The first development called "Woodley" named after the Woodley estate (now home to the Maret School), was owned by Mrs. A. E. Kervand and was first recorded as a subdivision in 1875. Winding Woodley Lane was its main street. By 1878 lots in Woodley Park were advertised as "2 to 10 acre lots, 20 minute walk from P Street Circle; the finest Country seats ever offered for sale about the city." But few people were enticed to move to this distant suburb.
Connecticut Avenue was extended in 1890 because of the private efforts of Senator Francis G. Newlands, who built the road to provide access to his new development of Chevy Chase. Senator Newlands, who owned the Woodley estate at the time, sought the advice of nationally known landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted regarding development of the area. Olmstead advised that Connecticut Avenue "be regarded as the main channel of a great river, with other streets and avenues as tributaries" — which it later became.
In Woodley Park, Connecticut Avenue bisected the older subdivision, becoming its most dominant thoroughfare and entirely overriding the importance of winding Woodley Lane in the picturesque design of the suburb. After the "Million Dollar Bridge" was completed in 1907 over the deep ravines of Rock Creek Park, development in the area began in earnest.
The Woodley Park call boxes were developed by the Woodley Park Community Association as part of Art on Call, a program of Cultural Tourism DC with support from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, and the District Department of Transportation. Local support for this call box was provided by the Woodley Park Community Association and Shapiro & Company LLC. Visit www.woodleypark.org for map and more information.
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