Reston Town Center

The Reston Town Center (RTC) is a group of offices, stores, and restaurants in Reston, Virginia.

Layout

The Reston Town Center is designed with open avenues and with wide sidewalks. It is built around Freedom Square, a medium-sized open area between the surrounding shops. The main landmark in Freedom Square is Mercury Fountain, designed by Saint Clair Cemin. Directly in front of Mercury Fountain is Market Street, and across the street is the Equity Office Pavilion. The Pavilion doubles as a covered open-air ice rink during the winter and as a concert venue throughout the rest of the year. To the left and right of the Fountain along Market Street are the One Fountain Square and Two Fountain Square buildings, respectively, with the two Freedom Centers a little further down past One Fountain Square. The center is surrounded by multiple surface and garage parking locations which are now free.
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300px|left|thumb|18-Story_Accenture building located at One Freedom Center]

Location

The Reston Town Center is located between Washington Dulles International Airport and Washington, DC, near the Dulles Toll Road. With the construction of the Silver Line of the Washington Metro subway, access to Reston Town Center should improve with the Reston Parkway station and Herndon being located nearby.

History

Construction of the town center began in 1990. This first wave of construction was Phase 1, and started the center off with 2 11-story office buildings, One Fountain Square and Two Fountain Square, along with multiple smaller office buildings and a Hyatt Regency hotel. In Phase 2, the 18-story One Freedom Center (Accenture office) and 16-story Two Freedom Center were added. In Phase 3, three residential highrises were finished in mid-2006.

Today

The Reston Town Center serves a variety of shopping and dining. Many find the convenience of downtown shopping. The Town Center has become popular within middle school and high school students as a typical weekend hang out spot due to its outdoor atmosphere and various restaurants that have affordable menus. Stores like Victoria's Secret, Gap, Banana Republic, South Moon Under, and Pottery Barn are a few of the many stores that the Reston Town Center holds.

Notable attractions and events

* Summer Concert Series - FREE, Every Saturday Night in June, July, and August 7:30 - 10:00 pm
* The Reston Festival
* Taste of the Town
* [http://www.restonarts.org Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival]
* Outdoor Ice Skating Rink - Oct. thru March
* Reston Town Center Multiplex Cinema - matinee before 6pm - 13 screens
* Rio Grande Cafe - Mexican Food and Margaritas!
* Uno's - Chicago Pizza
* Obi Sushi - Executive Chef Dinner
* Hyatt Regency - Weekend Getaway
* Clyde's - Happy Hour
* McCormick and Schmick - $1.95 Bar Menu, "Best Happy Hour" - Washingtonian Magazine, 2004
* M&S Grill - McCormick and Schmick's non-seafood offerings.
* American Tap Room - Breakfast Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8 AM until 2 PM -- Now reopen under new management
* Market Street Bar & Grill - Brunch
* Potbelly - Now open
* Panera Bread - In the lobby of the Hyatt
* [http://www.ediblesincredible.com/ Edibles Incredible] - Fantastic cakes, desserts and specialty sweets.
* Big Bowl - AmerAsian Food

Further reading

* cite book
last = Ward
first = Alan
title = Reston Town Center: Downtown for the 21st Century
edition = 1st ed.
date = June 1, 2006
publisher = Academy Press
isbn = 0972857516
pages = 218 pp.

External links

* [http://www.restontowncenter.com/ Reston Town Center (official page)]
* [http://www.restontowncenter.com/popmap.html Layout of Reston Town Center (official page)]
* [http://www.midtownreston.com/MidtownReston/Neighborhood/townsquare.html Midtown Reston Town Square (official page)]
* [http://www.midtownreston.com/MidtownReston/Neighborhood/towncenter.html Midtown Reston Town Center (official page)]
* [http://www.restontowncenter.com/popmap.html Map of Reston Town Center including phase 2]
* [http://www.planetizen.com/node/20938 History of RTC]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Reston,+VA&btnG=Search&ll=38.9588,-77.357773&spn=0.004238,0.012789&t=k Satellite Image (Google Maps)]
* [http://www.restonfestival.com Reston Festival homepage]