also, in the early 1960s, when the post office was codifying addresses, residents along Kirby Road, well outside the present city limits, were given the choice of choosing a Falls Church or McLean address. Mark Sublette (talk) 01:07, 1 May 2010 (UTC)Mark SubletteMark Sublette (talk) 01:07, 1 May 2010 (UTC)

Economy section & merely advertising for ENSCO?

I notice that someone created an Economy section & added only one company, ENSCO. This seems like a bid for advertising to me. Anybody else think it should be deleted? or else write an actual economy section that would actually describe the economy of Falls Church? Troutfang (talk) 02:02, 5 May 2010 (UTC)

I lived over 25 years in the area, and I have never heard of ENSCO. Sounds like an advert to me... Mark Sublette (talk) 02:38, 5 May 2010 (UTC)Mark SubletteMark Sublette (talk) 02:38, 5 May 2010 (UTC)

I see that you deleted that. No qualms from me about you doing that. Troutfang (talk) 04:51, 5 May 2010 (UTC)

I see that there is an article about ENSCO, but it is actually headquartered in Annandale, Virginia, which is definitely NOT Falls Church... Ergo, it needed to go. Mark Sublette (talk) 06:05, 5 May 2010 (UTC)Mark SubletteMark Sublette (talk) 06:05, 5 May 2010 (UTC)

Zip codes

The article does not mention zip code 22042 part of which is within the City of Falls Church.