Editing Reston, Virginia (section)

===20th century===
[[Image:202007 reston skyline panorama herndon metro.jpg|thumb|upright=2|Panoramic view of Reston in July 2020]]
By 1947, the Bowmans had acquired the former Dunn tract south of the railroad, for total holdings of over {{convert|7,000|acres|ha}}. In 1961 most of the land was purchased by[[Robert E. Simon]] , all except for 60 acres (240,000 m<sup>2</sup>) on which the Bowman distillery continued to operate until 1987.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fxva.com/fxva/itin_reston.html|title=Itinerary Reston, Virginia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061127053130/http://www.fxva.com/fxva/itin_reston.html|archive-date=November 27, 2006|access-date=October 12, 2007}}</ref>

Simon officially launched Reston on April 10, 1964 (his 50th birthday). He laid out seven "guiding principles" that would stress [[quality of life]] and serve as the foundation for its future development.  His goal was for Restonians to live, work, and play in their own community, with common grounds and scenic beauty shared equally regardless of income level, thereby building a stronger sense of community ties.<ref name="MasterPlan" /> The initial motto of the community, as articulated by Simon, was "Work, Play, Live"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.veritycommercial.com/category/blog/blog/learning-from-restons-50-years-of-work-play-live|title=Learning from Reston's 50 years of "Work, Play, Live"|last=Verity|website=www.veritycommercial.com|date=July 22, 2016|language=en-us|access-date=2018-12-12|archive-date=April 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422215741/https://www.veritycommercial.com/category/blog/blog/learning-from-restons-50-years-of-work-play-live|url-status=live}}</ref> or often was memorialized onto Reston merchandise as, "Live, Work, Play."

Simon envisioned Reston as a model for clustered residential development,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.planning.org/smartgrowthcodes/pdf/section47.pdf|title=Model Residential Cluster Development Ordinance|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927000825/http://www.planning.org/smartgrowthcodes/pdf/section47.pdf|archive-date=September 27, 2007|access-date=October 12, 2007}}</ref> also known as conservation development, which puts a premium on the preservation of open space, landscapes, and wildlife habitats. Reston was the first 20th-century private community in the U.S. to explicitly incorporate natural preservation in its planning.<ref name="WP-TNoR">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/columns/roadtrip/maps/trip01292006.pdf|title=The Nature of Reston|last=Sloan|first=Willona|date=January 29, 2006|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=March 20, 2007|page=M08|archive-date=April 14, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080414143234/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/columns/roadtrip/maps/trip01292006.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Simon hired the architectural firm of Whittlesey, Conklin, & Rossant to design his new community.<ref>"Robert E. Simon, Jr./Reston, Virginia," Historical Marker Database, marker provided by the American Institute of Certified Planners, https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=89538 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516103541/https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=89538 |date=May 16, 2018 }}, accessed 15 May 2018.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/23/obituaries/julian-whittlesey-archeologist-and-architect-89.html|title=Julian Whittlesey, Archeologist and architect|last=Elliott|first=J. Michael|date=23 May 1995|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-date=May 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516103722/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/23/obituaries/julian-whittlesey-archeologist-and-architect-89.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  The plans for Reston were designed by architect [[James Rossant]], who studied under [[Walter Gropius]] at the [[Harvard Graduate School of Design]], and his partner [[William J. Conklin]]. From the outset, Rossant and Conklin's planning conceptualized the new community as a unified, cohesive, and balanced whole, including landscapes, recreational, cultural, and commercial facilities, and housing for what was envisioned to be a town of 75,000.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/19/arts/design/19rossant.html|title=James Rossant, Architect and Planner, Dies at 81|last=Grimes|first=William|date=18 Dec 2009|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-date=May 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509013603/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/19/arts/design/19rossant.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  For [[Lake Anne]] Plaza, the first of Reston's village centers, the architects combined a small shopping area with a mix of single-family houses, townhouses, and apartments next to a manmade lake featuring a large jet fountain. Close by were the cubist townhouses at Hickory Cluster, designed by modernist architect [[Charles M. Goodman]] in the [[International Style (architecture)|International Style]]. Lake Anne also included an elementary school, a gasoline station, two churches, an art gallery, and several restaurants. The first section of a senior citizens' residence facility, the Lake Anne Fellowship House, was completed several years later.

Reston welcomed its first residents in late 1964. During the community's first year, its continued development was covered in such major media publications as ''[[Newsweek]]'', ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', ''[[Life Magazine|Life]]'', and ''[[The New York Times]]'', which featured the new town in a front-page article extolling it as "one of the most striking communities" in the United States.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/12/05/archives/fully-planned-town-opens-in-virginia-the-totally-planned-community.html|title=Fully Planned Town Opens Virginia; The Totally Planned Community of Reston, Va., Is Dedicated With 'Salute to Arts'|last=Huxtable|first=Ada Louise|date=5 Dec 1965|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=14 May 2018|archive-date=May 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516103256/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/12/05/archives/fully-planned-town-opens-in-virginia-the-totally-planned-community.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Nikki Hornsby]] performed an hour-long paid concert, singing with her guitar outside for this new Reston Community.

Simon ran into financial difficulties as sales in the new community flagged. To keep his project going, he accepted a loan of $15 million from [[Gulf Oil]] that allowed him to pay off his creditors.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://reston50.gmu.edu/exhibits/show/reston50_gulfandmobil/gulfandmobil|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516110719/http://reston50.gmu.edu/exhibits/show/reston50_gulfandmobil/gulfandmobil|title=Reston@50: Gulf and Mobil|website=George Mason University archives|archive-date=May 16, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref> Even so, sales were sluggish as Simon's reluctance to compromise on his high standards for building designs and materials meant that a townhouse in Reston could cost as much as a single-family house elsewhere in Fairfax County.

By 1967, Gulf Oil forced Simon out and formed Gulf Reston, Inc., to manage the community. Gulf retained many of Simon's employees and continued to adhere largely to the spirit of the original Reston master plan as envisioned by Simon. During the 1970s, Gulf built the Reston International Center near the intersection of Sunrise Valley and Reston Parkway and added low- to moderate-income housing to the community's residential mix, including the Cedar Ridge, Laurel Glade, and Fox Mill apartment developments. Gulf also constructed housing for employees of the U.S. Geological Survey headquarters, located on Sunrise Valley Drive.<ref name=":1" />

Gulf Reston put a premium on protecting Reston's open spaces and pedestrian-friendly landscape throughout its ownership. The corporation also transferred title for many Reston recreational facilities, including land, parks, lakes, and facilities, to the Reston Homeowners Association, thereby preserving them from overdevelopment.<ref name=":1" />

Within ten years of buying Simon out, Gulf opted to begin pulling out of the real estate business to focus exclusively on energy. It sold Reston's developed portions, including three completed village centers (Lake Anne, Tall Oaks, and Hunters Woods), the Reston International Center, and Isaac Newton Square, to an investment firm.

In 1978, the company finalized the sale of Reston's remaining 3,700 undeveloped acres to [[Mobil]], which pledged to continue respecting the ideals of Robert Simon. Mobil formed the Reston Land Corporation as a subsidiary to manage its holdings and began developing the remaining residential areas in what would become the South Lakes and North Point villages. Reston Land introduced a wider mix of housing choices, including more townhouses and smaller “starter” homes, and completed the North County Government Center, which houses the Reston District police station, Fairfax County government offices, and a regional library and homeless shelter.<ref name=":1" />

Reston Land also broke ground on the 460-acre Reston Town Center which formed part of Simon's original master plan for Reston. The first four-block development of this multi-phase mixed-use project were opened in 1996 and included a hotel, several restaurants, a cinema, and office buildings.<ref name=":1" />

By 1996, Mobil had decided to follow Gulf Oil's steps and pull out of the land management business. It sold its entire Mobil Land Development subsidiary, including its Reston holdings, to Westbrook Partners, LLC, for $324 million.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/MOBIL+SELLS+LAND+DEVELOPMENT+BUSINESS+TO+WESTBROOK.-a018371341|title=Mobil Sells Land Development Business to Westbrook|date=10 Jun 1996|website=The Free Library|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-date=May 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516103910/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/MOBIL+SELLS+LAND+DEVELOPMENT+BUSINESS+TO+WESTBROOK.-a018371341|url-status=dead}}</ref>  As Reston Town Center continued to develop, Boston Properties emerged as a leading player. The company became the sole owner of the core mixed-use tracts in Reston Town Center when it completed the purchase of the Fountain Square office/retail complex in 2012.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.restonnow.com/2015/10/30/boston-properties-makes-deal-to-be-reston-town-centers-sole-owners/|title=Boston Properties Makes Deal to be Reston Town Center's Sole Owner|last=Goff|first=Karen|date=30 Oct 2015|work=Reston Now|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-date=May 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516104016/https://www.restonnow.com/2015/10/30/boston-properties-makes-deal-to-be-reston-town-centers-sole-owners/|url-status=live}}</ref>