Flashbacks:
The RNGC Caddyshackpocalypse
Bollards!
Set the wayback machine for 1982, when this artist's rendering of the fancy South Lakes Shopping Center, scheduled to open the following year, delighted Restonians.
The Village Center (Reston's second largest with over 108,000 square feet) will have an earth-tone brick and rustic wood exterior that captures and augments the lakefront setting. "It is designed to fit into the Reston image," declares Herbert S. Miller, president of Western. "Every aspect of its appearance is a perfect complement to what already exists at the other villages and at the other existing structures in Reston."They spent a lot of time talking about a fancy "specialty shop concept," but the initial tenants were pretty much what you'd expect: Safeway, Peoples Drug, Hair Cuttery, Hallmark Cards, and something called "Fantastic Family Restaurant." And lest we forget!
An unusual and attractive feature of the Center is the boardwalk and dock that permits residents to "park" their boats while shopping.Not to mention other, less legal activities.
One of the design things about the South Lake center is that it could of featured the lake more instead it faced away from the lake strip mall style. Being a avid canoeist I have canoed in and out and it can be done though with some difficulty.
ReplyDeleteLake Ann on the other hand is truly beautiful to approach by boat as I have on one occasion with a visiting friend in a canoe I had built. It kind of opens and looks like ....a village on the Mediterranean. Try it some time and you'll see what I mean.
Rod...I completely agree. Also..let us not forget what a difficult escape South Lakes presents to us by water as well. Should be made more accessible to criminals who are making their escape by canoe.
ReplyDeleteI really miss the Roy Rogers. They had great burgers and a fixins bar.
ReplyDeleteI Agree SLVS should have been built featuring the lake much more prominently. It is almost an afterthought pf the designers that there is a gorgeous lake right behind the center.
ReplyDeleteEcho the SLVS comments. Have canoed in and out as well and agree, it's not inviting to those who don't already live on the lake. And the parking lot is a flippin' nightmare most of the time.
ReplyDeleteI guess they wanted as much of the lakefront for residential real estate, but I think they still could have done a lot more with little impact. Such a shame that you'd never know there was a lake here unless you happened to go to one of only two places that are just barely touching it - Cafe Sano and Lakeside Inn. Even though this is the closest shopping center to us by far, we go here far less than Plaza America, RTC, and Lake Anne (except in winter). I want them to tear the whole thing down and build a replica of a small tuscan hill town's center. Oh wait, I guess that wouldn't work, a lake town? Hmmm... something like Castiglione del Lago off of Lake Trasimeno?
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