Tenley Campus

About

The Immaculata Seminary Historic District, commonly known as Tenley Campus, is an 8.2-acre (3.3 ha) parcel of land, located off of Tenley Circle in the Northwest Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Tenleytown. The site of Dunblane, an early to mid-nineteenth-century Federal/Greek Revival-style manor house, it was once part of a large country estate on the outskirts of the capital city, owned by a succession of prominent Georgetown residents. From 1904 to 1906, the land was acquired by the Catholic Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, who, for decades, operated all-girls primary, secondary, and postsecondary schools there under the Immaculata name, before being forced to shutter due to financial issues. Since 1986, it has been a satellite campus of American University, which purchased the site in part because of its proximity to Tenleytown station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro. It currently houses the school's Washington College of Law (WCL).

The district reflects Tenleytown's evolution from a rural Washington County community to a densely populated streetcar suburb, as well as the Catholic Church's role in education, particularly of women, during the twentieth century. It was added to the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites in 2011 and the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. Development of the site that took place preceding the law school's move in 2016 preserved the existing character of outdoor spaces and incorporated historic structures, including Dunblane and the original 1905 A. O. Von Herbulis-designed seminary building, which has long stood prominently above passing traffic along Wisconsin Avenue.