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Tenley Circle is a
Into the late nineteenth century, much of
traffic circle
A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford Eng ...
in the Northwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
neighborhood of Tenleytown
Tenleytown is a historic neighborhood in Northwest, Washington, D.C.
History
In 1790, 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 th ...
. Tenley Circle lies at the intersection of Nebraska Avenue, Wisconsin Avenue
Wisconsin Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Washington, D.C., and its Maryland suburbs. The southern terminus begins in Georgetown just north of the Potomac River, at an intersection with K Street under the elevated Whitehurst Freeway. The ...
, and Yuma Street. Unlike many of the circles in Washington, Tenley's traffic pattern has evolved such that the dominant roadway, Wisconsin Avenue, can pass straight through the center instead of going around the outside circumference.
Description
The circle is bounded by St. Ann Catholic Church, a large imposing stone church, American University'sWashington College of Law
The American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL or WCL) is the law school of American University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of no ...
, and Wisconsin Avenue Baptist Church.
The circle is an important transportation hub for area residents, featuring stops for the Washington Metro
The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,Google Books search/preview
's 30N, 30S, 31, 33, 37, 96, H2, H3, H4, M4, and N2 bus routes
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for ch ...
. The Tenleytown–AU Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban ...
station is one block north of the circle, where one is able to catch a free shuttle to the main campus of American University a little less than a mile away.
History
Into the late nineteenth century, much of Northwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...
Washington west of the Rock Creek valley was rural, with Wisconsin Avenue
Wisconsin Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Washington, D.C., and its Maryland suburbs. The southern terminus begins in Georgetown just north of the Potomac River, at an intersection with K Street under the elevated Whitehurst Freeway. The ...
(then known as "Georgetown and Rockville Pike" or "the Tenley Road" in Tenleytown
Tenleytown is a historic neighborhood in Northwest, Washington, D.C.
History
In 1790, 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 th ...
) being one of the only major roads through the area. In 1902, as part of a report to the United States Senate Committee on the District of Columbia The United States Senate Committee on the District of Columbia was one of the first standing committees created in the United States Senate, in 1816. It had jurisdiction over the District of Columbia. It continued to exist until the reorganization o ...
, the D.C. Park Commission proposed that a traffic circle
A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford Eng ...
be constructed at the junction of Wisconsin and Nebraska Avenues.
In 1926, after multiple accidents were caused by Wisconsin Avenue motorists following streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...
tracks through the center of the unpaved circle, D.C. Traffic Director M. O. Eldridge recommended that Wisconsin Avenue's paving follow the tracks, "leaving half moons of grass parking on each side." On May 27, 1927, the District of Columbia's Board of Commissioners voted to officially name the circle after eighteenth century local resident and tavern owner, John Tenley, who is also the namesake of the surrounding neighborhood.
Future development
TheNational Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...
's 2016 "Memorials for the Future" competition included Tenley Circle as a potential location within Washington for a new national memorial.
Since 2017, Sunrise Senior Living
Sunrise Senior Living is an American operator of senior living communities. As of 2022, it operates over more than 270 assisted living facilities throughout the United States and Canada making it the sixth-largest senior living provider in the U.S ...
has been in negotiations with Wisconsin Avenue Baptist Church and neighborhood groups to build a four-story assisted living
An assisted living residence or assisted living facility (ALF) is a housing facility for people with disabilities or for adults who cannot or who choose not to live independently. The term is popular in the United States, but the setting is si ...
facility on an unused lot fronting the eastern boundary of Tenley Circle.
See also
*List of circles in Washington, D.C.
The surface road layout in Washington, D.C., consists primarily of numbered streets along the north–south axis and lettered streets (followed by streets named in alphabetical order) along the east–west axis. Avenues named for each of the 50 ...
References
External links
{{Streets in Washington, DC Squares, plazas, and circles in Washington, D.C. Streets in Washington, D.C. Tenleytown