Understanding the Original Reston Sales Pitch

How did developers sell the new town to potential Reston residents when it first began?

That is the topic of the Reston Historic Trust's upcoming program, "The Early History of Reston: Translating the Dream to Reality.”

The free program takes place at 7 p.m. on Nov. 29 at the Reston Community Center Lake Anne.

The event will concentrate on the marketing and public relations  efforts from 1964 to 1974. Peter McCandless and Chuck Veatch, along with a panel of other early marketing experts, will present a program on the origins of Reston, the nation’s first large-scale planned community that changed the face of the suburban landscape in America. 

The presentation will cover Robert E. Simon Jr.’s unique vision for Reston incorporating contemporary architecture and a balanced community with a mix of uses and clustered development, how the plan became “world famous,” and the market challenges facing Reston.

McCandless and Veatch were two of Simon’s first Reston employees in charge of turning the original dream into a reality.

 For more information, call the Reston Museum at 703-709-7700, email restonmuseum@gmail.com, or visit www.restonmuseum.org.