Old Town Alexandria, Virginia

(Visited 5 November 2016) There is a lot of history in Alexandria with many historic sites. Alexandria played in many of the historic events in American history and was the home to, or destination of, many people who made marks in history. One could spend hours in Alexandria just visiting the highlights of what is to see in this town. Here are a few of the sites that I took time to see:

Friendship Firehouse Museum. This was the first volunteer fire company in Alexandria. Established in 1774, this building was built about 1855.

The Lyceum was built in 1839 as Alexandria’s library and lecture hall.

Dedicated in 1889, the Confederate Soldier Statue is based on a figure in John Elder’s Appomattox. It sits in the intersection of Washington and Prince Streets.

The Douglass House on Prince Street has not been altered significantly since being built in 1775. The same family has owned it since 1816.

Christ Church is Alexandria’s oldest church and was built in 1773. It was the home church of George Washington and Robert E. Lee.

The interior of Christ Church

George Washington’s pew in Christ Church

The Lloyd house was built in 1797. Robert E. Lee was often a guest.

A portion of Princess Street was restored to the original cobblestone in 1979.

Home of Edmund Jennings Lee, completed in 1801.

This home was owned by William Fitzhugh but rented by Harry Lee. Robert E. Lee lived here before he attended West Point.

This is just a random nice home in Old Town Alexandria that was built circa 1860.

The Spite House in on Queen Street. This used to be a public alley but the owner of the house next door built this house in the small gap in the 1830s to keep the drunkards and wagons out of the alley in the middle of the night. It is just 7 feet wide by 25 feet deep.

This is not an original building but a replica of George Washington’s townhouse on the original foundations. The original was built in 1769 and was demolished in 1855. This was a stop-off for GW when he could not continue all the way home to Mount Vernon. He also had an office in the building.

Gadsby’s Tavern was frequented by George Washington and other leaders in the 1700s and is still open as a tavern and restaurant.

Inside of Gadsby’s Tavern

The John Dalton House was built in 1777 and is one of the few houses in Alexandria still on its original lot.

Wise’s Tavern, 1788-1792, which according to the plaque on the wall, “here on April 16th 1789 George Washington was for the first time publicly addressed as President of the United States.

The Ramsey House was built in the mid 1700s but was reconstructed in the 1950s. It now serves as the Alexandria Visitor’s Center

The Carlyle House was built in 1753 and was later used by General Braddock to meet with colonial governors to discuss strategy during the French & Indian Wars.

The Stabler-Leadbeatter Apothecary was founded in 1796 and continued as a family-run business until 1933.

“Light House Harry” Lee, who served in the Revolutionary War, owned this land in 1784. The house was built by Phillip Fendal in 1850 and remained in the Lee family until 1903.

The Alexandria City Hall was rebuilt in 1871 after a fire.

The Torpedo Factory is now an Art Center but was a manufacturing plant from 1918 into the 1940s. During WW2, almost 10,000 torpedos were built for the war effort.

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