I was in Alexandria, Virginia on a one-week assignment a few weeks ago. I love this town because aside from its rich history, I lived here for a few months many years ago as I was starting life out here in America. My late uncle was very kind enough to let me stay at his place rent-free while I looked for a job.
According to Wikipedia, Alexandria lies 6 miles south of Washington, D.C., or roughly a ten-minute drive. The buildings in the "Old Town" district of this city are at least 250 years old and are about three storeys tall on the average.
The following photo shows one of the markers in the Old Town district that talk about Alexandria's origins:
The following photo shows an exact replica of the house George Washington owned and stayed in whenever he was in town. It is on Cameron Street and stands on the exact spot where his house originally stood. This replica, a faithful reconstruction of the original home, was built in the early 1960s.
The 2006 Honda Civic parked in front of Washington's house is also a replica of the one he used to own. This fuel-efficient and fully-loaded car was a gift to him from a grateful nation. (Please ignore those two sentences. In addition, per Rudy's observation, the car was actually a Toyota Vios and not a Honda Civic as I had earlier thought it to be. Sorry about that. Hehehe)
The following photo shows the same house but taken from a slightly different angle. On this photo a bust of George Washington can be seen behind the left window.
The following sign was right in front of a restaurant called Gadsby's Tavern. It is on Royal Street and is one of the most famous and historic restaurants in town, having been continuously in business since 1770. As the sign says, George Washington used to be a regular patron and according to its website so were other US presidents such as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, and James Monroe. 
The following shows the tavern's front door. Note the low position of the door knob. I was told that that's how doors were built back in those days. It also probably had something to do with the average height of the people back then. Although George Washington stood more than six feet tall, the average American was quite short. 
I ended up dining at this place with a co-worker. I apologize that I wasn't able to take pictures of the building's exterior because by the time we were done with dinner, it had grown quite dark outside. So please refer to its website for pictures of the building.
Since it's a centuries' old town, walking "Ghost Tours" are also offered in the evenings led by tour guides dressed in period costumes. One of those Tour Guides is shown below:
For a Tour Guide, I found this one particularly weird and camera-shy. I observed that whenever people tried to include him in their shots, he almost always turned his back to them. Should I call the police? Hehehe Oh well....
Anyway, Alexandria is a very nice place to visit. Although it's classified as a city, huge sections of the city are quite peaceful and relaxing. The pace is a bit slower than other East Coast cities such as New York. Thus, whenever you're in the Washington, DC area, please find some time to stop by this city and enjoy some bit of living American history.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Alexandria - A Sentimental Trip
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42 responses:
it's such a beautiful place. i find the houses by the lake so enchanting and serene. you should've included them here. :D
Informative and humorous post! Didn't squeeze that in on our recent trip to DC - maybe next time!
Ang galing how they were able to preserve a bit of history. We on the other hand, are probably the only country this side of the world that have managed to bulldoze almost every historical landmark... ay nako.
Oh btw, if I'm not mistaken, that's a Toyota Vios, not a Civic... :-)
Have a great weekend, pards.
cool door knobs! so cute! lol
i think the place i live in now can also be called alexandria because that's the name of the patron saint of the town. lol
This is very informative. Nothing but historical places like classics that are filled with sentimental value.
i like the house of G. Washington, it looks simple and serene.:)
nice shots Pan!how I wish I were that tour guide..I would pose with conviction!hehe
Mari,
Don't worry. I'll include them in a second installment on Alexandria. I'll post them real soon. :)
RDL,
Yes, downtown Alexandria is only two stop Metro train stops away from Washington DC. From DC, you can hop on the Metro train and get off at Union Station in Alexandria. This train station is right near King Street which is the center of the Old Town District. It's a quick and convenient train ride and shouldn't take you more than 10 or 15 minutes. :)
Rudy,
The historical commission and the people really did a very good job of preserving the area. I wish I was able to take more pictures of the downtown area itself but work and personal circumstances prevented me from doing so. Maybe next time.
Regarding the car, the Honda was a guess. You're right in that it was probably a Toyota Vios. I should have looked at the car's front emblem a lot closer. Hehehe Thanks for the correction. :)
Prinsesamusang,
Hahaha I guess your town can go by that name. :)
Nyl,
Thanks. :) That Tour Guide was a rather strange dude. Given the public nature of his job, he should have been more visible. Baka may pinagtataguan. Hehehe
waaaah. nawala ang comment ko. *hikbi*
the door knob, is it really low because of the (lack of) height of people back then? really?
why do they call it a ghost tour? are there ghosts there? or was it something cooked up to make the place more interesting than it already is?
natawa ako sa kotse. talaga lang ha? may kotse na noon? hehe.
Hey that low door knob would be a big help for a vertically challenged person like me hehehe
That tree in front of the house. Is that the replica of the one George chopped off when he was a child? (hehehe... jokjokjok!)
I am attracted to old historic towns. You can feel it the minute you step out of the car. That's why I always try to see if a city has an old town district wherever I visit.
I want to see his study. Is it preserved too? :)
asteg...parang nagmmoment ka pag nakikita mo yung mga landmarks ng mga sikat na tao na katulad ni george...
i like the framework of the house..parang ang comfy ng dating =)
Atticus,
I didn't see one but in a district with hundreds of buildings that are hundreds of years old, there might indeed be some.
Kahit si Washington ayaw bumili ng American car sa dami ng quality problems. Japanese din ang binili. Hehehe :D
Daphne,
I was surprised by how low the knob was. I'm not a tall guy myself but I had to stoop a little to turn the knob. It was that low. Hehehe
Blogusvox,
It probably was. Hahaha
Photo Cache,
I'm pretty certain then that you'll love this town. There are quite a lot of places to see (Robert Lee's boyhood home, Washington's house, the Masonic temple, etc.) and it's so conveniently close to Washington, DC. You'll like it. :)
Abaniko,
Sorry but we weren't able to get in because it was quite late in the day when we got there. If he had a study in that house, I would think that it would been preserved too.
Gagitos,
That's true. Mukhang cozy nga iyong bahay niya. Sayang at sarado na noong dumating kami. Nakapasok sana. :)
He he. Your punchlines were great. Keep 'em coming. Great place, by the way. I wish there'd be a time in the future when a sign would say "panaderos sat here" or "r-yo peed here". :-)
i thought at first you were writing about the Egyptian city of Alexander the Great hehehehe...(am a sucker for historical places)
looks like the comment i made last friday was not posted.:(
i wish historial places in the philippines are as well-preserved as this town. love g. washington's quaint old house.
ganda naman ng place. bagay saken yung door kase i only stand 4'11". hehe.
wow! cute house. the car looks so modern for his time.
the place surely keeps the memories.
woah.. nice house. i have this good feeling with the ambiance of an american type exterior,.. it looks warm and cozy at least for my eyes.. hahaha and i wonder how much the car costs that time? it sure did cost a lot then! lol
That door knob looks too low even by Pinoy standards. Midgets ba nag Americans during that time (or is the door just too big?). He he.
R-Yo,
Thanks for the compliment. Sana nga someday eh ganoon ang makita nilang mga signs sa paligid ng Metro Manila: kung saan tayo nagpunta or tumira. Hehehe
Thank you very much for the visit. Much appreciated. :)
Miki,
You'll like this town. One can see a number of historical sites without driving. Puro lakad lang. The area's well preserved.
Luna Miranda,
Unfortunately, your comment not getting posted seems to be a problem with Blogger. I've had a few readers tell me that. Sorry about that.
Alexandria is a nice historic town. There are other nice sights too by the Potomac River that I will post on another entry in a few days. (Tip iyan. Naks! Hahaha)
Lei,
Hahaha Nagulat nga ako noong makita ko iyong pinto na iyon. Hard to believe na ganoon kaliit ang mga tao noon. :)
Dong,
That's true. Even if the house's architectural style dates back to the colonial days, it could still pass off as quite modern.
The car's styling was quite modern too. Hehehe :D
Neuroticsister,
The atmosphere in most American homes are indeed cozy. I think it's a combination of both styling and the choice of colors.
The car was imported from the Empire of Japan. Hehehe :P
Monaco,
It seemed that the average American might have been short too. Nagulat din ako when I found out. Hehehe :)
Nice piece of history there and I am amazed at how they preserved the house. When I take my family to DC for a visit, I'll keep this post in mind :)
I noticed the ads in Gadsbys restaurant that says "George eat here" of course it was George Washington and it was a good attraction but did they mention if George like the food or not?
Nice post!
BW,
You're very welcome, Pards. You won't regret it for aside from the history, the Old Town district has nice small shops and plenty of good restaurants. :)
Ysrael,
Hahaha Oo nga. They didn't mention that. Siguro naman nagustuhan for the place to stay in business all this time. I enjoyed the prime rib steak I had at this place. Very succulent. Naks! :)
wow. this goes to show that history attracts people. preserving the old for the next generation. locally, we have to preserve our history.
ganda nung lugar noh? city pero hindi mukhang busy.
Rheiboy17,
That's one of the things I like about Alexandria. Kahit na city siya, maraming lugar sa kanya ang nananatiling tahimik at relaxing. It is a city without the hurried pace.
I wish we could do the same in our country. A lot of our heritage is worth preserving for our sake and that of future generations.
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