The first Apple store, which opened 10 years ago in Tyson’s Corner, had an area specially designed for children. Pictured clockwise from lower right, at the Tyson’s store in 2001: Evan Knapp, 6, Morgan McGovern, 8, Samir Deluca, 6, and Nina Mallia, 5. (Michael Temchine/FREELANCE)
Since that day, more than 300 additional stores have opened worldwide, and legions of devoted Apple fans have been born.
In 2003, one such fan, Gary Allen, launched the Web site iFoAppleStore.com where he chronicles all aspects of the Apple store experience — including fun facts about the store that spawned a retail empire.
— The first Apple store opened at 10 a.m. on May 19, 2001, at Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Va.
— The second Apple store opened three hours later, at 10 a.m. at the Glendale Galleria in Southern California. (See the press release, pdf)
— The Tysons and Glendale stores hosted 7,700 visitors over their first two days. (By comparison, London’s Regent Street store drew 11,000 visitors in the first day alone.)
— The two stores sold a combined $599,000 in products over their first two days.
— 500 fans lined up as early as 4 a.m. at the Tysons opening day. CNET’s Joe Wilcox described the event as “a scene from a rock concert.”
— Steve Jobs created an intro video giving a preview tour of the Tysons store back in 2001:
Source: www.ifoapplestore.com and www.ifo-roadtrip.com.
To commemorate the day that started it all, Gary Allen has set off on a cross-country road trip with the intention of arriving at Tyson’s Corner on May 19. Post reporter Michael Rosenwald will be there Thursday morning to meet him at his destination. Look for his story on PostLocal.com later on Thursday. And let us know about your Apple memories on our Story Lab blog.
You can follow Allen via ifo-roadtrip.com and Twitter @iforoadtrip as he motors across America. Stay with PostLocal.com for the full story on the Tyson’s Apple anniversary.
