One of the oldest buildings in Reston is at risk of falling into disrepair after a tree on a neighboring property toppled on its roof during a storm that swept through the area on July 5.
Built in the 1890s, the two-story Robert Wiehle House has endured more than a century of fluctuating weather and suburban development, still standing at 1830 Old Reston Avenue even as condominiums and apartments sprouted up around it.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has approved a redevelopment plan that will result in 57 townhouses ringing the circa-1899 A. Smith Bowman House at 1850 Old Reston Avenue in Reston.
The 10-0 vote on July 14 allows the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association and developer EYA to move forward on the proposal, which replaces a pre-Covid plan for two new office buildings. The association, which owns the property, had intended to transform the 5.2-acre site into a new headquarters campus.
A historic Reston building that was created as the center of a utopian community, and later used as a distillery, has been added to a statewide preservation group’s “Most Endangered Places” list, lending momentum to local efforts to try to save it.
Preservation Virginia added the Wiehle Town Hall, also known as the A. Smith Bowman Distillery, to its list of endangered historic places earlier this month, citing “significant development pressures in this region of Virginia” as well as the fact that last year, the land was listed for sale.
Once part of George Washington’s Mount Vernon plantation, River Farm is now a historic landmark that has been owned by the American Horticulture Society (AHS) for over five decades. Its gardens and scenic views play host to special occasions such as weddings and memorial services.
The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust and American Horticulture Society announced that River Farm has received formal, permanent protection with a conservation easement, a milestone celebrated at a ribbon-cutting ceremony this afternoon (Friday).
Though it hasn’t served a drink since Lyndon B. Johnson was in the White House, the historic Dranesville Tavern appears to have retained its appeal as a lodging destination.
Where other sites in its Resident Curator Program might attract a single offer, the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) received three proposals from community members looking to restore the 19th-century property in Herndon in exchange for a rent-free stay.
After two years of renovations, the first and second floors of George and Martha Washington’s mansion at Mount Vernon reopened to visitors on Wednesday (Dec. 10).
The $40 million preservation project at the first president’s home included designing and installing a new HVAC system, major infrastructure repairs, and improving drainage in and around the mansion’s cellar, and Washington’s newly restored bedroom.
The historic A. Smith Bowman Distillery building in Reston remains one of the county’s most endangered properties, the Fairfax County History Commission warned leaders in its annual report.
The building, which dates to the 1880s, is among four properties the advisory panel sees as most imperiled, commission chair Gretchen Bulova told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Oct. 28).
A historic house in the Wolf Trap area that has previously served as a plantation home and an art studio could soon take on new life once again, thanks to the Fairfax County Park Authority’s Resident Curator Program.
An application submitted through the program this summer proposes to restore not only the vacant Lahey Lost Valley House at 9750 Brookmeadow Drive, but also the trails and parkland surrounding it.
A Fairfax County residential community built primarily for middle-class African American families in the 1960s and 1970s has been officially recognized by Virginia as a historic property.
William H. Randall Estates is one of 10 new inclusions on the Virginia Landmarks Register approved by members of the Virginia Board of Historic Resources at their Sept. 18 meeting.
As Northern Virginia continues to grapple with the limited supply and high cost of housing, a pair of 18th and 19th-century taverns that were later converted into homes could present an unique opportunity for some preservation-minded residents.
The Fairfax County Park Authority is currently looking for resident curators for the rehabilitation and long-term maintenance of the Dranesville Tavern and Fairfax Arms.
