Eighty years ago Tysons Corner, Virginia was a crossroads of two rural dirt roads in open farmland. Fifty years ago it was a quiet suburb with some office buildings and stores. In the last thirty years it has been totally rebuilt as a bustling city jammed with high rise hotels, massive office complexes, and just recently an elevated Metro railway. In the 27 years I have lived here, I've seen the transformation from suburb into big city.
During the 1970s and 1980s a number of characterless office buildings were built in the Tysons area. Most of them had retail or restaurants on the bottom floor. Some of them have been demolished and rebuilt, and the work is ongoing. This building was one of those dull boxes but it was enlivened on the outside by orange horizontal stripes on each floor. I was mildly disappointed to see it being demolished, but I love drawing sketches of demolition and construction sites so I drew it as it was being removed, orange stripes and all. What's there now? Another forgettable office building with a Bertucci's pizza restaurant on the bottom floor.
From my 2002 illustrated journal sketchbook page, 5 1/2" x 7 1/2", February 12, 2002.
No comments:
Post a Comment