The site of Dunblane, an early to mid-nineteenth-century Federal/Greek Revival-style manor house, it was once part of a large country estate on the outskirts of the capital city, owned by a succession of prominent Georgetown residents.

From 1904 to 1906, the land was acquired by the Catholic Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, who, for decades, operated all-girls primary, secondary, and postsecondary schools there under the Immaculata name, before being forced to shutter due to financial issues.

The district reflects Tenleytown's evolution from a rural Washington County community to a densely-populated streetcar suburb, as well as the Catholic Church's role in education, particularly of women, during the twentieth century.

[6][7] On September 8, the school hosted Cardinal Gibbons, who blessed the structure and then helped conduct a solemn high mass at St. Ann's; a sermon written for the occasion was given by F. X. McCarthy of Washington's St. Aloysius Church.

[9] Mother Superior Mary Cleophas Foley, also present, received a congratulatory letter from Cardinal Sebastiano Martinelli in Rome, passing along well-wishes on behalf of Pope Pius X.

[10] On December 8, 1955, the day of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Amleto Cicognani, Apostolic Delegate to the United States laid the cornerstones for three new buildings at Immaculata: Marian, Loretta, and Regina Halls.

In attendance were Mayor of the District of Columbia Muriel Bowser and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who gave the keynote address at the event.