july 28-August 3, 2025

What's New

FEATURED EVENT

Annual Friendship Firehouse Festival
100 Block of South Alfred Street
Saturday, August 2, 2025
9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Free

Join us this Saturday to celebrate Friendship Fire Company's 251st year! Learn about fire safety today and yesterday, and see Alexandria Fire Department equipment up close. There will be booths by the Alexandria Police Department and Sheriff's Office, live music performances, displays by community organizations, local vendors, 50/50 raffle as a fundraiser, and food and beverage sales. Join in water play and please-touch artifact activities. Children will receive free toy Friendship firefighting helmets. Cake cutting at noon. This family friendly event is presented by the Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Association and the Office of Historic Alexandria.

Upcoming Events

View the Historic Alexandria Calendar

Carlyle House Family Fun Day - Pet Fête
Carlyle House, 121 N. Fairfax Street
Saturday, August 2 (First Saturday of the month from April - November)
Noon -3 p.m.
Free
More information online.

Come join your friends on the Carlyle House Magnolia Terrace for Family Fun Day on the first Saturday of the month from April - November! From noon - 3 p.m., you can sit in on story time that starts at the top of the hour and participate in crafts and other activities that relate to the theme of the month. This program is for all ages, though some of the crafts might be challenging for guests under 4. There is no fee to join this program, but donations are encouraged.

Family Day with Young Historians
Gadsby's Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal Street
Sunday, August 3 (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.

City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums Summer Concert on Market Square
Market Square, 301 King Street
Thursday, August 7
7:45- 8:45 p.m.
Free

Celebrate Alexandria's Scottish heritage with the City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums at a free summer concert series! Enjoy performances featuring bagpipes and drums. Combining precision marching with powerful and stirring musical arrangements rooted in Scottish heritage, the City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums has been captivating audiences for over 50 years.

Benjamin Thomas Remembrance Event
Shiloh Baptist Church,1401 Jamieson Street
Friday, August 8, 2025
6:30 - 8 p.m.
Doors open at 6:15, Program begins at 6:30, Book signing at 7:30.
Free
More information online.

Please join us on Friday, Aug. 8 at Shiloh Baptist Church at 6:30 p.m. to honor and remember Benjamin Thomas. Don't miss the chance to hear Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian Steven Hahn speak in remembrance of Benjamin Thomas who was denied due process and lynched in Alexandria on Aug. 8, 1899. A book signing will follow the program.

Dr. Hahn will speak about this Nation's long relationship with political violence, racial terror, and the perpetual struggle to fulfill the promise of democracy made in the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.

Shiloh Baptist Church was where Benjamin Thomas was baptized just two years before he was lynched. Shiloh Baptist Church was also the site of his Memorial Service that drew more than 600 African Americans from Alexandria and Washington who came to protest the racial violence wielded against their community.

Hahn's most recent book, Illiberal America A History, and his seminal work, for which he won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for History, A Nation Under Our Feet, Black Political Struggles in the Rural South from Slavery to the Great Migration will be available for purchase.

Trivia Nights at Historic Sites: Baseball
Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden, 614 Oronoco Street
Friday, August 8 (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 8th trivia night will be Baseball. 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.

Beyond the Battlefield: A Civil War Walking Tour of Alexandria
Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden, 614 Oronoco Street
Saturday, August 9
10-11:30 a.m.
$15 admission
Purchase tickets.

This walking tour shares the stories of soldiers, citizens, and self-liberated African Americans in Civil War Alexandria. It covers the military occupation, the conversion of public and private buildings into hospitals, and emancipation.Tickets are $15 per person and must be purchased in advance. The tour is limited to 12 participants and lasts approximately an hour and a half. Walking tours take place rain or shine, so please wear appropriate shoes and clothing. Members of Lee-Fendall House are free but must call or email to make a reservation (703) 548-1789 or [email protected].

Story Time for Little Historians
Alexandria Black History Museum
Saturday, August 9
10 - 10:45 a.m.
Free

Did you know August is known as "Black August" and celebrates Black resistance? Our dynamic storyteller will use books written by and about African American people and other communities of color to explore acts of resistance, including Alexandria's own library sit-in. While open to all, picture books and craft are best suited for children ages 5-8.

Civil War Hospital Tour
Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden, 614 Oronoco Street
Saturday, August 9
2-3 p.m.
$15 admission
Purchase tickets

Learn how the Lee-Fendall House was confiscated during the Civil War and operated as a Union Army hospital. Explore what life was like in Union-occupied Alexandria, how the Lee-Fendall House witnessed medical history, and how political divisions impacted those living here.

Tickets are $15 to the general public and free for museum members. The tour is limited to 12 participants. Members, please call the museum to reserve your ticket. Please e-mail [email protected] or call (703) 548-1789 with any questions.

Specialty Tour: A Magical Apothecary-SOLD OUT
Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum, 105-107 South Fairfax Street
Sunday, August 10
11 a.m. - noon
$15 per person/$12 for Historic Alexandria Member

Family Day with Young Historians
Gadsby's Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal Street
Sunday, August 10 (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.

Support Historic Alexandria

Historic Alexandria receives City operational funding to support its mission; however, these resources do not cover the full scope of the department's strategic goals and projects. Donations, special revenue, and grant funding help supplement staff, conservation work, and educational programs. Please consider making a gift today.

Historic Alexandria Museum Hours

Plan your Visit

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, August 2, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. The Museum will be open as part of the annual Friendship Firehouse Festival.

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.

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 [email protected] or call 703.746.4554, Virginia Relay 711.

This Week in Alexandria's History

More from This Day in History

On July 30, 1909, Orville Wright and Benjamin Foulois, a U.S. Army lieutenant, flew a plane to Alexandria in a test flight for the military. The biplane traveled from Fort Myer to Shuter's Hill and back. A tethered balloon flew above Shuter's Hill so the pilot would know when to turn back toward Fort Myer. This successful demonstration flight was required for the Army's purchase of its first military airplane.

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.