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Historic Sites
Alexandria
African American Heritage Park
Holland Avenue between Duke Street and Eisenhower Avenue,
703-838-4356.
"Truths that Rise from the Roots Remembered" is the
name of the bronze tree sculpture that honors the contributions
of African Americans to the growth of Alexandria. The park also
includes a small African American cemetery from the
19th-century.
Admission: Free
Alexandria
Archaeology Museum
(Torpedo Factory Art Center)
105 N. Union Street, Room 327, 703-838-4399
Step right into the museum's laboratory where archaeologists
reconstruct Alexandria's history, fragment by fragment.
Open Tuesday-Friday 10-3; Saturday 10-5; Sunday 1-5; closed
Mondays.
Alexandria
National Cemetery
Wilkes and Payne Streets. One of the 12 sites established and
dedicated by President Abraham Lincoln in early 1862 to serve as
military burial grounds. The cemetery contains some 3,500 graves
of Civil War soldiers, including men who served in the United
States Colored Troops and four soldiers who lost their lives
chasing President Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth.
Admission: Free
Alexandria
Seaport Foundation's Seaport Center
Alexandria Waterfront, south of Founders Park. 703-549-7078
This floating museum houses a boat building program, a marine
sciences lab, and offers a boat livery of small sailing and
rowing craft that visitors can rent.
Open Daily 9-4. Admission: Free
The
Athenaeum
201 Prince St.,
703/548-0035
A Greek-revival building built in 1861, it was home to the Bank
of the Old Dominion where Robert E. Lee banked prior to the
Civil War. Now is an art gallery. Open Wed-Fri 11-3; Sat 113;
Sun 1-4. Admission: Free
www.alexandria-athenaeum.org
Black
History Resource Center
638 North Alfred Street, 703-838-4356
Originally the segregated library for Alexandria's African
American residents, the Center documents the local and national
history, culture and contributions of Black America. Open
Tuesday-Saturday 10-4. Closed Sundays and Mondays. Admission:
Free
Carlyle
House Historic Park
121 N. Fairfax Street. 703-549-2997
A Georgian Palladian manor house built in 1752 by Scottish
merchant and city founder, John Carlyle. It was here that five
royal governors and Gen. Braddock met to discuss funding of the
French and Indian War. Open Tuesday-Saturday 10-5; Sunday 12-5;
closed Mondays. Tours on the hour and half-hour, last tour 4:30;
Nov.-March (last tour 4:00). Admission: $
Christ
Church
118 N. Washington Street, 703-549-1450
This beautiful English country-style church was built between
1767 and 1773 and attended by George Washington and Robert E.
Lee. Washington's pew is preserved inside and the charming
courtyard contains Confederate gravesites.
Open Monday-Friday 9-4; Sunday 2-4:30. Admission: Contributions
accepted.
Confederate
Statue "Appomattox"
Intersection of Prince and S. Washington streets. Head bowed and
facing the battlefields to the South, this statue of a
Confederate soldier marks the spot where approximately 700
Alexandrians of the 17th Virginia Volunteer Infantry left to
fight for the Confederacy on May 24, 1861, the date Federal
troops occupied the city.
Fort
Ward Museum & Historic Site
4301 W. Braddock Road, 703-838-4848
The museum, patterned after a Union headquarters building,
houses a fine Civil War collection and exhibits. The Fort's
Northwest Bastion has been completely restored.
Museum open Tuesday-Saturday 9-5; Sunday 12-5. Closed Mondays.
Park open daily from 9-sunset. Admission: Free
Friendship
Firehouse
107 S. Alfred Street, 703-838-3891
Established in 1774, the Friendship Fire Company was the first
volunteer fire company to fight fires in Alexandria. The current
firehouse was built in 1855 and now houses historic firefighting
equipment and exhibitions.
Open Friday-Saturday 10-4; Sunday 1-4. Admission: Free
Gadsby's
Tavern Museum
134 N. Royal Street, 703-838-4242
Gadsby's consists of two tavern buildings, the 1770 Georgian
tavern and the 1792 City Tavern and Hotel. Visitors can tour the
historic rooms. Through archaeological excavation, paint
analysis and research of surviving documents, the Tavern has
been restored to its 18th-century appearance. Notable guests
included George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Call for
seasonal hours. Admission: $
George
Washington Masonic National Memorial
King Street at Callahan Drive. 703-683-2007
Patterned after a lighthouse in Alexandria, Egypt, the Memorial
stands as a living reminder of Washington's life and leadership.
The Memorial displays a magnificent 17 ft. bronze statue of
George Washington and an outstanding collection of Washington
memorabilia. The observation deck offers a spectacular view of
Alexandria.
Open daily 9-5 (last tour 4:00). Admission: Free
Gunston
Hall Plantation
10709 Gunston Road, Mason Neck, Virginia. 703-550-9220
The 1755 Georgian-style mansion was the home of George Mason,
author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and a framer of the
Constitution. Gunston Hall features an outstanding collection of
18th-century furnishings and is surrounded by formal gardens, a
nature trail, and reconstructed outbuilding. Open Daily 9:30-5.
Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.
Admission: $
Lee-Fendall
House
615 Oronoco Street; 703-548-1789
Built in 1785 by Philip Fendall, a Lee descendent, the house was
occupied by several generations of the famed "Lees of
Virginia." The large clapboard structure contains many Lee
family furnishings, family records and inventories. The house is
enhanced by a large garden.
Open Tuesday-Saturday 10-4; Sunday 1-4 (Tours on the hour/last tour
3:00); closed
Mondays. Admission: $
The
Lyceum, Alexandria's History Museum
201 S. Washington Street, 703-838-4994
This Greek revival building was constructed in 1839 as a
cultural center. The Lyceum serves as the City's history museum
featuring prints, documents, photographs, ceramics, silver,
furniture and Civil War memorabilia.
Open Monday-Saturday 10-5; Sunday 1-5. Admission: Free
George
Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens
Southern end of George Washington Parkway (9 miles from
Alexandria) 703-780-2000
The home of Alexandria's favorite son and the nation's first
president, George Washington. Visitors can experience the
expansive estate, which includes the Mansion, outbuildings, a
Pioneer Farmer site, and gardens.
Open every day, year-round. Admission: $
Old
Presbyterian Meeting House
321 S. Fairfax Street, 703-549-6670
Built in 1774, the old meetinghouse was the site of memorial
services for George Washington. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
of the American Revolution can be visited in the churchyard.
Open Monday-Friday 9-3. Admission: Free
Frank
Lloyd Wright's Pope-Leighey House
Located at Woodlawn Plantation, 9000 Richmond Highway.
703-780-3264
Built in 1940 of cypress, brick and glass, the
"Usonian" house exhibits many of the significant
contributions that Wright made to contemporary architecture.
Open daily 10-5 (last tour 4:30). Closed January and February.
Admission: $
Ramsay
House Visitors Center
221 King Street, 703-838-4200
Originally built circa 1724 by William Ramsay, a Scottish
merchant and city founder, the house is believed to have been
built down river and barged to its present site after Alexandria
was established in 1749. The house now serves as a visitor
center for the City of Alexandria. Stop by to pick up detailed
brochures on area attractions, maps, tour information, etc.
Open daily 9-5. Admission: Free
River
Farm
(American Horticultural Society)
7931 E. Boulevard, 768-5700
The 18th-century, brick main house and farm were once owned and
farmed by George Washington. The Farm represents 25 acres of
lawns, gardens, meadows, and woods on the banks of the Potomac
River.
Open Monday-Friday 8:30-5. Admission: Free
Stabler-Leadbeater
Apothecary Shop Museum
105-107 S. Fairfax Street, 703-836-3713
Opened in 1792 by a young Quaker pharmacist Edward Stabler, the
family business operated for 141 years. When the Depression
forced the shop's closing in 1933, the doors were simply locked,
preserving history. Most of the original herbs, potions &
paper labels remain in their drawers & over 8,000 early
medical care items are still in place. Patrons included George
and Martha Washington, George Mason, Daniel Webster and Robert
E. Lee.
Open Monday-Saturday 10-4; Sunday 1-5; Admission: $
Torpedo
Factory Art Center
105 N. Union Street, 703-838-4565
Constructed in 1918 for the manufacturing of torpedoes, the
factory now serves as working studios for over 160 professional
artists. Visitors can purchase wares onsite or simply watch the
creative process in action.
Open daily 10-5. Admission: Free
Woodlawn
Plantation
9000 Richmond Highway, 3 miles from Mt. Vernon via Rt. 235.
703-708-4000
George Washington gave the estate to his adopted daughter
Eleanor Parke Custis and his nephew Lawrence Lewis as a wedding
gift. The couple then commissioned Dr. William Thornton,
architect of the U.S. Capitol, to design the Georgian mansion.
Open daily 10-5 (last tour 4:30) Closed January and February.
Admission: $
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