Reston Real Estate: Pharmacy Icons

This is a sponsored post from Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate. For a more complete picture of home sales in your neighborhood, contact her on Reston Real Estate.

In May of 1966 when the Lake Anne Village Center was dedicated it was like a scene out of “Mad Men” with its modern architecture and edgy hip vibe.

The Plaza architects, Whittlesey & Conklin hired a graphics design firm out of New York, Chermayeff and Geismer, (now Chermayeff, Geismar & Haviv) to create an advertising package for the Plaza storefronts. While the goal was advertising, the results spoke of the pop art aesthetic of the time and reflected Bob Simons wish for whimsical artwork on the Plaza.

Sadly, most of the icons have been lost to time, or have been modified to reflect the current business. The Reston’s Used Book Shop pillar sign was originally a giant barber pole! The last of the icons resided on Lakeside Pharmacy, in business for 44 years before owner Larry Cohen retired.

When two new businesses moved into the old Pharmacy space a new store front was created to provide more glass storefront. The icons were donated to the Reston Historic Trust & Museum in order to preserve them. The icons have been cleaned up, preserved and are ready to be installed on the Plaza as part of a permanent exhibit that highlights the history of the Plaza.

The museum is doing a fund raiser to pay for the permanent installation of the icon exhibit. The exhibit will be installed in the wide pass-through that leads up to Chimney House, next to Singh Thai.

The goal is to raise $15,000; they’ve got a ways to go but are hopeful that with help from the community they can get there soon. I hope you’ll consider a contribution to preserve a piece of our history.