AUGUST 11–17, 2025
What's New
FEATURED EVENT
Family Day with Young Historians
Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal Street
Sunday, August 24 (every Sunday through Labor Day)
2 - 5 p.m.
Included in regular museum admission.
Junior Docents (4th through 6th graders) provide stationed tours throughout the two tavern buildings and operate special, hands-on activity stations about period clothing and chocolate making. It’s a unique and fun way to explore history for all ages.
Upcoming Events
View the Historic Alexandria Calendar
Sweet Summer Social
Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden, 614 Oronoco Street
Saturday, August 16
11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
$10 for adults; $5 for kids ages 2+; Free for kids under 2
Purchase tickets.
Celebrate the best of summer in the Lee-Fendall House garden! Bring the whole family for an afternoon of summer-themed fun, treats, and learning. Garden doors open at 11 a.m.. An optional family-friendly house tour will be offered at 1 p.m. for an extra $5 per person.
All-Day Activities:
Historic home scavenger hunt - with prizes!
Kid-friendly trivia - with prizes!
Nature & plants educational table
Face painting and arts & crafts
Play a game of croquet
Sweet treats & delicious drinks
Questions? Please e-mail contact@leefendallhouse.org or call the museum at 703-548-1789.
Trivia Nights at Historic Sites: 1920s
Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden, 614 Oronoco Street
Friday, August 22 (biweekly through August)
7 - 9 p.m.
$12 admission
Purchase tickets.
Join staff from Lee-Fendall House Museum and Carlyle House Historic Park for bi-weekly trivia nights in the beautiful gardens located at Lee-Fendall House. Test your knowledge all summer on all things from pop culture to history! The theme of our August 22nd trivia night will be 1920s. Cost includes one drink ticket; additional drinks can be bought at our cash bar. Teams may have up to 6 members. Ages 21 and over only. No outside alcohol is permitted. Food and water may be brought into the garden.
Interrogations & Intelligence: A World War II Story of P.O. Box 1142
Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden, 614 Oronoco Street
Saturday, August 23
2 - 3 p.m.
$10 admission
Purchase tickets.
In 1942, the United States War Department was issued a permit to use the land of Fort Hunt Park that is located just 6 miles away from Old Town, Alexandria. What was established there? A top-secret military intelligence facility only known by its mailing address, P.O. Box 1142. During the War, three operations took place to aid the Allies in winning the war: MIS-Y (interrogation of Germans POWs), MIS-X (escape and evade program), and MIRS (creating the "Red Book"). This lecture will delve into each of these operations, the facility's connections to Old Town, Alexandria, as well as the reason why the facility remained a secret to the public until the early 2000s.
Tickets are $10 to the general public and free for museum members. Members please call at (703) 548-1789 to reserve your tickets.
Yoga on the Magnolia Terrace-Happy Hour
Carlyle House Historic Park, 121 North Fairfax Street
Thursday, August 28
6 - 7:30 p.m.
$20 admission
Purchase tickets.
Join Friends of Carlyle House for a special outdoor yoga class on our picturesque Magnolia Terrace with themed mocktails to be provided afterwards!
Join a yoga instructor for an hour long Yoga class on Carlyle’s Magnolia Terrace. Afterwards, enjoy a mocktail with yoga participants and staff. Happy Hours are a fundraiser for new exhibit cases in the museum and sponsored by the Friends of Carlyle House.
Please bring water, a towel, and a yoga mat. Wear comfortable yoga wear. Please note that the terrace is bricked so please bring a thicker mat or double up with an extra mat or towel. Class may be canceled due to inclement weather, you will receive an email if class is canceled.
Support Historic Alexandria
Your gift fuels preservation, education, and programs that bring Alexandria’s past to life. Donations, special revenue, and grants make it possible to expand educational programs, conserve treasured collections, and support our dedicated staff. Your gift today helps preserve Alexandria’s history for generations to come.
Historic Alexandria Museum Hours
Alexandria Archaeology Museum
Tuesdays–Fridays, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sundays, 1 –5 p.m.
Alexandria Black History Museum
Thursdays & Fridays, 11 a.m.– 4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sundays, 1– 5 p.m.
Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum
Thursdays & Fridays, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sundays, 1 – 5 p.m.
Fort Ward Museum
Thursdays & Fridays, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sundays, 1 – 5 p.m.
Freedom House
Closed to Visitors During Front Door Restoration
Freedom House Museum is temporarily closed to visitors to allow for the completion of the front façade restoration and installation of new entry doors.
UPDATE: The front facade work is almost done so the scaffolding is coming down. While we are excited to share this rehabilitation update, the two doors to the Freedom House Museum and their hardware are still being fabricated so the museum will be closed through the end of August.
To learn more about the ongoing rehabilitation, visit the Freedom House Rehabilitation Project page. Project updates will be posted regularly on the Freedom House webpage.
Friendship Firehouse Museum
Saturday, September 27, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Gadsby’s Tavern Museum
Thursdays & Fridays, 11 a.m.– 4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sundays-Tuesdays, 1– 5 p.m.
Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum
Wednesdays–Fridays, 11 a.m.– 4 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sundays & Mondays 1 - 5 p.m.
2025 Historic Alexandria Holiday Ornament - Available Now in Historic Alexandria museum stores and in our online store!
Celebrate Alexandria’s 19th-century canal history with this beautifully crafted, American-made brass ornament. This year’s design honors the Alexandria Canal, featuring a canal boat exiting Lock No. 4 heading eastward toward the Potomac River, uncovered by archaeologists in the winter of 2025 on N. Pitt Street. The Alexandria Canal was in use from 1843 to 1886. Learn more here.
Explore with Ease – The New Museum Mobility Guide
Historic Alexandria and the Department of Transportation & Environmental Services (T&ES) have launched a colorful, easy-to-use map and guide connecting all of Alexandria’s museums via walking, biking, and transit. The guide also acts as a passport—visit every site and earn a prize! Available at museums, rec centers, public libraries, and more.
Visit our website and follow us on social media to discover new things about your hometown. For more information, visit alexandriava.gov/Historic. Admission to City of Alexandria museums is complimentary for city residents.
For reasonable disability accommodation, contact Nicole Quinn at historicalexandria@alexandriava.gov or call 703.746.4554, Virginia Relay 711.
This Week in Alexandria's History
On August 14, 1946, the Alexandria City Council established the nation’s third oldest historic district regulating the appearance of a large swath of the downtown area now known as Old Town. The first historic district that regulated changes in the appearance of an historic area, through the police power of land use controls, was adopted by the City of Charleston, S.C., in 1931. That act was followed six years later by the City of New Orleans to protect its unusual French Quarter. In Alexandria, downtown businesses strongly opposed the historic designation, but the measure received strong support from residents who sought to preserve the hundreds of early buildings in the city center that remained from the 18th and 19th centuries. The National Park Service also weighed in, urging that the City take steps to protect the commemorative nature of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, which passed through Alexandria along Washington Street. The Park Service argued that inappropriate development, such as the recently constructed Hot Shoppes restaurant with neon signage and an adjacent iced custard shop that mimicked an Alaskan igloo, complete with a beckoning cement polar bear, were not in keeping with Alexandria’s colonial character.
Upcoming Commission and Committee Events
Commissions Supporting Historic Alexandria
August 11 Alexandria-Caen Sister Cities Committee (SCC)
City Hall, 301 King Street, Sister Cities Room 1101
7-9 p.m.August 18 Alexandria Sister City Committee - Dundee and Helsingborg
City Hall, 301 King Street, Sister Cities Room 1101
7-8:30 p.m.August 18 George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee (GWBCC)
Lloyd House, 220 N. Washington Street
7-9 p.m.