A Spirit of Community 42nd and albemarle streets nw
episcopalians first gathered here to worship in 1874, when St. Alban’s Church, located on Wisconsin Avenue at Massachusetts, started a mission for Washington County. In good weather, services took place under a majestic oak tree on land donated by William Murdock. The tree eventually shaded a rough mission chapel, and then two successor churches. In 1904, when the mission received the name St. Columba’s, its parish house contained a stage and circulating library serving more than 200 families. St. Columba’s became independent of St. Alban’s in 1924, and two years later the current church was built. It showcases the work of Tenleytown stone masons Louis and Frank Perna and their sons. In 1975 St. Columba’s joined forces with nearby St. Ann’s and Eldbrooke churches to create Iona House, an experiment in comprehensive social services. The name honors an ecumenical social justice movement in Scotland. Iona House operated from St. Columba’s old clapboard rectory until 1990. Its successor, Iona Senior Services, then moved into a new building where Police Precinct No. 8 once stood, at 4125 Albemarle Street. When Bernard T. Janney School opened in 1925, it brought Tenleytown’s first public library and community playground. Bob Bates, who attended in the 1950s, recalled how civic responsibility was part of Janney’s curriculum. In fact, as part of a lesson in crime prevention delivered by “Officer Friendly,” he and classmates were marched to Precinct No. 8 and locked up in its jail cell for a dramatic five minutes.
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