Greater Zion Baptist Church Demolition and Construction

The Greater Zion Baptist Church building in Old Ashburn, on Ashburn Road, whose cornerstone was laid in Sept 1889, was demolished in early February 2009.

According to the pastor, Rev James Swanson, the church plans to build a new facility on the site, in the near future. The site encompasses about three acres on Ashburn Rd.

While the old church was being demolished, removal of siding on its tower revealed an intact bell. According to Rev Swanson, the bell was the original, and no one currently in the church had been aware of its existence, and it had not been used during his tenure.

It will be interesting to see what the church's building plans will include. Their website says that they plan to build "a 600-1000 seat sanctuary."

Of all the relatively decrepit historical buildings in Old Ashburn, the church was the most scenic.

I'll miss it.

Will you?

New French Restaurant in Old Ashburn--Paris Prestige

After noticing the new French Restaurant in the 7-11 strip mall for the last couple months, I finally stopped to see what the deal was.

First impressions, on driving by, were humorous. The hand-printed poster board and magic marker signs, complete with backwards "N," and the trumpeting of "Milkshakes," struck me as quite funny. The almost complete lack of customers, or cars in the

lot, has been almost pitiful. With so many restaurants fleeing Ashburn, I imagined a story of a gutsy owner bucking the tide and the economic trends to realize his dream in the old pizza shop.

So, this afternoon, I stopped by to get the full story, hoping to speak to the owner or manager, and learn the whole story.

Well, the whole story will have to wait.

"Julie," (French pronunciation) was at the hostess desk of the completely empty restaurant just after 4:00pm today. She could not, or would not, tell me if she was the owner, or the manager. After some mysterious pauses and evasions, she said that she'd talk to her father. She went to an office in the back, and returned in a couple minutes. She provided her email address, and said that I could email her with any questions.

Tres estrange.....as they say in Paree.....

The whole story will have to wait.

In the meantime, if you'd like to get details on the restaurant, here's Julie's email: julietrwb@yahoo.fr

Gloucester Parkway Shortcut to Loudoun Cty Pkwy

There's another way to get to the Post Office, or Wegman's. The new section of Gloucester Parkway is 0pen.

For years, Gloucester Pkwy used to end at Ray Muth Park, just past Farmwell Station Middle School. Now it continues, in four glorious lanes, all the way to Loudoun County Parkway. Redskins Park is just down the road.

Take a left and you're at Rt 7. Take a right and you're at Waxpool Rd in a mile or two.

Above: Traffic on Gloucester Parkway at Loudoun County Parkway

This should reduce congestion on Ashburn Village Blvd, and Waxpool.

Next up: the cloverleaf at the intersection of Rt 7 and Loudoun County Parkway.

Any other good news on roads and infrastructure in Ashburn?

Drop an email, or send a comment.