The Reston Story

A short introduction to the history of Reston, VA - the first continuing and successful planned community in America. Started in 1964 by Robert E. Simon, this 7,000 acres in Northern Virginia has grown to 60,000 residents . His vision of people living, working, and playing together has become a well-studied hallmark of urban planning.
Presented by the Reston Museum - 1639 Washington Plaza, Reston.

[@bossladi785]

I am from Reston born and raised THANK U Robert E. Simon.

[@shock7698]

I lived in Reston as a child in the 70s and back then I knew there was something special about it. My brother and I used to ride the scenic bike paths there. We just loved it. There is a special place in my heart for Reston.

[@dfoulkjr]

i lived there back in the 70's also has a child and used to walk the path to Lake Anne Center and go the Safeway that was there and the peoples drug store, Go Swimming at the pool at North Shore

[@elizabethchamblin382]

Nothing compares to Lake Anne Plaza.

[@loismartin9634]

This is an absolute oasis of beautiful living! Thank you for this story.

[@ember-brandt]

I've lived here for about a year now, and I LOVE it. It's nice to learn some of the history of this charming place. 💛

[@duncanking4680]

i grew up in Reston in 60s and 70s and those images of Lake Anne Center really brings back memories. :-)

[@doloresbutler2291]

Love reston been here since 1 978

[@BuySellBuildInvest]

This is beautifully done. It is great to see history of the area. Thank you for the video.

[@jenniferwright8355]

I lived in Reston in the early 70s to mid 80s, it was beautiful and a great place to live.

[@Taurusguy]

I love that there is a documentary showcasing the city I love and live in. I am a little disappointed to see misspellings in some of the text (at least 3).

[@fairfaxcat1312]

Simon told me Reston was to have been built far more densely and compactly with several times more people per acre. He indicated that he did not want the suburban style ranch houses on individual lots in south Reston. Additionally historians a hundred years from now will see Reston as part of the general trend toward sprawl. Designer sprawl but sprawl nonetheless. I believe if he were doing it over he might consider putting his 6500 acres in a land trust to save the Bay. Montgomery County preserved 93,000 acres of farmland and it is closer in to the city than Fairfax County where very few farms remain.

[@TheZorroL]

A special place indeed.
One still hopes that it will be incorporated and become self-governing as Bob Simon intended, always hoped for. He achieved his amazing vision but the lesser political minds still have not caught up with his vision. They’ve kept their fiefdoms, but blocked our full potential!

[@schnitzelschnizel9448]

What most people do not know is that a virus time bomb nearly detonated from Reston, West Virginia. It was described in the book: The Hot Zone by: Richard Preston.

[@fairfaxcat1312]

Is it the Wuhan Red Death of 2020?

[@jjleary0423]

Who is from 2020 here?

[@lula.bug.5212]

Robloxian loser BISH I AM

[@jjleary0423]

_Moonlight_ ;-; HEY GURL

[@foxbasealpha]

2:13 “brought” not “bought”

[@bjdon99]

I used to go to the RTC all the time till they started charging me to park. Haven't been there in 16 mo now...

[@gregglevin5612]

They all sold out.. signed a street kid.. YIP YIP YIP .. WHAT ABOUT THE FREE SCHOOL THEY HAD .. I WENT TO IT FOR A WHILE AND THEY SOLD OUT ALL. SPINLESS AND NO BACK BONE TO FOLLOW THROUGH. NICE CONCEPT.

[@gosteponyourmomslego5053]

I'm appalled by what Reston has become. There is way too much overdevelopment. The corrupt real estate developers and Fairfax county government are really ruining Reston. What happened? The glory days of Reston were in like- the 60s-80s; development actually made sense back then. Now it's out of control. It's comparable to Marco Island in FL. 90% of people who want development are just Maoists who came from somewhere like California or DC and have only been here for 0-6 years at best. I'm absolutely surprised Fairfax County's government goes off on President Trump, he's the pentagram of real estate development. I'm not even kidding, I bet some nutjobs probably have provisions to rename Reston to "Simongrad." The developers are their supporters are the scum of the earth. If you actually fight FOR development as much as Reclaim Reston fights against it, I got something for you. Go back to whatever dictatorship you were an expatriate in, and quit messing everything up.

[@markroberts6926]

I see you got downvoted to the bottom