Flashback Monday: On the Boardwalk, Down By the Sea Algae-Choked Lake

This attractive vista is what greeted visitors to Reston in 1964 or thereabouts, where they were regaled by this impressive "sea wall" in a field of mud. Perhaps Reston's always environmentally conscious residents wanted to get a leg up on global warming, envisioning the day that the ocean would come to Reston, Sunrise Valley Drive would be renamed Boardwalk and all those brown, low-rise association buildings replaced with taffy shoppes and guess-your-weight stands and maybe one of those rickety roller coasters or some juggling flamethrower or whatnot.

Or maybe it was just a contraption to hold in Lake Anne so it could power the New Town's awesome jet-age air conditioning. And until the Atlantic makes its way here, we'll just have to settle for Boardwalk Fries in Herndon.