Next Neighborhood - Tenleytown

TENLEYTOWN

Tenleytown offers an eclectic vibe, as it has a wide variety of different types of housing and residents who call the area home.

From rural beginnings to the bustling neighborhood it has become, Tenleytown has combined the transience of Washington’s workforce with a surprising number of multi-generational native Washingtonians. The quiet, tree-lined streets just off the major thoroughfares are reminiscent of the area’s “suburban” past and show few signs of the urban bustle only a few blocks away. But don’t be fooled by the sleepy pulse of its residential areas; Tenleytown is also a major player in local and national events. Home to American University, numerous schools and churches, two television stations, and one radio studio, Tenleytown plays host to the nation without ever losing its small-town charm.

In Tenleytown, you’ll find a neighborhood that strikes a delightful balance between modern amenities and time-honored sensibility. Enjoy these neighborhood highlights as you walk:

• Grant Road, a rural enclave in the heart of this bustling neighborhood that was frequently visited by President Theodore Roosevelt on horseback

• Point Reno, the highest natural point in DC, where Union soldiers spied a Confederate advance from the north in time to defend against the coming attack during the Civil War

• The site of Reno City, the thriving, post-Civil War community of working-class African American and white families that was razed in the early 20th century

• The former site of “Harry’s Field,” a community garden and playground owned by one of Tenleytown’s best-known businessmen, John B. “Bernard” Harry

• The broadcasting studios that hosted one of the Nixon- Kennedy presidential debates, aired the “Joy Boys” radio show, and introduced Kermit the Frog to the world.

• The former college where women of the U.S. Navy broke the Japanese code during World War II.