A Throwback to the McLean Before the Bustle

Before Tysons Corner boomed and the CIA's Langley headquarters was built, an ad for Broyhill McLean Estates urged folks to get in on a locale that was sure to escalate in value because of the coming "Chantilly airport" (Dulles, 1960) and "Circumferential Highway" (the Beltway, 1962).

McLean at the time was just an intersection of two two-lane roads. "We were halfway to Great Falls -- that was the frontier. You had to go to Arlington to find something to eat," recalled Bob Reid, one of the original homeowners in Broyhill McLean Estates.

That has changed. "You really don't have to leave McLean," said Brian Doherty, referring to the shops, restaurants and recreational amenities nearby. "We have everything we need here."

The subdivision, like many built in the post-World War II suburban boom, sits on land that was once a dairy farm. In a 1960 aerial photo taken by Reid, a former civilian employee of the Air Force, the community's original 250 houses are clearly visible because there was no heavy tree canopy yet. Dolley Madison Boulevard -- now a four-lane road that bisects the community -- appears as a narrow band of red clay.

Even though property values have indeed soared over the past half century, "estates" is a misnomer. There isn't anything grand or pretentious about Broyhill McLean Estates, which was developed by the locally prominent Broyhill family. Instead, well-built ramblers, split levels and raised ranches -- brick and block load-bearing masonry with steel I-beams -- grace well-maintained yards in a congenial neighborhood.

"You don't have to make an appointment to visit your neighbors," said Nicole Ritchie, president of the community's citizens association.

By the way, even though the neighborhood's sign says Broyhill McLean, the citizens association, newsletter and locals have used the reverse -- McLean Broyhill Estates -- since 1990 to emphasize the community rather than the developer.

That's because residents are involved with issues and events in greater McLean as well as within the neighborhood, said Cyndee Cannon, who was 9 when her family moved there. She graduated from McLean High School in 1982 and now lives in her childhood home.

For more than two decades, she and her husband, Mike, have enjoyed a walking-distance commute to the 60-year-old McLean Hardware. He's the manager, and she's the bookkeeper. Three other family members are also employees of the store, which just moved to a new location around the corner.

For those with longer commutes, "there are so many ways to get downtown from here," said Doherty, who works at the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers in Washington. If one route is backed up, he has several alternates to reach the Potomac bridges.

On a walk around the neighborhood recently, Ritchie talked about similarities and differences among the original houses. "From the outside, it looks like there are four different styles," she said. "Inside, each model has about five different variations." Renovations over the years have made the houses even more individual.

Every other year, the association sponsors a home tour for residents. "That's where you get the 'I thought your house was just like mine,' " said Ritchie, describing the surprise homeowners express when they see the differences.