Flashback Monday: At Hunters Woods, a Sign of the Times

Strap on your seat belts as we set the controls of the Earth-Toned Wayback Machine to the 1970s, where we are greeted by.... this as we materialize in the parking lot of the Hunters Woods Village Center. In previous Flashbacks, we've spent quite a bit of time in this center, from its humble origins to its pre-strip mall incarnation to its once-lively pedestrian mall. But this is the first time that we've focused on the sign that coaxed wary Restonians into the exciting faux-streetscape adventure that awaited them once they left their VW campers in the parking lot.

We've definitely got some pretty sweeeet application of earth-toned wood stain going on here, in several attractive shades of "wood." Those vaguely phallic thingies on the left are both accentuated by notches -- much like those on the bedposts of many a swingin' single from that era. The smaller wooden blocks must have invited the youngest Restonians to play on and around the sign, perhaps explaining why the grass is mostly gone. We dig the groovy '70s font and the evocative use of a hunting horn, and the one tree in the parking lot reminds of there are "woods" somewhere around, too. All in all, much more creative than the other signage around the corner during that era, the end.