McLean

Fairfax County, Virginia

McLean is a census‑designated place bordering the Potomac River. It is essentially a bedroom community for Washington, D.C. The primary zip code is 22101.

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Photo: Spring Hill Farm, circa 1822, located at 1121 Spring Hill Road, McLean. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. Photographed by wikipedia username: ZeWrestler, own work, 2012, [cc‑3.0], accessed January, 2023.

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Neighborhoods

Established in 1910, the community of McLean is named for former Washington Post owner and editor, John. R. McLean. He participated as an investor in the creation of the Great Falls and Old Dominion Electric Railway in 1906 which connected the area with Washington, D.C.

The McLean Planning District [†] ]encompasses approximately 19,400 acres, or about seven percent of the county. The planning district is located in the northeast portion of Fairfax County, and is bounded on the north by the Potomac River, on the southeast by Arlington County and the City of Falls Church, on the southwest by Leesburg Pike (Route 7) and the Dulles Airport Access Road and Dulles Toll Road (DAAR, Route 267), and on the west by Difficult Run, Leesburg Pike, Towlston Road, and Old Dominion Drive. The planning district contains the McLean Community Business Center (CBC), the West Falls Church Transit Station Area (TSA), and a portion of the Tysons Urban Center. Plan recommendations for the Tysons Urban Center are included in the Area II volume of the Comprehensive Plan, Tysons Urban Center.

Outside of the Tysons Urban Center, McLean CBC, and West Falls Church TSA, the McLean Planning District is predominantly composed of stable, low-density residential neighborhoods. Commercial uses are limited, with only a few neighborhood-oriented commercial areas throughout the planning district. Large tracts of federally-owned parkland and institutional uses are also present.

In addition to those previously listed, the planning district is traversed by several major roads and highways, including the Capital Beltway/Interstate 495 (I-495), Interstate 66 (I-66), Chain Bridge Road/Dolley Madison Boulevard (Route 123), and the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Metrorail's Orange Line is located in the median of I-66, with the West Falls Church Metro Station located at the junction of I-66 and the DAAR. The planning sector also contains Clemyjontri Park.

Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan, 2017, www.fairfaxcounty.gov, accessed January, 2013.