Long before Reston became known as a bustling satellite city on the skirts of Washington D.C. and notorious for being home to tech giants and the expansive Reston Town Center development, Reston was famed for its scenic man-made lakes. The first of these man-made lakes was Lake Anne, named after the wife of Reston’s founder, and eventually became home to Lake Anne Plaza, a small brutalist style communal area surrounding the lake.
When I moved to Reston in 2022, Lake Anne became my aunt and I’s home for the next six months. Our bright green townhome was nestled farther inland from the lake. From my room on the second floor, I could see past the children’s park and stack of canoes to only a narrow corner of the lake, but despite our distance from the water, it was a quick walk to Lake Anne center. In the afternoons after school, we’d walk past the other colorful townhomes and by the little free library and art gallery into the main plaza. Though small, the plaza has all the necessities and oddities a resident could want. On the main level of the plaza, there’s the popular German pretzel shop, Mexican grocery store, a French Vietnamese restaurant, used bookstore, and local church to name a few. Above these stores are several apartments that span out from above the shops to further around the lake.
Lake Anne is a stark contrast from Reston’s official town center. Only a mile away, Reston Town Center’s towering business and apartment buildings and higher-end shops attract the attention of D.C. and northern Virginia residents. Home to big name corporations such as Google and Leidos, the town center is never not rampant with activity. Lake Anne, on the other hand, remains a well-kept secret for the Reston community. Despite its smaller size and quirkier nature, Lake Anne is considered the true hub of Reston communal life by its residents.
One of my favorite memories from my time living on Lake Anne was the weekly Saturday farmer's market. On Saturday mornings, local produce suppliers, small businesses, and food trucks from all over Maryland and Virginia would set their tents up in and around the plaza area. It was tradition between me and my aunt to get a pastry from the Austrian baker’s tent and a chocolate croissant from the French baker (if any were left by the time we got there). Since the parking lot was taken over with tents, people would walk or bike in from all over the city to shop at the market and enjoy the lively atmosphere.
Another true Lake Anne tradition is the annual cardboard boat race. In late August, Reston residents of all ages and backgrounds sign up to build their own cardboard boats and race them in the Lake Anne regatta. The first year I attended, I remember trying to push through the densely crowded plaza toward a point where I could view the boats. The plaza was filled with banners advertising the race’s sponsors and stacks of brightly decorated cardboard creations. I could barely hear my aunt’s voice over the cheers of the crowds and the race moderator’s booming voice over the megaphone. This level of excitement and enthusiasm from the Reston community only occurs once a year and only on Lake Anne.
Though these are only a couple of the most notorious traditions that occur on Lake Anne, there’s countless other small events that made the lake home. The weekly live music performances, annual pride festival, winter season fairy lights, and the improv classes my aunt would attend all worked to make Lake Anne home to me and the entire Reston community. By the time my six months living on the lake was up, it was clear to me that Lake Anne Plaza is the true center of community life in the city, uniquely able to assemble Reston residents of all ages and national backgrounds to appreciate the life Lake Anne brings to Reston.
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