About Tennally's Almanac

Tennally's Almanac is an independent publication documenting the history, culture, and community of Upper Northwest Washington, DC.

What We Cover

Neighborhoods: Tenleytown, AU Park, Spring Valley, Fort Reno, American University, Friendship Heights, Van Ness, and the surrounding areas.

Topics: - Local history from Native American settlements through today - Neighborhood development and change - Local businesses and their stories - Community events and culture - Demographics and data - Politics and civic life

Our Approach

We believe local history makes neighborhoods more interesting. Every street corner has a story. Every building was something else before. Understanding where a place came from helps you appreciate where it is now.

We're not trying to sell you anything. There are no "featured listings" or paid placements. The business directory exists as a reference, with historical context that Yelp and Google can't provide.

Why "Almanac"?

An almanac is a comprehensive reference—a yearly compendium of practical information, local knowledge, and accumulated wisdom. Benjamin Franklin published Poor Richard's Almanack from Philadelphia. We're doing the same for Tenleytown, named after another innkeeper who couldn't spell his own name.

The name honors John Tennally (spelled a dozen different ways in colonial records), whose tavern at the crossroads gave this neighborhood its name over 200 years ago.

Who We Are

Tennally's Almanac is a local project. We live here. We're curious about this place.

Contact

Have a tip, correction, or story suggestion? Want to share old photos or memories?

Email: [email protected]

Sources and Credits

We rely on: - Tenleytown Historical Society — tenleytownhistoricalsociety.org - Library of Congress — Historical photographs and newspapers - DC Public Library — Washingtoniana collection - Chronicling America — Historical newspaper archives - DC Office of Planning — Demographics and data

Historical photographs on this site are primarily from the Library of Congress and are in the public domain.

Colophon

Built with Flask and markdown. Fonts are Playfair Display and Source Serif. The newspaper aesthetic is intentional—we think local journalism matters, even when it's about things that happened 200 years ago.