Robert E. Simon, Jr., was born in New York City in 1914. After graduating from Harvard, Simon took over the family real estate management and development business. In 1961, with the proceeds from the sale of a family property, Carnegie Hall, Simon purchased 6,750 acres of land in Fairfax County, Virginia, which would become Reston, Virginia. Reston is now recognized as the foremost Planned Community in the United States. Simon's Planned Community, or new town emphasized the quality of life for the individual and provide a community where people could live, work, and play.

Among the material in the Robert E. Simon Collection of the Planned Community Archives are:

• Reston scrapbooks
• Photographs of Sunset Hill Farm
• Speeches

Planned Community Archives, Inc., is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to improving the quality of community development in the United States. It seeks to use its archival, research, publishing and instructional resources to maintain the historical records of community development projects, to prepare and disseminate information and analysis drawn form these records, and to design and participate in interdisciplinary courses of instruction on community development.

For additional information on the Robert E. Simon, Jr. Collection, please consult the SC&A staff. The SC&A staff is always willing to assist researchers. SC&A has a reading room, providing a quiet haven for serious research. Most materials may be photocopied, either by the researcher or by staff, depending on the nature of the item. Telephone or mail requests for photocopies and photographs are handled for a fee on a prepaid basis. Tours can be arranged for small groups, and speakers are available upon request.