A Belfast Town Improvement Committee meeting in mid-1883 (reported in The Northern Whig on 3 July 1883) indicated that approval was given for the construction of a row of houses for a local developer, Mr. J. D. Dunlop on Isthmus Street. Early maps and city directories from the 1880s–1890s show Isthmus Street tucked in the grid of new streets around Woodstock Road and Willowfield.
Surviving references suggest J.D. Dunlop may have been John D. Dunlop (and it’s possible the middle initial “D.” stood for a middle name such as Dawson, as one of his children bore the middle name Dawson). Dunlop resided in East Belfast and was prominent enough in the community to enter local politics at a later stage. For example, by 1904 John D. Dunlop (then living at a residence called “Hawarden”) was listed as a builder and was nominated as a candidate for Belfast municipal elections . This confirms that he was a well-established builder in the city. In the 1901 census, John Dunlop (builder) is found living on Woodstock Road, indicating he remained based in the same general area where he had developed property. Dunlop’s role in the area’s development was as a small-scale property developer/ contractor – likely one of several builders who purchased plots of former estate land in Willowfield to lay out terraces. His project on Isthmus Street would have contributed to the growth of the Woodstock Road district as a new suburb in the 1880s. While details of Dunlop’s early background are sparse, his occupation is consistently given as “builder,” and his involvement with Isthmus Street suggests he was responsible for constructing those houses and possibly others on neighboring streets as East Belfast expanded