To Merilee Janssen, Barnaby Woods seemed like a less-than-ideal place to live when she first moved to the neighborhood in upper Northwest Washington. “At first, this felt far to me,” Janssen said.  But the community’s tranquility and access to nature won her over, and she’s resided there for 30 years. “It’s so close to the park, and that’s a big deal. My sons were often down there playing in the creek when they were little,” she said.  In a nutshell, Janssen has described some of Barnaby Woods’ most notable features.  Like the rest of the District’s sprawling Chevy Chase neighborhood, the community has a quiet, almost suburban vibe. But Barnaby Woods feels particularly distant from the hustle and bustle of downtown. Nestled between Rock Creek Park and Montgomery County, the neighborhood is remarkably free of traffic; its northern and eastern boundaries are formed by parks.  For many residents, the parkland is the area’s real draw. “A lot of [residents] work high-pressure jobs downtown, and it’s an opportunity to feel like they’re outside the pressure cooker,” said Helen Dodson, a broker with Keller Williams Capital Properties who has worked in the area for years. “People like to walk their dogs through the park, they like to jog, and there’s a bike trail that goes through there, too. Just taking a walk through those trails, it’s very rejuvenating.”  Protecting the terrain: In fact, those natural elements were key to the neighborhood from the beginning. A Washington Post article from Nov. 7, 1937, chronicled the neighborhood’s origins: “After a comprehensive study of the land, with its rolling terrain, springs, and streams, a street layout was evolved to preserve the original contours and natural sylvan beauty of the tract.”  [Hollywood, Md., is pleasing residents by not living up to its name]  Houses were built in Colonial and Cape Cod styles, often boasting unique architectural details, and sold quickly. Most of those houses are still around, and many appear surprisingly modest. But that’s only from the front; the majority have rear additions that increase the homes’ square footage.  The only other notable change in the neighborhood since it was built is the addition of two developments at Barnaby Woods’ eastern border; one is a luxury townhouse community built in the 1970s, and the other features contemporary Victorian houses from the 1980s and ’90s.  That relative lack of change has been intentional. Back in the 1970s, residents banded together to stop the city from extending a road that would potentially add more traffic, and around 2004, they fought Pepco to keep the utility from cutting down big trees that threatened power lines.  Close-knit families: But while Barnaby Woods is remarkably quiet on weekdays — the silence punctuated only by mail carriers, housecleaning crews, and nannies and their charges — it comes to life in the afternoons and weekends. At heart, it’s a community of families.  “We had no idea the neighborhood existed. It was a pleasant surprise,” said Djindo Lee, an information-technology consultant in his 30s. He and his wife and two daughters moved from Adams Morgan six years ago with some trepidation about losing their city amenities; now they say they love it.  “It’s all families on this street,” he said. “You’ll see kids running from house to house — we all have an open-door policy.” Lee met most of his neighbors during a five-day power outage several years ago; now, they all celebrate New Year’s Eve together, and the men hold regular poker nights. Many of the children attend nearby Lafayette Elementary School, one of the city’s best, and that also draws families together.  But of course, just about all commercial options are a long walk or a drive away; that includes restaurants near Chevy Chase Circle, the closest major commercial strip. “I’m a city guy, and I thought I’d die,” Lee said. “But you get used to it.”  [Born in the ’60s, Chapel Square is a still pretty cool neighborhood]  Living there: Barnaby Woods, Zip code 20015, is bordered by Pinehurst Parkway Park to the north, Oregon Avenue to the east, Tennyson Street to the south and Western Avenue to the west.  According to Dodson, the broker with Keller Williams Capital Properties, three properties are on the market in Barnaby Woods. They range from a four-bedroom, four-bathroom luxury townhouse priced at $1.035 million to a four-bedroom, three-bathroom freestanding Colonial priced at $1.195 million.  One house is under contract: a four-bedroom, three-bathroom split-level that was priced at $930,000. And 28 houses have sold over the past 12 months, ranging from a five-bedroom, two-bathroom Craftsman that sold for $751,000 to a five-bedroom, five-bathroom Colonial that sold for $1.405 million.  Schools: Lafayette Elementary, Deal Middle and Wilson High.  Transit: The Friendship Heights station on Metro’s Red Line lies roughly two miles from the neighborhood. Barnaby Woods is served by two bus lines that connect the neighborhood with the Friendship Heights and Tenleytown stations.  Crime: According to the D.C. police, four burglaries and 17 thefts were reported in the area that includes Barnaby Woods over the past 12 months.
WHERE WE LIVE | The Northwest Washington neighborhood has parks to the north and east and a suburb to the west.