In 1890, John W. Thompson subdivided thirty-four acres of land between Tunlaw Road and what is now Cathedral Avenue, as Tunlaw Heights.
“Nature’s Beauty Spot––An Attractive and Rapidly-developing Suburb of Washington.––Tunlaw Heights and Vicinity––Unsurpassed as to Situation, Being on the Highest Ground in this Region––A Panorama Upon Which Thousands of Tourists Have Gazed with Admiration.” (Washington Post, June 15, 1890, p.9)
In 1907 the tract was re-subdivided as Cathedral Highlands. Nonetheless, the older name appears to have been remembered as late as 1916, when a group of “Wanderlusters” on an organized walk on the outskirts of Washington posed for their picture in the late afternoon light. Although the revised inscription on the photographs may suggest uncertainty, their destination was Tunlaw Heights.
The outing was commemorated by photographs that appear to have been taken near what is now the intersection of Huidekoper Place and W Street, NW. In the second image the photographer is looking toward Georgetown; in the background, from left to right, are Holy Rood Cemetery, the Voigt farmhouse at the south end of Tunlaw Road, Western High School, and the House of the Good Shepherd.
(Postcards by Willard R. Ross (1860-1948), courtesy of Jerry A. McCoy)
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Carlton Fletcher
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