A popular weekend getaway from Washington, D.C., Alexandria, Virginia contains a lovely historic old city, vivacious parks, nice museums and distinctive attractions. Choose a ride on the free King Street trolley which is able to take you past many renowned attractions. Best things to try to in Alexandria, VA embody the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum, the Athenaeum, and therefore the George Washington Masonic National Memorial.
The spirit of George Washington lives on within the streets of old Town Alexandria. You’ll be able to feel it when stepping across sleek cobblestones and old red brick sidewalks and once you pass by his Masonic Memorial, Carlyle House, or the Black History museum. There’s a strong sense of history in old city even once it’s abuzz with the sounds and sights of bustling, fashionable life. The river borders previous city on one side, whereas the Torpedo mill Art Center and therefore the Masonic Museum serve as the other boundaries. Old city is replete with restaurants, pavement cafes, shops, and every one forms of events at any time of the day. The made and vivacious space invitations you to walk concerning at your leisure. Take it slow to explore previous Town, and appreciate the appealing conversion of past and present.
The George Washington Masonic National Memorial is an enormous, impressive memorial to President George Washington. The Memorial is a museum, a library, a pursuit center, a concert hall, and a community center. Freemasons made the memorial at the start of the twentieth century to give the traditional Egyptian Alexandria lighthouse, one amongst the Seven Wonders of the traditional World. A number of the exhibited art and artifacts embody an enormous, 17-feet tall sculpture of George Washington at the doorway to the memorial, a large bas-relief given by Kodak, and lots of portraits and busts of the legendary president and venerated Freemason.
The Torpedo factory Art Center is a beloved workplace for several of Alexandria’s artists. This former ammunition plant was converted into an art center in 1974 and currently contains 82} artists’ studios, two workshop spaces, seven galleries also because the Alexandria archaeology Museum. Here, the Art League College offers art classes, artists produce and exhibit their work, and locals and tourists stop by to check and feel the creative soul of their city, purchase a unique souvenir, and have a cup of low at Bread & Chocolate. All art areas are hospitable the public, and you’re more than welcome to walk in and see the artists at work.
Walking into the Stabler-Leadbeater apothecary museum is like walking into Alexandria circa 1805 once Marta Washington or Robert E. Lee came to the shop in search of a headache remedy or a cure for the common cold. This apothecary, or pharmacy as we call it these days, was owned and operated by the Stabler-Leadbeater family till 1933, and it’s today a great deal the manner it looked when it served the wants of the ailing citizens of Alexandria.
Simply across the street from Alexandria’s city hall within the heart of old city lies an elegant, almost fairytale-like house that John Carlyle built for his beautiful bride wife Fairfax in 1793. He was a flush British merchant, she was from a distinguished colonial Virginia family, and their home became the middle of Alexandria’s political and social life. Architecturally unique, Carlyle home is the only eighteenth century house in Alexandria manufactured from stone. The superbly rebuilt mansion offers an exciting perspective on the manner of life in Alexandria just before the Revolution. The lovely garden is meticulously maintained and options an equivalent plants that will have been present during the times of the Carlyles.
There could be no two more different architectural masterpieces than Woodlawn and Frank Harold Lloyd Wright’s Pope-Leighey House. Nevertheless, they’re both set on the National Trust for Historic Preservation land in historic Alexandria. Therefore, guests will compare two terribly different architectural styles, both of that tell a story concerning their builders, the inhabitants, and therefore the most fun time periods for the structures. Woodlawn may be a Georgian/Federal mansion designed by William Thornton for George Washington’s nephew Lawrence Lewis and his bride. The stately mansion is formal and elegant, made of brick masonry with arenaceous rock trim and outsized purple windows. Frank Harold Lloyd Wright designed the Pope-Leighey house in 1940. It’s one amongst concerning one hundred modest residential dwellings he created.
Trademark is a well-liked bar at the Westin hotel with vast windows, soaring ceilings and a horny snaky bar that completely enhances the curved communal table. It’s forever packed for happy hour whether or not there’s a game on one of the establishment’s several screens. Make certain to induce one thing to drink whereas you’re there – they serve classic cocktails that ne’er disappoint. The walls are embellished with old photos, and there’s a stunning corner with a well-stocked shelf full, jars, and old trophies close to the non-public feeding room. The menu options typical bar fare however with a number of delicious surprises, as well as raincoat and cheese stuffed with ham and served with cooked pickles Cuban style. You’ll be able to conjointly get the picture filled with lobster or crab.