Points of interest

Landmarks

Landmarks within the city include the George Washington Masonic National Memorial (also known as the Masonic Temple) and Observation Deck, Christ Church, Gadsby's Tavern, John Carlyle House, Little Theatre of Alexandria, Lee-Fendall House, Alexandria City Hall, Market Square, the Jones Point Light, the south cornerstone of the original District of Columbia, Robert E. Lee's boyhood home, the Torpedo Factory Art Center, and the Virginia Theological Seminary. Other sites of historical interest in the city include Alexandria Black History Resource Center, Fort Ward Park and Museum, and the Alexandria Canal lock re-creation at Canal Office Center. Interesting sites with Alexandria addresses but outside of the city limits include River Farm, Collingwood Library & Museum, Green Spring Gardens Park, Huntley Meadows Park, Historic Huntley, Pope-Leighey House (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright), Woodlawn Plantation, Washington's Grist Mill and Mount Vernon Estate.
In 1830, John Hollensbury's home in Alexandria was one of two homes directly bordering an alleyway that received a large amount of horse-drawn wagon traffic and loiterers.^[42] In order to prevent people from using the alleyway, Hollensbury constructed a 7 feet (2.1 m) wide, 25 feet (7.6 m) deep, 325-square-foot (30.2 m²), two story home using the existing brick walls of the adjacent homes for the sides of the new home.^[42] The brick walls of the Hollensbury Spite House living room have gouges from wagon-wheel hubs; the house is still standing, and is occupied.^[42]

Events

A popular Christmastime attraction in Alexandria is the Scottish Christmas Walk, which was established in 1969.^[43] The event, which involves a parade through the center of Old Town Alexandria, celebrates the city's Scottish heritage, and is the centerpiece of a yearly holiday festival.^[44] It serves as a fundraiser for social services in Alexandria.^[43] Other parades in Old Town celebrate Saint Patrick's Day^[45] and the birthday of George Washington.^[46] Other annual events include the Red Cross Waterfront Festival in June, various ethnic heritage days at Tavern Square, and "First Night Alexandria" which presents many family-friendly entertainments on New Years Eve.
These parades and other official events are typically led by Alexandria's town crier, who, often dressed in elaborately, by a tradition dating to the 18th century, in a red coat, breeches, black boots and a tricorne hat, welcomes participants.^[47]

Parks and recreation

Alexandria has a distributed park system with approximately 950 acres (3.8 km²) spread across 70 major parks and 30 recreation centers, of which Chinquapin is one of the largest. Chinquapin offers facilities for swimming, tennis, racquetball, and other sports. The city also organizes several sports leagues throughout the year including volleyball, softball and basketball.
The city is home to Cameron Run Regional Park which includes a water park with a wave pool and water slides, as well as a miniature golf course and batting cages. A portion of the Mount Vernon Trail, a popular bike and jogging path, runs through Old Town near the Potomac River on its way from the Mount Vernon Estate to Roosevelt Island in Washington, DC. There is also a largely unbroken line of parks stretching along the Alexandria waterfront from end to end.

Sports

Due to its proximity to Washington, Alexandria has only been the home of one professional sports team, the Alexandria Dukes, a minor league baseball team which has moved to Woodbridge and is now named the Potomac Nationals. However, the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League brought baseball back to Alexandria in 2008 in the form of the Alexandria Aces. In addition, TC Williams, Bishop Ireton, St. Stephen's and Episcopal have storied histories in athletics, such as football, basketball, baseball and lacrosse. The largest youth sport in Alexandria is soccer with almost 2,500 players ages 2–18 who participate in the Alexandria Soccer Association.

Transportation

Southbound Amtrak train at Alexandria's Union Station

Alexandria is bisected east and west by State Route 7, known as King Street. The most western section of King St here once was the terminus of the Leesburg Turnpike. Interstate 95/495 (the Capital Beltway), including the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River, approximately parallels the city's southern boundary with Fairfax County. Interstate 395 crosses north and south through the western part of the city. Other major routes include north–south U.S. 1 (Patrick and Henry Streets after Patrick Henry, Jefferson Davis Highway and Richmond Highway), Washington St/George Washington Memorial Parkway, Russell Rd, Quaker Lane, Van Dorn St and Beauregard St, and east–west Duke Street (State Route 236), Braddock Rd and Janneys Lane/Seminary Rd.
Alexandria is south of, adjacent to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington County. Alexandria is also near to Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia.
Alexandria Union Station, the city's historic train station, has Amtrak intercity services and the Virginia Railway Express regional rail service. The station is directly adjacent to the King Street – Old Town Washington Metro station, at the convergence of the Blue and Yellow Lines. Three other Metro stations in Alexandria are Braddock Road, Van Dorn Street, and Eisenhower Avenue.
The traditional boundary between Old Town and the latterly annexed sections of the city followed the railway now owned by CSX Transportation.
The city government operates its own mass transit system, the DASH bus, connecting points of interest with local transit hubs. Metrobus, Washington Metro, and the Virginia Railway Express, better known as the VRE, also serve Alexandria. The city also offers a free "trolley" diesel bus service on King Street fro

Education

Schools

Entrance to Northern Virginia Community College's Alexandria campus

The city is served by the Alexandria City Public Schools system and by the Alexandria campus of Northern Virginia Community College. The largest seminary in the Episcopal Church, Virginia Theological Seminary, is located on Seminary Road. Virginia Tech's Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center, also known as WAAC, is located on Prince Street in Old Town, offering graduate programs in Urban Affairs and Planning, Public and International Affairs, Architecture, and Landscape Architecture. Virginia Commonwealth University operates a Northern Virginia branch of its School of Social Work and The George Washington University (Washington DC) also has a campus near the King Street metro. This campus mainly offers professional and vocational programs, such as an executive MBA program, urban planning and security studies.
Alexandria has several of the Washington, D.C., area's top private schools, such as St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School, Bishop Ireton High School, and Episcopal High School. Also in the city are Alexandria Country Day School, Commonwealth Academy, St. Mary's Catholic School, St. Rita's Catholic School, Blessed Sacrament School and Global Health College.
Alexandria's public school system consists of thirteen elementary schools for grades 5-year-old Kindergarten through Grade 5. Middle Schools, George Washington and Francis C. Hammond, serve 6th through 8th graders. Minnie Howard Ninth Grade Center and T.C. Williams High School serve grades 9th and 10 through 12, respectively, for the entire city.
The demographics of Alexandria City Public Schools contrast with those of the city. In 2008, only 14% of the students at Francis C. Hammond Middle School were non-Hispanic whites, compared to about 60% when looking at the city as a whole. 27% were of Hispanic descent, and 48% were black. About 9% of the school was of Asian descent. In 2004, 62% of the schoolgoing children received free lunches; by 2008, that number had decreased to 56%.^[33] At George Washington Middle School, 30% of students are non-Hispanic whites, 24% were Hispanic, and 41% was black; 3% of the students were Asian, and 52% of students received free lunch.^[34] T.C. Williams High School follows this trend as well; 23% of the students were classified as non-Hispanic whites, 25% as Hispanic, and 44% as black. 7% of the school was Asian, and 47% of all students received free lunch.^[35]

Public libraries

The Alexandria Library serves the residents of the City of Alexandria with four locations:

• Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library (Main branch): 5005 Duke Street, Alexandria
• Kate Waller Barrett Branch: 717 Queen Street, Alexandria
• Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch: 4701 Seminary Road, Alexandria
• James M. Duncan Branch: 2501 Commonwealth Avenue, Alexandria

The library system provides a variety of services which include adult, young adult, and children's materials, as well as access to genealogy records and full text articles from thousands of magazines and newspapers through online databases. E-Books can be borrowed through OverDrive e-Audio books and all branches offer free public Internet access and free Wifi.^[36]
The Alexandria Library maintains a reciprocal agreement with neighboring libraries in Arlington, District of Columbia, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fauquier, Frederick, Loudoun, Montgomery, Prince George's, and Prince William.^[37]

History of libraries

John Wise, a local Alexandria businessman and hotel keeper, hosted a meeting in his home in 1789 to discuss the creation of a Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge. Members include Rev. James Muir, physician Elisha Cullen Dick, and George Washington's personal attorney Charles Lee. The Society did not last for long. However, on July 24, 1794, the founders of the Society once again met at Wise's home to establish a subscription library. During the first year, one hundred nineteen men joined the circulating library which was to be called the Library Company of Alexandria. Members agreed to pay an initiation fee and annual dues. The company was chartered as a corporation in 1798 in an act passed by the General Assembly of Virginia.
Druggist Edward Stabler was elected the first librarian and the library's first location is believed to have been housed in his apothecary shop. James Kennedy was elected the second librarian, and the library moved to his residence and place of business. Kennedy sold books from his personal collection to the Library Company. Those books and other bought from two local merchants formed the foundation of the subscription library. The first catalog of the library's collection was published in 1797. The collection grew over time, bolstered in part by the fact that some members paid their dues in books. Most members were initially men, although records exist showing some women were members as early as 1798. One noted female member in 1817 was Mary L.F. Custis, wife of George Washington Parke Custis.
The catalog published in 1801 indicated a collection of 452 books, mostly on history and travel. By 1815, there were 1,022 entries in the catalog, and the collection had added more biographies, fiction, and magazines. The library was housed in several locations over the ensuing years, including the New Market House next to the City Hall, the Lyceum Company building, and Peabody Hall, which was owned by the Alexandria School Board. Raising funds for the library was a continuing challenge. In 1853, a lecture series was created to raise money. Speakers included Professor Joseph Henry of the Smithsonian, Colonel Francis H. Smith of the Virginia Military Institute, and humorist George W. Bagby.
The arrival of the Civil War in 1861 took its toll on the library collection. Members were able to remove some of the collection prior to the library's occupation by Union troops. The library was used as a hospital and much of the library's collection was lost during this time. After the war, the building was sold to a private owner who planned to turn the building into a private residence and asked the library to remove what was left of the collection. Funds continued to be hard to come by and in 1879, the Library Company closed. The remainder of its collection was stored in Peabody Hall.
In 1897, a group of women in Alexandria formed the Alexandria Library Association. The leaders of the group were Virginia Corse, Mrs. William B. Smoot, and Virginia Burke. They petitioned the school board to open a subscription library in Peabody Hall, using the old books stored there. Permission was given and doors to the new subscription library opened on December 1, 1897. In 1902, the library moved to the first floor of a house in the 1300 block of Prince Street while negotiations were underway for a permanent move to the Confederate Hall, located at 806 Prince Street. In May 1903, the library moved to the Confederate Hall, now known as the Robert E. Lee Camp Hall Museum, where it stayed for 34 years.
In 1936, Dr. and Mrs. Robert South Barrett presented a proposal to the Library Association. They agreed to donate a building in memory of Dr. Barrett's mother, Kate Waller Barrett, if the city would commit to running it as a public library. The city agreed and the Society of Friends offered a 99-year lease on an old Quaker graveyard located on Queen Street. The old library was closed on March 1 for the books to be packed and moved to the new library, which opened to the public in August 1937. The Alexandria Library Association became the Alexandria Library Society.
In 1939, the Barrett library was the scene of possibly the nation's first sit-in demonstrations, as Samuel Tucker, a young law school graduate from the neighborhood, and several other African-American residents insisted on access to the racially segregated library where they had been banned. Tucker later became a prominent attorney in Richmond.^[38][39]
In 1947, the Library Society was reconstituted and took the earlier historic name Alexandria Library Company. A lecture series was also revived. Speakers included Thomas Jefferson biographer Dumas Malone. Some of the books belonging in the original collection of the Alexandria Library Company can now be found in the Local History/Special Collections Room at the Queen Street library that still carries Mrs. Barrett's name.^[40]
In 1948, Ellen Coolidge Burke became director. Burke brought bookmobile services to Alexandria, one of the first services in Virginia. She oversaw the growth of the library system by the addition of two new branch libraries. In April 1968 the Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch at 4701 Seminary Road was opened, and in December 1969 the James M. Duncan branch at 2501 Commonwealth Avenue. Burke retired in 1969.^[41]

Economy

Companies headquartered in Alexandria include the Institute for Defense Analyses, VSE, and the Pentagon Federal Credit Union.
Alexandria is home to numerous trade associations, charities, and non-profit organizations including the national headquarters of groups such as the American Diabetes Association, BoatUS, Catholic Charities, Citizens for the Republic, Global Impact, Good360, Islamic Relief USA, United Way, Volunteers of America and the Salvation Army. Other organizations located in Alexandria include American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, the American Counseling Association, the Society for Human Resource Management, the National Society of Professional Engineers, the National Beer Wholesalers Association, and the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC).

Largest employers

According to the City's 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,^[32] the top public employers in the city, whose employees make up an estimated 15.27% of the total city employment, are:

#	Employer	# of employees
1	United States Department of Commerce	1,000 & over
2	United States Department of Defense	1,000 & over
3	Alexandria City Public Schools	1,000 & over
4	City of Alexandria	1,000 & over
5	Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority	500–999
6	Northern Virginia Community College	500–999
7	United States Department of Agriculture	500–999
8	United States Department of Homeland Security	250–499

The top private employers in the city, whose employees make up an estimated 7.67% of the total city employment, are:

#	Employer	# of employees
1	Inova Health System	1,000 & over
2	Institute for Defense Analyses	500–999
3	Grant Thornton LLP	500–999
4	The Home Depot	500–999
5	CNA Corporation (left Alexandria in 2014)	250–499
6	Oblon	250–499
7	Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington	250–499
8	Giant Food[disambiguation needed]	250–499

Tourism

Demographics

At the 2010 census,^[30] there were 139,966 people, 68,082 households and 30,978 families residing in the city. The population density was 8,452.0 per square mile (3,262.9/km²). There were 68,082 housing units at an average density of 4,233.2 per square mile (1,634.2/km²). The folks of the city were:

• 60.9% White
• 21.8% African American
• 6.0% Asian (1.3% Indian, 1.0% Filipino, 0.9% Chinese, 0.8% Korean, 0.5% Thai, 0.3% Vietnamese, 0.2% Japanese, 1.0% Other)
• 0.4% Native American
• 0.1% Pacific Islander
• 3.7% from two or more races
• 16.1% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any national origin (4.6% Salvadoran, 1.7% Mexican, 1.6% Honduran, 1.1% Guatemalan, 1.1% Puerto Rican, 0.9% Bolivian, 0.8% Peruvian, 0.4% Colombian)

In 2000, there were 61,889 households of which 18.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.2% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 55.2% were non-families. 43.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.04 and the average family size was 2.87.
The age distribution was 16.8% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 43.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median household income was $80,806 and the median family income was $102,435.^[31] Males had a median income of $47,514 versus $41,254 for females. The per capita income for the city was $37,645. 8.9% of the population and 6.8% of families were below the poverty line. 13.9% of those under the age of 18 and 9.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Government

As an independent city of Virginia (as opposed to an incorporated town within a county), Alexandria derives its governing authority from the Virginia General Assembly. In order to revise the power and structure of the city government, the city must request the General Assembly to amend the charter. The present charter was granted in 1950 and it has been amended in 1968, 1971, 1976, and 1982.
Alexandria adopted a council-manager form of government by way of referendum in 1921. This type of government empowers the elected City Council to pass legislation and appoint the City Manager. The City Manager is responsible for overseeing the city's administration.
The Mayor, who is chosen on a separate ballot, presides over meetings of the Council and serves as the ceremonial head of government. The Mayor does not have the power to veto Council action. Council members traditionally choose the person receiving the most votes in the election to serve as Vice Mayor. In the absence or disability of the Mayor, the Vice Mayor performs the mayoral duties.

City Council^[23]

Position		Name	Party	First Election	District
	Mayor	Allison Silberberg	Democratic Party	2012	At-Large
	Vice Mayor	Justin Wilson	Democratic Party	2007–2009 2012	At-Large
	Member	John T. Chapman	Democratic Party	2012	At-Large
	Member	Timothy B. Lovain	Democratic Party	2006–2009 2012	At-Large
	Member	Redella S. "Del" Pepper	Democratic Party	1985	At-Large
	Member	Paul C. Smedberg	Democratic Party	2003	At-Large
	Member	Willie Bailey	Democratic Party	2015	At-Large

In 2008, the City of Alexandria had 78 standing local boards, commissions, and committees to advise the City Council on major issues affecting the community.^[24] All members are appointed by the City Council.
Alexandria is part of Virginia's 8th congressional district, represented by Democrat and Alexandria resident Don Beyer, elected in 2014.
The state's senior member of the United States Senate is Democrat Mark Warner, elected in 2008. The state's junior member of the United States Senate is Democrat Tim Kaine, elected in 2012.
The city operates a jail for pre-trial and short-term inmates. This jail is used to house pre-trial inmates in federal espionage cases.^[25]

Neighborhoods

Main article: List of neighborhoods in Alexandria, Virginia

Neighborhoods in Alexandria include Old Town, Eisenhower Valley, Rosemont, The Berg, Parker-Gray, Del Ray, Arlandria, West End, North Ridge, and Potomac Yard.
Many neighborhoods and cities outside of the city limits, including Hollin Hills, Franconia, Groveton, Hybla Valley, Huntington, Belle Haven, Mount Vernon, Fort Hunt, Engleside, Burgundy Village, Waynewood, Wilton Woods, Rose Hill, Virginia Hills, Hayfield, and Kingstowne use an Alexandria address. These areas are actually part of Fairfax County, not the City of Alexandria. Many locals refer to the non-City-of-Alexandria area that has an Alexandria zip code as "Lower Alexandria" or "South Alexandria"; it may also sometimes be called "Alexandria, Fairfax County."^[22]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.5 square miles (40.1 km²), of which 15.0 square miles (38.9 km²) is land and 0.42 square miles (1.1 km²), or 2.85%, is water.^[20] Alexandria is bounded on the east by the Potomac River, on the north and northwest by Arlington County, and on the south by Fairfax County. The western portions of the city were annexed from those two entities beginning in the 1930s.
The addressing system in Alexandria is not uniform and reflects the consolidation of several originally separate communities into a single city. In Old Town Alexandria, building numbers are assigned north and south from King Street and west (only) from the Potomac River. In the areas formerly in the town of Potomac, such as Del Ray and St. Elmo, building numbers are assigned east and west from Commonwealth Avenue and north (only) from King Street. In the western parts of the city, building numbers are assigned north and south from Duke Street.
The ZIP code prefix 223 uniquely identifies the Alexandria postal area.^{[citation needed]} However, the Alexandria postal area extends into Fairfax County and includes addresses outside of the city. Delivery areas have ZIP codes 22301, 22302, 22203, 22304, 22305, 22306, 22307, 22308, 22309, 22310, 22311, 22312, 22314, and 22315, with other ZIP codes in use for post office boxes and large mailers (22313, 22331, 22332, 22333).
Adjacent jurisdictions include:

• Arlington County, Virginia – north
• Fairfax County, Virginia – west and south
• District of Columbia – northeast
• Prince George's County, Maryland – east

There is one national protected area in Alexandria:

• George Washington Memorial Parkway (part)