Alexandria Historic District

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Alexandria Historic District
Athenaeum - Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.jpg
Old Dominion Bank Building in Old Town,
now "The Athenaeum", an art gallery
Location Alexandria, Virginia
Coordinates 38°48′12″N77°2′47″W / 38.80333°N 77.04639°W / 38.80333; -77.04639
Built1748
ArchitectMultiple
Architectural style Colonial, Late Victorian, Federal
NRHP reference No. 66000928
VLR No.100-0121
Significant dates
Added to NRHPNovember 13, 1966 [1]
Designated NHLDNovember 13, 1966 [2]
Designated VLRNovember 5, 1968 [3]

The Alexandria Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District in Alexandria, Virginia. Encompassing all of the city's Old Town and some adjacent areas, this area contains one of the nation's best-preserved assemblages of the late-18th and early-19th century urban architecture. The district was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966. [2] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

History

The city of Alexandria was chartered in 1748, and its city center was laid out as a grid of streets on the west bank of the Potomac River. One of the surveyors involved in this work was future United States President George Washington. The city grew to become a major seaport serving much of northern Virginia, and its streets were lined with Federal style townhouses. The city remained a major port, dealing principally in grain and tobacco, until the American Civil War. Elements of its historic importance as a port continues in the survival of several waterfront warehouses from that period. [4]

Other National Historic Landmarks within the district include:

Other National Register-listed properties within the district include:

The district boundaries, as defined by the National Register and the Virginia Landmarks Register, are the Potomac River to the east, Queen Street to the north, Jones Point and the Capital Beltway to the south, and Alfred Street to the west. There are a few extensions beyond these bounds, notably along Washington Street as far north as 2nd Street. [4] The commercial center of the district is around S. Washington Street and King Street. Notable buildings in that area include the Art Deco Virginia Public Service building at 117 S. Washington Street, the Post Office and Courthouse at 200 S. Washington Street, and the Burke and Herbert Bank at 621 King Street. [6] Within this larger district is a smaller historic district as defined by the National Historic Landmark designation, consisting of the central portion of the larger district. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Virginia</span>

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The Grace Street Commercial Historic District is a national historic district located in Richmond, Virginia. The district encompasses 93 contributing buildings located in downtown Richmond. The buildings reflect the core of the city's early 20th-century retail development and the remnants of a 19th-century residential neighborhood. The buildings are in a variety of popular 19th-century and early 20th-century architectural styles, including Classical Revival, Mission Revival, International Style, and Colonial Revival. Notable buildings include the Administration and Equipment Building for the Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company (1929), Thalhimer's Department Store, Atlantic Life Building (1950-1959), Miller & Rhoads Department Store, Berry-Burk Building, former W. W. Foster Studios (1927), Bank of Virginia (1949), Investment Realty Company building (1930), W.T. Grant Store (1939), Hotel John Marshall (1927), Franklin Federal Savings and Loan building (1954), and the Tompkins House (1820). Located in the district and separately listed are the Loew's Theatre, Centenary United Methodist Church, Joseph P. Winston House, Central National Bank, and National Theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main Street Banking Historic District</span> Historic district in Virginia, United States

The Main Street Banking Historic District is a national historic district located in downtown Richmond, Virginia. The district encompasses 19 contributing buildings located south of the Virginia State Capitol and west of the Shockoe Slip Historic District. It is the location of a number of buildings built for or occupied by banking institutions. The district includes representative examples of the Late Victorian and International Style architecture built between about 1865 and 1965. Notable buildings include the Virginia Employment Commission Building (1960), the 700 Building (1964), the Ross Building (1964), the Fidelity Building (1965). Located in the district is the separately listed First National Bank Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winchester Historic District (Winchester, Virginia)</span> Historic district in Virginia, United States

The Winchester Historic District is a national historic district located at Winchester, Virginia. The district encompasses 1,116 contributing buildings in Winchester. The buildings represent a variety of popular architectural styles including Late Victorian and Italianate. They include residential, commercial, governmental, industrial, and institutional buildings dating from the 18th to mid-20th centuries. Notable buildings include the A.M.E Church (1878), Masonic Lodge and Gray and Eddy Building, First Presbyterian Church, Farmers and Merchants Bank (1902), Frederick County Courthouse (1840), Grace Lutheran Church, Friendship Fire Hall (1892), John Kerr School, City Hall (1900), Lewis Jones Knitting Mill (1895), Tidball Residence, William F. Hottle Residence, McGuire Residence, and Robert Long House. Located in the district are the separately listed Thomas J. Jackson Headquarters, Fair Mount, Handley Library, Adam Kurtz House, and Daniel Morgan House.

Alexandria, Virginia is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, located along the western bank of the Potomac River. The city of approximately 151,000 is about six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 "Alexandria Historic District". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on January 1, 2008. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  3. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 Edward P. Alexander (March 28, 1969), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Alexandria (PDF), National Park Service, archived from the original (pdf) on May 12, 2008
  5. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Addendum, Alexandria Historic District, Alexandria, Virginia (pdf), National Park Service, October 31, 1984
  6. 1 2 Itemization of properties included in Alexandria Historic District, Alexandria, Virginia (PDF), Virginia DHR, November 27, 2001, archived from the original (pdf) on January 16, 2009
  7. "Alexandria's Listed Historic Districts" Virginia Department of Historic Resources