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This article is about the Washington D.C. neighborhood. For the Metro stop, see Tenleytown-AU (Washington Metro).
    Tenleytown is the historic name for a neighborhood in northwest Washington, DC. In 1790, Washington locals began calling the neighborhood "Tennally's Town" after area tavern owner John Tennally. Over time, the spelling has evolved and by the 19th century the area was commonly known by its current name, although the spelling Tennallytown continued to be used for some time in certain capacities, including streetcars through the 1920s. The area is the site of Fort Reno, one of the forts that formed a ring around Washington D.C. during the Civil War to protect the capital against invasions. It proved to be the crucial lookout point for preventing a siege of Washington. Fort Reno was decommissioned with the surrender of the Confederate armies. In the post-Civil War area, Fort Reno was a free black community. This community was almost entirely wiped out when the federal government decided to condemn most of its housing to build Deal Middle School, Wilson High School, a park, and a water tower. The Jesse Lee Reno school building, which housed an African-American school during the Jim Crow era, is one of the few remaining traces of this history. Within the park boundaries lies the highest point in the District of Columbia, 429 feet above sea level. Fort Reno also hosts community gardens, free rock concerts in the summer, good sledding in the winter, and tennis courts, playing fields, and lots of dogwalkers year round. Tenleytown and adjacent American University Park are served by the Tenleytown-AU stop on the Washington Metro Red Line. The mostly residential area has been called the "town" for American University, which lies approximately one mile to the west in the Spring Valley neighborhood. A free shuttle bus runs between the Metro stop and the university's main campus. The neighborhood is defined by Tenley Circle which lies at the intersection of Nebraska Avenue, Wisconsin Avenue, and Yuma Street. On Tenley Circle itself is St. Ann's Catholic Church, a large imposing stone church which serves area Catholics. On the opposite side of the circle is Wisconsin Avenue Baptist Church. American University's Tenley Campus, formerly the Immaculata School, also bounds the western edge of the circle. Tenleytown was transformed in 1941 when Sears Roebuck opened its department store on Wisconsin Avenue at Albemarle Street. At the time the store was notable for its size and for its rooftop parking. In the 1990s, Sears abandoned its retail operation at the location and the building was used by Hechinger's hardware until its demise in the late 1990s. In the 2000s, the building was converted to a mixed-use development complex, with luxury condos (The Cityline) on the top level, a Best Buy and a Container Store at street level, and an Ace Hardware underground, located within the parking garage that serves the aforementioned stores. The west entrance to the Metro stop is at the front of the building. A Sears Appliance Store now exists in the former location of a Hollywood Video store on the east side of Wisconsin Ave., in a block that also houses a Whole Foods, a Starbucks and other businesses that cater to the area's mix of affluent residents and students. A kabob restaurant called the "Hungry Tiger" has opened there in the past year. An Indian restaurant is due to open soon in the neighborhood. Tenleytown used to have a movie theatre which is in process of becoming a Commerce bank/ aka TD Bank after much opposition from neighbors. [edit] EducationThe area is served by the District of Columbia Public Schools. Tenleytown is zoned to: Tenleytown is the location of some major independent schools, such as Georgetown Day School. District of Columbia Public Library operates the Tenley-Friendship Interim Library.[1] [edit] References
[edit] External linksHistoric Preservation Review Board's staff report on proposed multi-property historic designation for Tenleytown: *[1] Coordinates: 38°56′46″N 77°04′44″W / 38.946°N 77.079°W
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