Ruby Lee Minar and the Onslaught of Suburbia
When Ruby Lee Minar carved out the first 200 lots (plat) of Greenway Downs from a 109 acre dairy farm in 1927, there was only a house, a barn, and a carriage house to bear witness to the previous inhabitants.
Mrs. Minar remodeled Oakmount and the carriage house in 1927 and both still stand today. The third, and most famous of these structures, the barn, was refurbished as a home in 1933 by Carl Harper and until it burned down in 1976, it was the defining landmark of Greenway Downs.
A familiar landmark today is the bungalow Mrs. Minar built as here real estate office in 1927, now serving as the site of Parrots, Parrots, Parrots, Just Parrots.
- 2819 Greenway
- Original brick house burned down 1870
- Unknown date for new house for the Tripp family
- Renovated as a new home and tea room, 1927-1928
Harper House (the Barn)
- 2824 Cameron Rd.
- Dulaney/Tripp Barn renovated into a home by Carl Harper in 1933
- Burned down January, 1976
Ruby Lee Minar's Real Estate Bungalow
- 7219 Lee Highway
- Built in one month in 1927 for Ruby's office
- 1940's it was The Wishing Well Tourist Home
- Today it is "The American Bird Company"
Newspaper Articles about Ruby Lee Minar
- Mrs. Minar's purchase of the Tripp Farm (1927)
- Mrs. Minar's real estate bungalow (now the American Bird Co.) (pdf version) (1927) (includes pic)
- Greenway Downs, Lee Highway, and proposed Route 50. (1927)
- How Greenway Downs got its name. (1927) (pdf)
- "Silent Salesman" Method used by Minar Company
- Ruby Lee Minar renovates the Carriage House as a Model Home, 1927 (pdf version)
Arlington Library Collection
The Arlington Public Library has a digital presentation about Ruby Lee Minar. You can find it here.
This digital collection includes pictures of Mrs. Minar and a copy of the original Greenway Downs purchaser agreement from 1927.