May is Historic Preservation Month. This year, Historic Alexandria and its partners are focusing on Equity in Preservation. We invite you to our lectures on the free Black population of Alexandria before the Civil War; the demographic evolution of the District of Columbia, of which Alexandria was once a part; a history of Franklin and Armfield, the notorious slave trading firm that once operated out of what is now the Freedom House Museum; and housing practices in Alexandria from the Civil War until today. You can also join masked and socially-distanced walking tours of Alexandria's historic buildings.

Alexandria's History Museum at The Lyceum is now open!

 A new Online Exhibition. Learn about Alexandria’s first Girl Scout troops and the important role youth organizations have played in supporting girls in their formative years.

In 1985, photographer Nina Tisara documented fifty worship groups throughout the City of Alexandria. The 106 images provide a portrait of Alexandria’s worship community at that time. Tisara sought to document “the breadth, variety, and vitality of worship in the city.” She came to call her project Converging Paths because the experience led her to conclude that, despite the many different paths worship takes, “we are all kin.” This  online exhibition provides a sampling of the photographs.

Location, hours, directions, and everything you need to know to visit Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum.
Parking and Trolley Map

Because of COVID-19, the Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum is not able to host concerts, lectures, or other events on site until further notice. We are, however, hosting live-streaming events on Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook Live. Currently scheduled streaming events include concerts from WMPA and a series of lectures by local Alexandria historians.

Over the past year, OHA has recorded our community's response to the pandemic by collecting objects, images and stories from citizens across the City. See a sampling of this public history collecting effort, and learn more about contributing to this on-going project. 

George Washington is represented in the Alexandria History Museum''s collection with items created to commemorate, and celebrate, his life and achievements. Learn about the sampler and two other artifacts from the 19th century that show how he was greatly admired at home, nationally, and abroad.

Miss visiting your favorite Historic Alexandria sites? Looking for some fun historic activities to share with your kids at home? Let our staff bring history virtually to you!