Celebrate DC's New High Point on 4/19

Date: Saturday, April 19 (Rain date: April 26)

Time: 11 a.m.

Place: Point Reno at Fort Reno Park (between Alice Deal Junior High School and Chesapeake Street, NW)

DC's highest natural elevation, located in Tenleytown, has now been officially confirmed. A recognition and celebration has been planned by Tenleytown Historical Society and Tenleytown Neighbors Association in cooperation with the National Park Service.

The brief program will focus on how Tenleytown's geography has influenced its history, and how the actual high point was determined. Speakers will include Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh and others.

Following the program a tour of Fort Reno led by a National Park Service Ranger will be offered.


CELEBRATE DC'S HIGH POINT!

When: Saturday, April 19th at 11 AM
Where: Point Reno at Fort Reno Park

Sponsored By: Tenleytown Historical Society/Tenleytown Neighbors Association/NPS

PROGRAM

Welcome (to Tenleytown) - Ken Faulstich
Welcome from National Park Service - Superintendent Adrienne Coleman
Tenleytown Geography - Dick Randall
Tenleytown History - Dr. Frank Cooling (Tenleytown Historical Society)
The High Point - Robert Hyman (Highpointers Club)
Surveying the Point - Joe Snider (DC Association of Land Surveyors)
DC Heritage - Jane Freundel Levey (Cultural Tourism DC)
Tenleytown Neighbors - Cathy Wiss (Commissioner 3F06)
DC Ward 3 - Council Member Mary Cheh

Tour of Fort Reno afterwards by NPS ranger

* Expected Duration: 30 minutes (Standing Event - No Seating Available)

Directions: Event is being held on east side of Fort Reno Park which is located across from Wilson SHS and next to Alice Deal JHS. From the intersection of Nebraska Ave and Chesapeake St, proceed up the hill at the SE corner of Fort Reno Park and look for the event. Access from the Tenleytown-AU Metro stop or street parking is available along Chesapeake St NW.

Discover the Location of DC's Highest Natural Elevation and how it influenced Tenleytown history

Each state is proud to have a natural high point elevation designation. Now so does DC - Point Reno!!! Through the survey efforts of the Highpointers Club and the DC Association of Land Surveyors, a marker has been installed at the National Park Service's Fort Reno Park in NW Washington. At an elevation of 409 feet above sea level, Point Reno is officially designated as the highest natural elevation in DC. Prior to the construction in 1860s of fortifications for the Civil War at Fort Reno to protect the nation's capital and the construction of a water reservoir system and towers in the early 1900s to serve DC residents and business growth, the highest natural elevation may have been around 430 feet.

Tenleytown - DC's second oldest neighborhood! Due to its high elevation, this area of DC has a long and rich history. From early Indian trails that preceded Wisconsin Avenue, to the tobacco trade of the 1800s, to the popular Tennally Tavern in the 1890s, Tenleytown was the crossroads of upper NW. With its commanding view of the countryside, in the 1860s Fort Reno became the largest of the Circle of Forts that protected the Union capital during the Civil War. The brick and stone water towers in the early 1900s at the Fort Reno site became well known icons due to their visibility. And the TV and radio towers surrounding the area moved in during the 1950s to take advantage of the higher elevation.