After over a year of fundraising, restoration work, review by the Lake Anne Covenants & Board, the Reston Association Design Review Board and the Fairfax County Architectural Review Board, and exhibit design planning and implementation, the Reston Historic Trust & Museum has installed the new Lakeside Pharmacy icon exhibit at Lake Anne Plaza. This new exhibit is located in the breezeway leading up to the Chimney House parking lot, only a few steps away from their original location.
With the expertise of Jeanne Krohn of Krohn Design and Capitol Museum Services, the Reston Historic Trust & Museum was able to install this new permanent exhibit, honoring an original Lake Anne Plaza store which was in operation for nearly 50 years and the work of the New York graphic design firm of Chermayeff and Geismar. The text panel gives viewers insight into the history of both Lake Anne Plaza and the Lakeside Pharmacy and features reproductions of archival images from the Reston Historic Trust & Museum’s collection as well as contemporary photographs by Charlotte Geary.
More than 80 individuals and organizations provided funding and support for the Lakeside Pharmacy Icon Preservation project so that the icons could remain at Lake Anne Plaza. This exhibit was made possible in significant part by the generous donation from Hirad Najabagy in honor of his parents, Hooshang and Farah Najafbagy, who immigrated to the U.S. and found their new home, work and oasis in Lake Anne where they operated Calvert Gourmet Shop for many years.
On 9/18/2019, during the Reston Historic Trust & Museum’s 22nd anniversary, a dedication for the new Lakeside Pharmacy icon exhibit was held. Hirad Najabagy, Farah Najafbagy, and Cheryl Terio-Simon, board member of the Reston Historic Trust & Museum who led this effort, cut the ribbon for the new exhibit.
History of the Lakeside Pharmacy Icons
The New York graphic design firm of Chermayeff and Geismar (now Chermayeff, Geismar & Haviv) designed most of the original storefronts on Lake Anne Plaza, including the Lakeside Pharmacy, an original Lake Anne Plaza store. Chermayeff and Geismar were also responsible for creating the logos for NBC and PBS. While the main purpose of the Lakeside Pharmacy icons was advertising, the icons are characteristic of the 1960s Pop Art aesthetic and reflected Bob
Simon’s inclination that the plaza’s sculpture be fun. The oversized depictions of items commonly sold in a 1960’s drugstore advertised the pharmacy that also contained a fountain counter and a post office substation. Larry Cohn was the pharmacist and owner for 44 years until his retirement in 2014. The icons were removed from the façade in 2018 and were donated by the Lake Anne Condominium Association to the Reston Historic Trust & Museum. In 2018 and 2019, the new exhibit of the icons was created by Krohn Design and Capitol Museum Services, and approved by the Lake Anne Condominium Association, whose wall the exhibit now hangs on, the Reston Design and Review Board, and Fairfax County’s Architectural Review Board.
About the Reston Historic Trust & Museum
The Reston Historic Trust & Museum (RHT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Reston’s past, informing the present, and influencing the future of Reston. RHT is located at Lake Anne Plaza and is open Monday through Saturday free of charge and conducts educational and public programming, exhibitions, and public events including the Lake Anne Cardboard Boat Regatta, Reston Home Tour, and Founder’s Day. RHT also preserves a collection of archival material and artifacts related to the history of Reston. Programs of the Reston Historic Trust & Museum are supported in part by Reston Community Center.
Photo credit: All photos by Charlotte Geary
