Flashback Monday: But Where's the 7-11?

Here is another one of the scale models of Reston we love so much, this one of the fancy, black-cube Reston International Center (tm) and adjoining roundish Sheraton, which together, from the air, look like a vaguely obscene "emoticon" that was created nearly two decades before texting and instant messaging would begin their assault on literacy. Or maybe Reston's planners just wanted to tell pilots circling to land at Dulles where a good time could be had.

Anyhoo, both of these impressive modernist buildings would pretty much be built exactly as envisioned and greatly improved by the surrounding low-rise buildings housing the Chilis and 7-11 and Popeyes and whatnot that followed later. For many years, the RIC was the tallest building in Reston, but the creation of the Fake Downtown (tm) across the Toll Road changed all that. Now, much of the surrounding real estate is in the midst of redevelopment for the awesome Reston Heights project, which has already brought us an oddly pagan hotel grand opening and a fire-sale condo auction. Still to come: 2,800 parking spaces and more tall buildings where the aforementioned Popeye's now stands, and maybe someday, a Metro Silver Line stop... on the other side of the Toll Road. Maybe they can run a Zip line from the top of the International Center to the parking garage.