Location

Tenleytown is in upper northwest. The center is where River Rd meets Wisconsin and you’ll know when you’re there because it’s the middle of the retail strip. Tenleytown stretches to Chesapeake St to the north, Van Ness to the south – 39th / Nebraska on the east side and 43rd on the west. It’s between AU Park to the west and is often paired together with AU Park. Where Tenleytown is more commercial with some residential, AU Park is mostly residential with a sprinkling of shopping and restaurants.

Tenleytown is a pretty small pocket but has tons of history and tons of commercial/restaurant space and is conveniently serviced by Red line metro

History

Named after John Tennally, who had a tavern in the neighborhood. It was a rural part of DC, not considered in the city but the burbs, even though not much of DC was a battleground. Union soldiers were houses here who were protecting DC from the Civil War.

In the late 1800’s, Tenleytown began to develop and the streetcar came to connect the residents with downtown.

DC’s highest point in the city is in Tenleytown – a whopping 426 feet above sea level.

In 2016, a group formed called Tenleytown Main Street to encourage and support the local businesses. They host events including the Winterfest

Real Estate

Not a lot of homes here, but there are a mix of apartments, condos and houses – both rowhomes and single families.

  • 1 BD Condo – $400’s and up
  • Rowhomes & Single family – $1M up to $3M’s

Food

Fun

The main strip of retail is on Wisconsin Avenue, and residents find that much of their needs can be served by the stores here. For shopping  there’s Whole Foods, Target and the Container Store. The Tenleytown Library is here, and there are parks with tennis courts and pools – more on that below.

Kids

  • Sullivans Toys (unfortunately closed in 2021.)
  • Georgetown Pediatrics in 4200 Wisconsin building.
  • Janney Elementary
  • Wilson High School – Aquatic Center

Dogs

Because it’s such a small area, I can’t point you to any dog-friendly activities or parks here.
One of the city’s regular / emergency vets is in Tenleytown, however, as a longtime animal lover and founder of East Coast Corgi Rescue, my experiences here aren’t what I would want for my pets. I have plenty of other fantastic vet recommendations. Hit me up and I’ll point you in the right direction!

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