Westin Reston Heights

Go ice skating at Reston Town...

by Just4Net

Go ice skating at Reston Town Center in winter, or hear the concerts there on Saturday nights in Summer... Visit the Nature Center tucked away within Reston....ride through on your bike on the old railroad thru-way that is now a bike trail that goes from Alexandria to Leesburg... Visit our only real bar, Jimmy's, which is in HERNDON, but hey, close enough... enjoy a truely planned city that is now all built out after 30+ years and so we can now make it suburbia bulge! Reston is/was a planned community from the start, so while it is suburban and now part of the hub of the Internet / High Tech corridor being called Silicon Valley East, we still have trees throughout and zoning laws that keep signs small if allowed at all. It's a green town in that regard and that I enjoy most.

Secluded Living

by lmkluque

Drive through some of the secluded residential areas. It might be hard to find a house to look at because there are so many trees! This picture might look like a remote country road, but it is actually in the town. Looking outside my bedroom window to see hundred year old trees looming upward at least a hundred feet!

There were so many trees that on the sunniest day the light in the room was dim. Great for deflecting the heat during those hot summers!

PLAN AHEAD!

by lmkluque

Gentlemen: Bring a coat and tie.
Ladies: Remember that little black dress.

Of course, in the ominous shadow of such a power-charged city as Washington DC, you never know who will notice you in Reston!

Man Made Lake

by lmkluque

Lake Anne, in Reston is a man made lake, created to add beauty and relaxing activity for the residents who are mostly government employees.

The scenery along it's banks is lovely and well worth renting a boat to explore the area.

Community For All

by mattreider

"Vision and Fruition"

About 50 years ago, Robert E. Simon had a vision of a planned community, where people could live and work, and people of all incomes and races could come together. Modelled after European planned communities, Simon lent his initials and dreams to Reston, and it bankrupted him. Built in the middle of nowhere, around a few man-made lakes, with modernist houses that didn't quite sell, Reston quickly became a land of compromise. Colonial houses sprung up when Gulf Oil took over the projects, and the original plans have often been changed as needs changed.

The town was built in the middle of nowhere - 20 miles from Washington DC, but over the years the suburban sprawl has made Reston part of the greater Northern Virginia area. Although it took the whole 50 years, Reston is now a filled-in community, part of the urban landscape. The founder still lives in one of the original apartment buildings he created in the 50's, although now it is a condo project.

Unfortunately, the new developments in Reston have not been as well planned or pedestrian-friendly. Revitalization is key now, as Reston ages, the houses begin to lose their structure, and the lakes and common areas need a facelift.

"Getting Around"

Reston is a good base to visit Northern VA, and with the subway coming out in a few years, will be part of the city proper. We enjoy our life in Reston, as it is one of the few suburbs of America that is not cookie-cutter strip malls and subdivision of the same house style.

However, it is expensive, and traffic is a mess. Hopefully someone will pump some effort into fixing up the areas of southern Reston that have fallen into disrepair -- the local Homeowner's Association is fairly powerful and respected, although it doesn't do anything in a timely fashion.