Flashback Monday: Maybe we should have read the brochure more closely

If prospective Reston homebuyers were enticed by the exciting scale model of the New Town(tm) and drove out to the hinterlands to see what was doing, they were probably handed this exciting brochure, detailing what is now called Waterview Cluster, but then were just the comfortingly anonymous "Smith Houses." Here's what the brochure said so elegantly, with such sophisticated use of typography and white space:

The Smith cluster of townhouses with its soft pastel colors and charming balconies is reminiscent of a quaint French fishing village.

But of course! We're often reminded of the Riviera as we stroll through the cluster, and others in Reston have attempted to create if not an actual fishing village, at least an illegal fish labeling operation. Close enough in our books!

But wait -- there's more!

Architect Chloethiel Woodard Smith, F.A.I.A., has mixed sophisticated 2 bedroom gems with elegant 5 bedroom mansions... The Smith Houses are a short block or so from the Village Center and the daily convenience of city life.

Today, the former "gems" are referred to as "skinnys" -- though we doubt that anyone has ever referred to the larger ones as "mansions." But all in all, the creamy paper stock used to print the brochure undoubtedly convinced scores of people to come see what "city life" felt like in the new Reston, which basically meant being among the first in the world to buy townhouses that weren't, technically speaking, in a town. But hey -- lookit! A little model sailboat!