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Alexandria, Virginia

May 13, 2024

Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of downtown Washington, D.C. Alexandria is the third largest "principal city" of the Washington metropolitan area which is part of the larger Washington-Baltimore combined statistical area.

Alexandria, Virginia
Independent city
George Washington Masonic National Memorial in 2015 with Washington, D.C., and Arlington in the distance
Flag
Seal
Location of Alexandria in Virginia
Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria
Coordinates: 38°49′13″N 77°03′01″W / 38.82028°N 77.05028°W / 38.82028; -77.05028
CountryUnited States
StateVirginia
CountyNone (Independent city)
Founded1749
Incorporated (town)1779
Incorporated (city)1852
Incorporated (Independent city)1870
Government
 • TypeCouncil-manager
 • MayorJustin Wilson (D)
 • Virginia Senate39: Adam Ebbin (D)
 • Delegate3: Alfonso Lopez (D)
4: Charniele Herring (D)
5: Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D)
 • U.S. SenateMark Warner (D)
Tim Kaine (D)
 • U.S. House8: Don Beyer (D)
Area
[1]
 • Total15.35 sq mi (39.75 km2)
 • Land14.93 sq mi (38.68 km2)
 • Water0.41 sq mi (1.07 km2)
Highest elevation
287 ft (87 m)
Lowest elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total159,467
 • Rank169th in United States
6th in Virginia
 • Density10,680.97/sq mi (4,122.72/km2)
DemonymAlexandrian
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes
22301 to 22315, 22320 to 22336
Area codes703 and 571
FIPS code51-01000[2]
GNIS feature ID1492456[3]
Primary AirportsRonald Reagan Washington National Airport
Dulles International Airport
Commuter railVirginia Railway Express
Websitewww.alexandriava.gov

As of the 2020 U.S. census, its population of 159,467 made it the sixth-most populous city in Virginia and the 169th-most populous city in the nation.[4] The city's estimated population has grown by 1% annually since 2010 on average.[5]

Like the rest of Northern Virginia and Central Maryland, modern Alexandria has been influenced by its proximity to the U.S. capital. It is largely populated by professionals working in the federal civil service, in the U.S. military, or for one of the many private companies which contract to provide services to the federal government. One of Alexandria's largest employers is the U.S. Department of Defense. Another is the Institute for Defense Analyses. In 2005, the United States Patent and Trademark Office moved to Alexandria, and in 2017, so did the headquarters of the National Science Foundation.

The historic center of Alexandria is known as Old Town Alexandria, or simply "Old Town". With its concentration of boutiques, restaurants, antique shops and theaters, it is a major draw for all who live in Alexandria as well as for visitors. Like Old Town, many Alexandria neighborhoods are compact and walkable. It is the 6th largest and highest-income independent city in Virginia. A large portion of adjacent Fairfax County, mostly south but also west of the city, has Alexandria mailing addresses. However, this area is under the jurisdiction of Fairfax County's government and separate from the independent city.[6] The city is therefore sometimes referred to as the "City of Alexandria" to avoid confusion. Neighboring Arlington County was formerly named "Alexandria County" before it was renamed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1920 to reduce confusion with the city.

History edit

Further information: History of Alexandria, Virginia and Timeline of Alexandria, Virginia

Early history edit

According to archaeologists' estimates, a succession of indigenous peoples began to occupy the Chesapeake and Tidewater region about 3,000 to 10,000 years ago. Various Algonquian-speaking peoples inhabited the lands in the Potomac River drainage area since at least the early 14th century.[7]

In the summer of 1608, English settler John Smith explored the Potomac River and came into contact with the Patawomeck (loosely affiliated with the Powhatan) and Doeg tribes who lived on the Virginia side, as well as on Theodore Roosevelt Island, and the Piscataway (also known as the Conoy), who resided on the Maryland side.[8] On this visit, Smith recorded the presence of a settlement called Assaomeck near the south bank of what is now Hunting Creek.[9]

Colonial era edit

 
An 1878 map of Alexandria County, including what is now Arlington County and the City of Alexandria. Map includes the names of property owners at that time. City boundaries roughly correspond with Old Town.

On October 21, 1669, a patent granted 6,000 acres (24 km2) to Robert Howsing for transporting 120 people to the Colony of Virginia.[10]: 5  That tract would later become the City of Alexandria.[10]: 5  Virginia's comprehensive Tobacco Inspection Law of 1730 mandated that all tobacco grown in the colony must be brought to locally designated public warehouses for inspection before sale. One of the sites designated for a warehouse on the upper Potomac River was at the mouth of Hunting Creek.[11] However, the ground proved to be unsuitable, and the warehouse was built half a mile up-river, where the water was deep near the shore.

Following the 1745 settlement of the Virginia's 10-year dispute with Lord Fairfax over the western boundary of the Northern Neck Proprietary, when the Privy Council in London found in favor of Lord Fairfax's expanded claim, some of the Fairfax County gentry formed the Ohio Company of Virginia. They intended to conduct trade into the interior of America, and they required a trading center near the head of navigation on the Potomac. The best location was Hunting Creek tobacco warehouse, since the deep water could easily accommodate sailing ships. Many local tobacco planters, however, wanted a new town further up Hunting Creek, away from nonproductive fields along the river.[12]

Around 1746, Captain Philip Alexander II (1704–1753) moved to what is south of present Duke Street in Alexandria. His estate, which consisted of 500 acres (2.0 km2), was bounded by Hunting Creek, Hooff's Run, the Potomac River, and approximately the line which would become Cameron Street. At the opening of Virginia's 1748–49 legislative session, there was a petition submitted in the House of Burgesses on November 1, 1748, that the "inhabitants of Fairfax (Co.) praying that a town may be established at Hunting Creek Warehouse on Potowmack River," since Hugh West was the owner of the warehouse. The petition was introduced by Lawrence Washington, the representative for Fairfax County and, more importantly, the son-in-law of William Fairfax and a founding member of the Ohio Company. To support the company's push for a town on the river, Lawrence's younger brother George Washington, an aspiring surveyor, made a sketch of the shoreline touting the advantages of the tobacco warehouse site.[13]

Since the river site was amidst his estate, Philip opposed the idea and strongly favored a site at the head of Hunting Creek (also known as Great Hunting Creek). It has been said that in order to avoid a predicament the petitioners offered to name the new town Alexandria, in honor of Philip's family. As a result, Philip and his cousin Captain John Alexander (1711–1763) gave land to assist in the development of Alexandria and are thus listed as the founders. This John was the son of Robert Alexander II (1688–1735). On May 2, 1749, the House of Burgesses approved the river location and ordered "Mr. Washington do go up with a Message to the Council and acquaint them that this House have agreed to the Amendments titled An Act for erecting a Town at Hunting Creek Warehouse, in the County of Fairfax."[14] A "Public Vendue" (auction) was advertised for July, and the county surveyor laid out street lanes and town lots. The auction was conducted on July 13–14, 1749.

Almost immediately upon establishment, the town founders called the new town "Belhaven", believed to be in honor of a Scottish patriot, John Hamilton, 2nd Lord Belhaven and Stenton, the Northern Neck tobacco trade being then dominated by Scots. The name Belhaven was used in official lotteries to raise money for a Church and Market House, but it was never approved by the legislature and fell out of favor in the mid-1750s.[15] The town of Alexandria did not become incorporated until 1779.

In 1755, General Edward Braddock organized his fatal expedition against Fort Duquesne at Carlyle House in Alexandria. In April 1755, the governors of Virginia, and the provinces of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York met to determine upon concerted action against the French in America.[16]

In March 1785, commissioners from Virginia and Maryland met in Alexandria to discuss the commercial relations of the two states, finishing their business at Mount Vernon. The Mount Vernon Conference concluded on March 28 with an agreement for freedom of trade and freedom of navigation of the Potomac River. The Maryland legislature, in ratifying this agreement on November 22, proposed a conference among representatives from all the states to consider the adoption of definite commercial regulations. This led to the calling of the Annapolis Convention of 1786, which in turn led to the calling of the Federal Convention of 1787.[16]

In 1791, Alexandria was included in the area chosen by George Washington to become the District of Columbia.

Early 19th century edit

 
Slave ship taking on slaves at the Alexandria waterfront in 1836. Alexandria's slave trade made Virginia a more pro-slavery state after retrocession.

In 1814, during the War of 1812, a British fleet launched a successful Raid on Alexandria, which surrendered without a fight. As agreed in the terms of surrender the British looted stores and warehouses of mainly flour, tobacco, cotton, wine, and sugar.[17] In 1823 William Holland Wilmer, Francis Scott Key, and others founded the Virginia Theological Seminary.[18]: 116  From 1828 to 1836,[19] Alexandria was home to the Franklin & Armfield Slave Market, one of the largest slave trading companies in the country. By the 1830s, they were sending more than 1,000 slaves annually from Alexandria to their Natchez, Mississippi, New Orleans, and later Texas markets to help meet the demand for slaves in Mississippi and nearby states.[20] Later owned by Price, Birch & Co., the slave pen became a jail under Union occupation.[21]

A portion of the City of Alexandria—most of the area now known as Old Town as well as the areas of the city northeast of what is now King Street—and all of today's Arlington County share the distinction of having been the portion of Virginia ceded to the U.S. Government in 1791 to help form the new District of Columbia. Over time, a movement grew to separate what was called "Alexandria County" from the District of Columbia. As competition grew with the port of Georgetown and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal fostered development on the north side of the Potomac River, Alexandria's economy stagnated; at the same time, residents had lost any representation in Congress and the right to vote and were disappointed with the negligible economic benefit (on the Alexandria side) of being part of the national capital. Alexandria still had an important port and market in the slave trade, and as talk increased of abolishing slavery in the national capital, there was concern that Alexandria's economy would suffer greatly if this step were taken. After a referendum, voters petitioned Congress and Virginia to return the portion of the District of Columbia south of the Potomac River (Alexandria County) to Virginia. On July 9, 1846, Congress retroceded Alexandria County to Virginia.[22] The City of Alexandria was re-chartered in 1852 and became independent of Alexandria County in 1870. The remaining portion of Alexandria County changed its name to Arlington County in 1920.

Late 19th century edit

 
Map of Alexandria showing the forts that were constructed to defend Washington during the American Civil War
 
An 1863 aerial view view of Alexandria from the Potomac River with Fort Ellsworth visible on the hill in the center background

The first fatalities of the North and South in the American Civil War occurred in Alexandria. Within a month of the Battle of Fort Sumter, the Civil War's first battle, Union Army troops occupied Alexandria, landing troops at the base of King Street on the Potomac River on May 24, 1861. A few blocks up King Street from their landing site, the commander of the New York Fire Zouaves, Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth, sortied with a small detachment to remove a large Confederate flag displayed on the roof of the Marshall House Inn that had been visible from the White House. While descending from the roof, Ellsworth was shot dead by James W. Jackson, the hotel's proprietor. One of Ellsworth's soldiers immediately killed Jackson.[23][24] Ellsworth was publicized as a Union martyr, and the incident generated great excitement in the North, with many children being named for him.[23][24] Jackson's death defending his home caused a similar sensation in the South.[23][25]

Alexandria remained under military occupation until the end of the Civil War. Fort Ward, one of a ring of forts built by the Union army for the defense of Washington, D.C., is located inside the boundaries of present-day Alexandria.[26] There were five military prisons in the city, the largest being the Washington Street Military Prison.[27][28] After the creation by Washington of the state of West Virginia in 1863 and until the close of the war, Alexandria was the seat of the so-called Restored Government of Virginia, also known as the "Alexandria Government".[16] During the Union occupation, a recurring contention between the Alexandria citizenry and the military occupiers was the Union army's periodic insistence that church services include prayers for the President of the United States. Failure to do so resulted in incidents including the arrest of ministers in their church.

In 1861 and 1862, escaped African American slaves poured into Alexandria. Safely behind Union lines, the cities of Alexandria and Washington offered comparative freedom and employment. Alexandria became a major supply depot and transport and hospital center for the Union army.[29] Until the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, escaped slaves legally remained the property of their owners. Therefore, they were labeled contrabands to avoid returning them to their masters. Contrabands worked for the Union army in various support roles.

After all slaves in the seceding states were liberated, even more African Americans came to Alexandria. By the fall of 1863, the population of Alexandria had exploded to 18,000—an increase of 10,000 people in 16 months.[29]

As of ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, Alexandria County's black population was more than 8,700, or about half the total number of residents in the county. This newly enfranchised constituency provided the support necessary to elect the first black Alexandrians to the City Council and the Virginia Legislature.[30]

In the waning years of the 19th century, Alexandria suffered its two documented lynchings. The first, in 1897, was Joseph H. McCoy and the second, in 1899, was Benjamin Thomas Both were Black male teenagers accused, but never convicted, of assaulting young white girls that were known to them. They were both kidnapped from jail and hanged by mobs.[31]

20th century edit

 
Child laborers working at a glass factory in Alexandria in 1911
 
A Confederate memorial on George Washington Memorial Parkway, c. 1920

At the turn of the 20th century the most common production in the city was glass, fertilizer, beer, and leather. The glass often went into beer bottles. Much of the Virginia Glass Company effort went to supply the demands of the Robert Portner Brewing Company, until fire destroyed the St. Asaph Street plant on February 18, 1905. The Old Dominion Glass Company also had a glass works fall to fire, then built a new one. The Belle Pre Bottle Company held a monopoly on a milk bottle that they patented, yet that organization only lasted 10 years.[32] Most businesses were smaller where the business occupied the first floor of a building and the owner and family lived above.[33]: 50  Prohibition closed Portner Brewing in 1916.[33]: 50 

President Woodrow Wilson visited the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation on May 30, 1918, to drive the first rivet into the keel of the SS Gunston Hall.[33]: 50  In 1930, Alexandria annexed the town adjacent to Potomac Yard incorporated in 1908 named Potomac. In 1938 the Mt. Vernon Drive-In cinema opened.[34] In 1939, the segregated public library experienced a sit-in organized by Samuel Wilbert Tucker.[35] In 1940, both the Robert Robinson Library, which is now the Alexandria Black History Museum, and the Vernon Theatre opened[36] Jim Morrison of The Doors, as well as Cass Elliot and John Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas attended the George Washington High School in the 1950s.[37]

In 1955, then-Representative and future President Gerald R. Ford and his family moved to Alexandria from Georgetown.[38]: 95  The Fords remained in their Alexandria home during Ford's tenure as Vice President (1973–1974), as the vice president did not yet have an official residence.[39] Following the resignation of Richard Nixon, Ford spent his first 10 days as President in the house before moving to the White House.[39]

In March 1959, Lieutenant Colonel William Henry Whalen, the "highest-ranking American ever recruited as a mole by the Russian Intelligence Service", provided Colonel Sergei A. Edemski three classified Army manuals in exchange for $3,500 at a shopping center parking lot within the city.[40] Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation later arrested Whalen on July 12, 1966, at his home in the city.[41]: p1  In 1961 the original Woodrow Wilson Bridge opened.[42]

In 1965, the city integrated schools.[43]: 69  In 1971, the city consolidated all high school junior and senior students into T. C. Williams High School. Freshman and sophomore students were assigned to attend either Francis C Hammond or George Washington, formerly four-year high schools, as part of a system-wide overhaul of the public school system, beginning with kindergarten classes, in an attempt to racially "balance" student population throughout the city's public schools to better reflect the city's racial makeup. The plan was known as the "K-6, 2, 2, 2 plan". Classes were broken out, beginning with kindergarten through sixth grade; then seventh through eighth; then freshman and sophomore classes; and finally junior and senior classes, with the changes including being moved to a different school building.[43]: 69  The same year that head coach Herman Boone joined the school and lead the football team to a 13–0 season, a state championship, and a national championship runner-up; the basis for the 2000 film Remember the Titans where Boone was portrayed by Denzel Washington.[44] In 1972, Clifford T. Cline purchased the 1890 Victorian house at 219 King Street and converted it into the Creole serving Two-Nineteen Restaurant.[45]: 167  In 1973, Nora Lamborne and Beverly Beidler became the first women elected to the city council.[33]: 63  In 1974, the Torpedo Factory Art Center opened.[37] In 1983, the King Street–Old Town station, Braddock Road station, and Eisenhower Avenue station opened as the Washington Metro system expanded.[42] In 1991, the Van Dorn Street station opened and Patricia Ticer became the first woman to be elected mayor.[33]: 63 

History of libraries edit

 
The Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library in Alexandria
 
The city's first library, located in an apothecary shop

John Wise, a local Alexandria businessman and hotel keeper, hosted a meeting in his home in 1789 to discuss the creation of a Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge. Members include Rev. James Muir, physician Elisha Cullen Dick, and George Washington's personal attorney Charles Lee. The Society did not last for long. However, on July 24, 1794, the founders of the Society once again met at Wise's home to establish a subscription library. During the first year, one hundred nineteen men joined the circulating library which was to be called the Library Company of Alexandria. Members agreed to pay an initiation fee and annual dues. The company was chartered as a corporation in 1798 in an act passed by the General Assembly of Virginia.

Druggist Edward Stabler was elected the first librarian and the library's first location is believed to have been housed in his apothecary shop. James Kennedy was elected the second librarian, and the library moved to his residence and place of business. Kennedy sold books from his personal collection to the Library Company. Those books and other bought from two local merchants formed the foundation of the subscription library. The first catalog of the library's collection was published in 1797. The collection grew over time, bolstered in part by the fact that some members paid their dues in books. Most members were initially men, although records exist showing some women were members as early as 1798. One noted female member in 1817 was Mary L.F. Custis, wife of George Washington Parke Custis.

The catalog published in 1801 indicated a collection of 452 books, mostly on history and travel. By 1815, there were 1,022 entries in the catalog, and the collection had added more biographies, fiction, and magazines. The library was housed in several locations over the ensuing years, including the New Market House next to the City Hall, the Lyceum Company building, and Peabody Hall, which was owned by the Alexandria School Board. Raising funds for the library was a continuing challenge. In 1853, a lecture series was created to raise money. Speakers included Professor Joseph Henry of the Smithsonian, Colonel Francis H. Smith of the Virginia Military Institute, and humorist George W. Bagby.

The Civil War took its toll on the library collection. Members were able to remove some of the collection prior to the library's occupation by Union troops. The library was used as a hospital and much of the library's collection was lost during this time. After the war, the building was sold to a private owner who planned to turn the building into a private residence and asked the library to remove what was left of the collection. Funds continued to be hard to come by and in 1879, the Library Company closed. The remainder of its collection was stored in Peabody Hall.

In 1897, a group of women in Alexandria formed the Alexandria Library Association. The leaders of the group were Virginia Corse, Mrs. William B. Smoot, and Virginia Burke. They petitioned the school board to open a subscription library in Peabody Hall, using the old books stored there. Permission was given and doors to the new subscription library opened on December 1, 1897. In 1902, the library moved to the first floor of a house in the 1300 block of Prince Street while negotiations were underway for a permanent move to the Confederate Hall, located at 806 Prince Street. In May 1903, the library moved to the Confederate Hall, now known as the Robert E. Lee Camp Hall Museum, where it stayed for 34 years.

In 1936, Dr. and Mrs. Robert South Barrett presented a proposal to the Library Association. They agreed to donate a building in memory of Dr. Barrett's mother, Kate Waller Barrett, if the city would commit to running it as a public library. The city agreed and the Society of Friends offered a 99-year lease on an old Quaker graveyard located on Queen Street. The old library was closed on March 1 for the books to be packed and moved to the new library, which opened to the public in August 1937. The Alexandria Library Association became the Alexandria Library Society.

In 1939, the Barrett library was the scene of possibly the nation's first sit-in demonstrations, as Samuel Tucker, a young law school graduate from the neighborhood, and several other African American residents insisted on access to the racially segregated library where they had been banned. Tucker later became a prominent attorney in Richmond.[46][47]

In 1947, the Library Society was reconstituted and took the earlier historic name Alexandria Library Company. A lecture series was also revived. Speakers included Thomas Jefferson biographer Dumas Malone. Some of the books belonging in the original collection of the Alexandria Library Company can now be found in the Local History/Special Collections Room at the Queen Street library that still carries Mrs. Barrett's name.[48]

In 1948, Ellen Coolidge Burke became director. Burke brought bookmobile services to Alexandria, one of the first services in Virginia. She oversaw the growth of the library system by the addition of two new branch libraries. In April 1968 the Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch at 4701 Seminary Road was opened, and in December 1969 the James M. Duncan branch at 2501 Commonwealth Avenue. Burke retired in 1969.[49]

Geography edit

 
Hoffman Towne Center in Alexandria
 
The Thornton in Alexandria

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.5 square miles (40.1 km2), of which 15.0 square miles (38.9 km2) is land and 0.42 square miles (1.1 km2), or 2.85%, is water.[50] Alexandria is bounded on the east by the Potomac River, on the north and northwest by Arlington County, and on the south by Fairfax County. The western portions of the city were annexed from those two entities beginning in the 1930s.

The addressing system in Alexandria is not uniform and reflects the consolidation of several originally separate communities into a single city. In Old Town Alexandria, building numbers are assigned north and south from King Street and west (only) from the Potomac River. In the areas formerly in the town of Potomac, such as Del Ray and St. Elmo, building numbers are assigned east and west from Commonwealth Avenue and north (only) from King Street. In the western parts of the city, building numbers are assigned north and south from Duke Street.

The ZIP Code prefix 223 uniquely identifies the Alexandria postal area.[citation needed] However, the Alexandria postal area extends into Fairfax County and includes addresses outside of the city. Delivery areas have ZIP Codes 22301, 22302, 22303, 22304, 22305, 22306, 22307, 22308, 22309, 22310, 22311, 22312, 22314, and 22315, with other ZIP Codes in use for post office boxes and large mailers (22313, 22331, 22332, 22333).

Part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway is the one national protected area within the borders of Alexandria.

Adjacent jurisdictions edit

Neighborhoods edit

Main article: Neighborhoods of Alexandria, Virginia

Neighborhoods in the City of Alexandria include Old Town, Parker-Gray, The Berg, Arlandria, Rosemont, Del Ray, Beverley Hills, Braddock Heights, Eisenhower Valley, Seminary Valley, Temple Park, West End, and Potomac Yard.

Many areas outside the city have an Alexandria mailing address yet are a part of Fairfax County including: Hollin Hills, Franconia, Groveton, Hybla Valley, Huntington, Lincolnia, Belle Haven, Mount Vernon, Fort Hunt, Engleside, Burgundy Village, Waynewood, Wilton Woods, Rose Hill, Virginia Hills, Hayfield, and Kingstowne. Some refer to these areas as Lower Alexandria, South Alexandria, or Alexandria, Fairfax County.[51]

Climate edit

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Alexandria has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.[52]

Demographics edit

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
17902,748—
18004,97180.9%
18107,22745.4%
18208,21813.7%
18308,2410.3%
18408,4592.6%
18508,7343.3%
186012,65244.9%
187013,5707.3%
188013,6590.7%
189014,3395.0%
190014,5281.3%
191015,3295.5%
192018,06017.8%
193024,14933.7%
194033,52338.8%
195061,78784.3%
196091,02347.3%
1970110,92721.9%
1980103,217−7.0%
1990111,1837.7%
2000128,28315.4%
2010139,9669.1%
2020159,46713.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[53]
1790–1960[54] 1900–1990[55]
1990–2000[56]
2010-2020[57] 2010[58] 2020[59]

2020 census edit

Alexandria city, Virginia – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000[60] Pop 2010[58] Pop 2020[59] % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 68,889 74,878 78,519 53.70% 53.50% 49.24%
Black or African American alone (NH) 28,463 29,778 31,314 22.19% 21.28% 19.64%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 255 327 217 0.20% 0.23% 0.14%
Asian alone (NH) 7,199 8,351 11,205 5.61% 5.97% 7.03%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 100 109 77 0.08% 0.08% 0.05%
Some Other Race alone (NH) 506 485 1,026 0.39% 0.35% 0.64%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH) 3,989 3,514 7,737 3.11% 2.51% 4.85%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 18,882 22,524 29,372 14.72% 16.09% 18.42%
Total 128,283 139,966 159,467 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

2010 census edit

At the 2010 census,[61] there were 139,966 people, 68,082 households and 30,978 families residing in the city. The population density was 8,452.0 inhabitants per square mile (3,263.3/km2). There were 68,082 housing units at an average density of 4,233.2 per square mile (1,634.4/km2). The racial/ethnic mix of the population was:

In 2000, there were 61,889 households, of which 18.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.2% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 55.2% were non-families. 43.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.04 and the average family size was 2.87.

The age distribution was 16.8% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 43.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.

According to 2019 Census Bureau data, the median household income was $103,284 and median family income was $130,395.[62] Additionally, 8.6% of the population of the population were below the poverty line.[63] 14.2% of those under the age of 18 and 3.1% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

According to 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, 69.9% of Alexandria residents aged 25 and older have attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 42.2% statewide.[64][65]

Economy edit

 
The Alexandria waterfront along the Potomac River
 
Hoffman Town Center, a mixed-use retail and office development in the Eisenhower Valley
 
One of the many restaurants that line King Street in Old Town

Companies headquartered in Alexandria include BoatUS, Crooked Beat Records, Five Guys, the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), The Motley Fool, Oblon law firm, Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed), Port City Brewing Company, Purple Strategies, ThinkFun, and VSE.

Federal agencies based in Alexandria include the National Credit Union Administration, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, National Science Foundation, Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense, and the Food and Nutrition Service.

Alexandria is home to numerous trade associations, charities, and non-profit organizations including the national headquarters of groups such as Catholic Charities, Citizens for the Republic, Global Impact, Good360, Islamic Relief USA, United Way, Volunteers of America and the Salvation Army. Other organizations located in Alexandria include the American Counseling Association, the Human Resource Certification Institute, the Society for Human Resource Management, the National Society of Professional Engineers, the National Beer Wholesalers Association, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, National Industries for the Blind, American Physical Therapy Association, the National Association of Convenience Stores, the American International Automobile Dealers Association, and the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. Alexandria also has a Chamber of Commerce and other business associations including the West End Business Association, the Del Ray Business Association and the Old Town Business Association.

Major employment sectors in Alexandria include management consulting, business and finance, office and administrative support, computer and mathematical, sales, and legal. Jobs in Alexandria are highly concentrated around the city's Metrorail stations, primarily in Old Town North and the Braddock Road area, Old Town, and Carlyle near the Eisenhower Avenue Station, as well as along the I-395 corridor on the west side of the city.

13% of people that work in Alexandria live in the city, while 87% commute in, with 37% of those commuters being from Fairfax County. An additional 61,000 people commute out of Alexandria to work. 35% commute to Washington, DC and 29% commute to Fairfax County.[66] As of 2022, 2.4% of Alexandria residents are unemployed.[67]

Largest employers edit

According to the city's 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[68] the top public employers in the city are:

The top private employers in the city are:

# Employer # of employees
1 Inova Health System 1,700
2 Institute for Defense Analyses 750
3 Systems Planning & Analysis Inc 700
4 Goodwin House 700
5 Kearney & Company 600
6 CRS Facility Service 400
7 United Parcel Service (UPS) 350

Arts and culture edit

Events edit

A popular Christmas time attraction in Alexandria is the Scottish Christmas Walk, which was established in 1969.[69] The event, which involves a parade through the center of Old Town Alexandria, celebrates the city's Scottish heritage, and is the centerpiece of a yearly holiday festival.[70] It serves as a fundraiser for social services in Alexandria.[69] Other parades in Old Town celebrate Saint Patrick's Day[71] and the birthday of George Washington.[72] Other annual events include the Red Cross Waterfront Festival in June, the city's birthday celebration with fireworks show in July, various ethnic heritage days at Tavern Square, and "First Night Alexandria", which presents many family-friendly entertainments on New Year's Eve.

These parades and other official events are typically led by Alexandria's town crier, who, often dressed in elaborately, by a tradition dating to the 18th century, in a red coat, breeches, black boots and a tricorne hat, welcomes participants.[73]

 
Old Town Alexandria in March 2003, as seen from the observation deck of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial
 
The Torpedo Factory Art Center is a former torpedo factory that now serves as an art center filled with independent art studios and exhibits

Landmarks edit

 
Old Town Alexandria.
 
Old Town from the water

Landmarks within the city include the George Washington Masonic National Memorial (also known as the Masonic Temple) and Observation Deck, Christ Church, United States Patent and Trademark Office which includes the National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum,[74] Gadsby's Tavern, Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Shop, John Carlyle House, Little Theatre of Alexandria, Lee-Fendall House, Alexandria City Hall, Market Square, the Jones Point Light, the south cornerstone of the original District of Columbia, Robert E. Lee's boyhood home, the Torpedo Factory Art Center, and the Virginia Theological Seminary. Other sites of historical interest in the city include Alexandria Black History Resource Center, Fort Ward Park and Museum, Phoenix Mill, and the Alexandria Canal lock re-creation at Canal Office Center. Interesting sites with Alexandria addresses but outside of the city limits include River Farm, Collingwood Library & Museum, Green Spring Gardens Park, Huntley Meadows Park, Historic Huntley, Pope-Leighey House (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright), Woodlawn Plantation, Washington's Grist Mill and Mount Vernon Estate.

In 1830, John Hollensbury's home in Alexandria was one of two homes directly bordering an alleyway that received a large amount of horse-drawn wagon traffic and loiterers.[75] In order to prevent people from using the alleyway, Hollensbury constructed a 7 feet (2.1 m) wide, 25 feet (7.6 m) deep, 325-square-foot (30.2 m2), two-story home using the existing brick walls of the adjacent homes for the sides of the new home.[75] The brick walls of the Hollensbury Spite House living room have gouges from wagon-wheel hubs; the house is still standing, and is occupied.[75]

The Oswald Durant Center in the Upper King Street neighborhood of the Old Town is named after Dr. Oswald Durant, one of the first African American doctors in Alexandria.[76]

Sports edit

Due to its proximity to Washington, D.C., Alexandria has only been the home of one professional sports team, the Alexandria Dukes, a minor league baseball team, which moved to Woodbridge in 1984 to become The Prince William Pirates (now known as the Fredericksburg Nationals).[77]

In December 2023, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and Monumental Sports & Entertainment founder Ted Leonsis announced plans to develop a 70-acre area in Potomac Yards to include a concert venue, businesses, and a new arena that would have been home to the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards.[78] The proposal failed in March 2024 with the announcement Virginia negotiations were ending and Monumental planning to sign an additional lease with Washington, D.C. after it did not advance in the Virginia General Assembly.[79]

Parks and recreation edit

Alexandria has a distributed park system with approximately 950 acres (3.8 km2) spread across 70 major parks and 30 recreation centers, of which Chinquapin is one of the largest. Chinquapin offers facilities for swimming, tennis, racquetball, and other sports. The city also organizes several sports leagues throughout the year including volleyball, softball and basketball.

The city is home to Cameron Run Regional Park which includes a water park with a wave pool and water slides, as well as a miniature golf course and batting cages. A portion of the Mount Vernon Trail, a popular bike and jogging path, runs through Old Town near the Potomac River on its way from the Mount Vernon Estate to Roosevelt Island in Washington, DC. There is also a largely unbroken line of parks stretching along the Alexandria waterfront from end to end.

Government edit

See also: List of mayors of Alexandria, Virginia
 
Alexandria City Hall
United States presidential election results for Alexandria, Virginia[80]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 14,544 17.63% 66,240 80.28% 1,724 2.09%
2016 13,285 17.54% 57,242 75.56% 5,235 6.91%
2012 20,249 27.58% 52,199 71.11% 963 1.31%
2008 19,181 27.26% 50,473 71.73% 710 1.01%
2004 19,844 32.26% 41,116 66.84% 555 0.90%
2000 19,043 34.50% 33,633 60.93% 2,523 4.57%
1996 15,554 34.26% 27,968 61.60% 1,877 4.13%
1992 16,700 31.70% 30,784 58.44% 5,191 9.85%
1988 20,913 45.66% 24,358 53.18% 533 1.16%
1984 21,166 46.77% 23,552 52.05% 535 1.18%
1980 17,865 44.23% 17,134 42.42% 5,389 13.34%
1976 16,880 44.53% 19,858 52.38% 1,172 3.09%
1972 20,235 55.95% 15,409 42.60% 525 1.45%
1968 13,265 41.69% 14,351 45.11% 4,200 13.20%
1964 8,825 34.36% 16,828 65.52% 30 0.12%
1960 8,826 47.58% 9,662 52.08% 63 0.34%
1956 8,633 52.48% 7,451 45.30% 365 2.22%
1952 8,579 56.92% 6,471 42.93% 22 0.15%
1948 3,903 44.83% 3,917 44.99% 887 10.19%
1944 3,405 43.53% 4,391 56.13% 27 0.35%
1940 1,802 30.90% 4,004 68.67% 25 0.43%
1936 1,225 26.34% 3,381 72.71% 44 0.95%
1932 1,199 28.66% 2,941 70.29% 44 1.05%
1928 1,617 55.30% 1,307 44.70% 0 0.00%
1924 556 28.37% 1,136 57.96% 268 13.67%
1920 921 38.71% 1,417 59.56% 41 1.72%
1916 364 25.78% 1,038 73.51% 10 0.71%
1912 132 10.99% 951 79.18% 118 9.83%
1908 247 16.77% 1,218 82.69% 8 0.54%
1904 187 20.06% 738 79.18% 7 0.75%
1900 935 31.76% 2,003 68.04% 6 0.20%
1896 1,281 40.28% 1,830 57.55% 69 2.17%
1892 1,162 36.74% 1,982 62.66% 19 0.60%
1888 1,523 47.52% 1,665 51.95% 17 0.53%
1884 1,273 42.21% 1,730 57.36% 13 0.43%
1880 994 39.23% 1,540 60.77% 0 0.00%

As an independent city of Virginia (as opposed to an incorporated town within a county), Alexandria derives its governing authority from the Virginia General Assembly. In order to revise the power and structure of the city government, the city must request the General Assembly to amend the charter. This is called Dillon Rule. The present charter was granted in 1950 and it has been amended in 1968, 1971, 1976, and 1982.

Alexandria adopted a council-manager form of government by way of referendum in 1921. This type of government empowers the elected City Council to pass legislation and appoint the City Manager. The City Manager is responsible for overseeing the city's administration.

The Mayor, who is chosen on a separate ballot, presides over meetings of the Council and serves as the ceremonial head of government. The Mayor does not have the power to veto Council action. Council members traditionally choose the person receiving the most votes in the election to serve as Vice Mayor. In the absence or disability of the Mayor, the Vice Mayor performs the mayoral duties.

City Council[81]
Position Name Party First Election District
  Mayor Justin M. Wilson Democratic Party 2018 (previously served as councilmember from 2007 to 2009 and 2013 to 2019) At-Large
  Vice Mayor Amy B. Jackson Democratic Party 2018 At-Large
  Member Canek Aguirre Democratic Party 2018 At-Large
  Member Sarah R. Bagley Democratic Party 2021 At-Large
  Member John T. Chapman Democratic Party 2012 At-Large
  Member Alyia Gaskins Democratic Party 2021 At-Large
  Member R. Kirk McPike Democratic Party 2021 At-Large

In 2008, the City of Alexandria had 78 standing local boards, commissions, and committees to advise the City Council on major issues affecting the community.[82] All members are appointed by the City Council.

In addition, Alexandria City Public Schools has a school board with nine members. Three are elected from each of the city's three school board districts.[83]

Alexandria is part of Virginia's 8th congressional district, represented by Democrat and Alexandria resident Don Beyer, elected in 2014. The state's senior member of the United States Senate is Democrat Mark Warner, first elected in 2008. The state's junior member of the United States Senate is Democrat Tim Kaine, first elected in 2012.

History edit

Since its foundation, Alexandria's government has had several different forms of government. Before 1921, Alexandria had an elected eight-member Board of Aldermen and a sixteen-member Common Council whose members were elected by ward. In addition, there was an elected mayor with the power to veto legislation from the two councils. Reformers within the city during the early 20th century hoped to adopt the then-popular council-manager system. As a means to implementing this new system, the reformists proposed a plan to create a single city council elected at-large. This new system was adopted in 1921 and the first at-large councilmen were elected in June 1922.[84]

In 1930, Alexandria annexed the town of Potomac from Arlington County. Alexandria and Potomac stood in stark contrast. The streetcar suburb commuter town of Potomac had, as part of Arlington, been heavily influenced by the anti-vice crusades of staunch progressive Commonwealth's Attorney Crandal Mackey. In Potomac, slaughterhouses and saloons were banned. Residents of the former town of Potomac had a different identity from those in Alexandria, and after annexation former Potomac residents began to push for the reimplementation of the ward system. In a 1932 referendum, voters decided in favor of a new plan that would expand the city council to nine members; three elected at-large and six elected by ward. Support for the new plan was highest in the former town of Potomac.[85]

City councils elected under the new ward system began to take a more direct role in city administration. The city council and city manager gave conflicting orders to city employees while spending increased to accommodate appropriations coming from both the council and manager. With over one million dollars spent on unauthorized projects, a movement to go back to at-large councilmen emerged. In 1944, a referendum to eliminate the ward system ended with a vote in favor of the ward system. Shortly afterwards, a number of high-ranking city officials resigned, and residents appealed to the Circuit Court for an order to force a referendum. Unbeknownst to the city government, Delegate Armistead Boothe introduced a bill in Richmond to hold another referendum. This bill passed the General Assembly and a vote was held on March 2, 1948. The options in the referendum included retaining the extant system or replacing it with a council of seven at-large members. Voters approved the new system with 61% of votes in favor.[85] More recently, a 1983 push by the Virginia NAACP to return to the ward system failed because of a lack of support from elected officials.[86]

Ecocity edit

In 2008 the city council approved a charter where "citizens, businesses, and city government participate in a vibrant community that is always mindful of the needs and lifestyles of the generations to come".[87]: 4  That charter defined sustainability as "meeting our community's present needs while preserving our historic character and ensuring the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".[87]: 5  In Ecocity Berkeley, an ecocity is defined as "an ecologically healthy city".[88]: 3  In 2022, Alexandria enacted a 5-cent plastic bag tax consistent with the phase-out of lightweight plastic bags in the United States.[89]

Public safety edit

Police and law enforcement edit

See also: Alexandria Police Department

Alexandria's primary law enforcement is the Alexandria Police Department (APD) which is led by a Chief of Police who is appointed by city government.[90] In April 2022, Don Hayes was appointed as Chief of Police.[91] As of 2023, the APD employs roughly 300 officers that receive training at the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy.[92]

Every four years, Alexandria residents elect a sheriff that leads the Sheriff's Office in overseeing roughly 200 deputies and a detention center for pre-trial and short-term inmates.[93] This jail is used to house pre-trial inmates in federal espionage cases.[94]

Firefighting edit

See also: Alexandria Fire Department

The Alexandria Fire Department (AFD) is the city's fire protection and emergency medical services provider and is led by Fire/EMS Chief Corey A. Smedley.[95] The AFD operates 10 stations throughout the city and employs over 300 fire and EMS professionals.

Education edit

Colleges and universities edit

Virginia Tech's Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center, also known as WAAC, is located on Prince Street in Old Town, offering graduate programs in Urban Affairs and Planning, Public and International Affairs, Architecture, and Landscape Architecture. In 2018, Virginia Tech announced the construction of an "Innovation Campus" in Potomac Yard with graduate programs in computer science and computer engineering.[96] Virginia Commonwealth University operates a Northern Virginia branch of its School of Social Work and The George Washington University also has a campus near the King Street metro. This campus mainly offers professional and vocational programs, such as an executive MBA program, urban planning and security studies. It also includes the Alexandria campus of Northern Virginia Community College. The largest seminary in the Episcopal Church, Virginia Theological Seminary, is located on Seminary Road.

Primary and secondary schools edit

 
Entrance to Northern Virginia Community College's Alexandria campus

The city is served by the Alexandria City Public Schools system. Alexandria's public school system consists of twelve elementary schools for grades 5-year-old Kindergarten through 5th grade, with 3 of them offering PreK as well. Two schools, Patrick Henry and Jefferson-Houston are PreK through 8th grade schools while Middle Schools, George Washington and Francis C. Hammond, serve 6th through 8th graders. Minnie Howard Ninth Grade Center and Alexandria City High School serve grades 9th and 10 through 12, respectively, for the entire city. The demographics of Alexandria City Public Schools contrast with those of the city. In 2008, only 14% of the students at Francis C. Hammond Middle School were non-Hispanic whites, compared to about 60% when looking at the city as a whole. 27% were of Hispanic descent, and 48% were black. About 9% of the school was of Asian descent. In 2004, 62% of the school-going children received free lunches; by 2008, that number had decreased to 56%.[97] At George Washington Middle School, 41% of students are non-Hispanic whites, 34% were Hispanic, and 21% was black; 2% of the students were Asian, and 52% of students received free lunch.[98] Alexandria City High School (formerly known as T.C. Williams High School) follows this trend as well; 23% of the students were classified as non-Hispanic whites, 25% as Hispanic, and 44% as black. 7% of the school was Asian, and 47% of all students received free lunch.[99]

In November 2020, the school board unanimously voted to rename T. C. Williams High School and Matthew Maury Elementary School. The high school was renamed Alexandria City High School and Maury Elementary was renamed Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School, effective July 1, 2021.[100][101]

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), the federal school system for military dependents, is headquartered in Alexandria.[102]

Alexandria has several of the Washington, D.C., area's top[how?] private schools, such as St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School, Bishop Ireton High School, and Episcopal High School. Also in the city are Alexandria Country Day School, Commonwealth Academy, the Basilica School of Saint Mary, St. Rita's Catholic School, Blessed Sacrament School and Global Health College.

Public libraries edit

 
Beatley Central Library in Alexandria

The Alexandria Library serves the residents of Alexandria, and provides a variety of services which include adult, young adult, and children's materials, as well as access to genealogy records and full text articles from thousands of magazines and newspapers through online databases. E-Books can be borrowed through OverDrive e-Audio books and all branches offer free public Internet access and free Wifi.[103]

The Alexandria Library maintains a reciprocal agreement with neighboring libraries in Arlington, District of Columbia, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fauquier, Frederick, Loudoun, Montgomery, Prince George's, and Prince William.[104]

Transportation edit

Bus and rail edit

 
George Washington Masonic National Memorial and the elevated Yellow Line Metro tracks seen from a high-rise on Eisenhower Avenue

The Alexandria city government operates its own mass transit system, the DASH bus, connecting points of interest with local transit hubs. In 2021, DASH underwent route redesigns and became fare-free.[105] Metrobus, Washington Metro, and the Virginia Railway Express, better known as the VRE, also serve Alexandria. The city also offers a free "trolley" diesel bus service on King Street from the King Street–Old Town Washington Metro station to the Waterfront.[106] Hornblower Cruises operates the Potomac Water Taxi to and from Georgetown and The Wharf development in Washington, DC and the National Harbor development in Prince George's County, Maryland.[107]

 
Southbound Amtrak train at Alexandria's Union Station

Alexandria Union Station, the city's historic train station, has Amtrak intercity services and the Virginia Railway Express regional rail service. The station is directly adjacent to the King Street–Old Town Metro station, at the convergence of the Blue and Yellow Lines. Four other Metro stations in Alexandria are Van Dorn Street, Eisenhower Avenue, Braddock Road, and Potomac Yard.

The traditional boundary between Old Town and the latterly annexed sections of the city follows the railway acquired by Virginia in 2021 and formerly owned by CSX Transportation.[108]

Roads edit

 
I-95/I-495, the Capital Beltway, in Alexandria

Concurrent Interstate highways 95 and 495 (the Capital Beltway), including the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River, roughly parallels the city's southern boundary with Fairfax County before very briefly passing through D.C. and entering Maryland. Interstate 395 crosses north and south through the western part of the city.

Alexandria is bisected east and west by State Route 7, known as King Street. The most western section of King Street in the city was once the terminus of the Leesburg Turnpike. VA 7 terminates at State Route 400 (Washington Street), which connects the northern and southern segments of George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP). State Route 236 runs east–west along the southern side of the city, also terminating at VA 400 in Old Town.

Other primary state highways serving Alexandria include the short limited-access State Route 241 (which connects the beltway and VA 236/Duke Street), as well as multiple thoroughfares serving the western side of the city, which are State Route 401 (Van Dorn Street), State Route 402 (Quaker Lane), and State Route 420 (Seminary Road in the west, Janneys Lane in the east).

U.S. Route 1 passes north–south through the city, parallel west of Washington Street and GWMP. Through Old Town, the highway follows Patrick and Henry Streets, named after Patrick Henry. In 2019, the name of U.S. 1 was changed from Jefferson Davis Highway to Richmond Highway.[109] Until 2014, local legislation mandated that all new north–south streets in the city be named for Confederate military leaders.[110] Efforts have increased in recent years to expedite the renaming of these streets with Mayor Justin Wilson and the City Council setting a goal of renaming three of these streets annually.[111]

Airports edit

Alexandria is adjacent to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington County. Alexandria is also serviced by Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia and Baltimore/Washington International Airport in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

Cycling edit

In 2012, Capital Bikeshare, a bicycle-sharing public transportation system, launched in Alexandria.[112] By early 2022, the system will operate 61 rental locations throughout the city.[113]

The East Coast Greenway and Mount Vernon Trail cycle routes pass through Alexandria.

Notable people edit

In popular culture edit

 
The marina behind the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria

Sister cities edit

Alexandria has four sister cities:[133]

Alexandria was twinned with Gyumri as a means of showing goodwill in the wake of the 1988 Armenian earthquake.[137]

See also edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexandria, Virginia.
 
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Alexandria (Virginia).

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Further reading edit

  •   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alexandria". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 572–573.
  • Powell, Mary G., The History of Old Alexandria Virginia, Richmond: William Byrd Press, 1928.
  • Seale, William. The Alexandria Library Company, Alexandria, VA: Alexandria Library, 2007.

May 13, 2024
alexandria, virginia, alexandria, independent, city, northern, region, commonwealth, virginia, united, states, lies, western, bank, potomac, river, approximately, miles, south, downtown, washington, alexandria, third, largest, principal, city, washington, metr. Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia United States It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately 7 miles 11 km south of downtown Washington D C Alexandria is the third largest principal city of the Washington metropolitan area which is part of the larger Washington Baltimore combined statistical area Alexandria VirginiaIndependent cityGeorge Washington Masonic National Memorial in 2015 with Washington D C and Arlington in the distanceFlagSealLocation of Alexandria in VirginiaAlexandriaShow map of Northern VirginiaAlexandriaShow map of VirginiaAlexandriaShow map of the United StatesCoordinates 38 49 13 N 77 03 01 W 38 82028 N 77 05028 W 38 82028 77 05028CountryUnited StatesStateVirginiaCountyNone Independent city Founded1749Incorporated town 1779Incorporated city 1852Incorporated Independent city 1870Government TypeCouncil manager MayorJustin Wilson D Virginia Senate39 Adam Ebbin D Delegate3 Alfonso Lopez D 4 Charniele Herring D 5 Elizabeth Bennett Parker D U S SenateMark Warner D Tim Kaine D U S House8 Don Beyer D Area 1 Total15 35 sq mi 39 75 km2 Land14 93 sq mi 38 68 km2 Water0 41 sq mi 1 07 km2 Highest elevation287 ft 87 m Lowest elevation0 ft 0 m Population 2020 Total159 467 Rank169th in United States 6th in Virginia Density10 680 97 sq mi 4 122 72 km2 DemonymAlexandrianTime zoneUTC 5 EST Summer DST UTC 4 EDT ZIP Codes22301 to 22315 22320 to 22336Area codes703 and 571FIPS code51 01000 2 GNIS feature ID1492456 3 Primary AirportsRonald Reagan Washington National Airport Dulles International AirportCommuter railVirginia Railway ExpressWebsitewww wbr alexandriava wbr gov As of the 2020 U S census its population of 159 467 made it the sixth most populous city in Virginia and the 169th most populous city in the nation 4 The city s estimated population has grown by 1 annually since 2010 on average 5 Like the rest of Northern Virginia and Central Maryland modern Alexandria has been influenced by its proximity to the U S capital It is largely populated by professionals working in the federal civil service in the U S military or for one of the many private companies which contract to provide services to the federal government One of Alexandria s largest employers is the U S Department of Defense Another is the Institute for Defense Analyses In 2005 the United States Patent and Trademark Office moved to Alexandria and in 2017 so did the headquarters of the National Science Foundation The historic center of Alexandria is known as Old Town Alexandria or simply Old Town With its concentration of boutiques restaurants antique shops and theaters it is a major draw for all who live in Alexandria as well as for visitors Like Old Town many Alexandria neighborhoods are compact and walkable It is the 6th largest and highest income independent city in Virginia A large portion of adjacent Fairfax County mostly south but also west of the city has Alexandria mailing addresses However this area is under the jurisdiction of Fairfax County s government and separate from the independent city 6 The city is therefore sometimes referred to as the City of Alexandria to avoid confusion Neighboring Arlington County was formerly named Alexandria County before it was renamed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1920 to reduce confusion with the city Contents 1 History 1 1 Early history 1 2 Colonial era 1 3 Early 19th century 1 4 Late 19th century 1 5 20th century 1 6 History of libraries 2 Geography 2 1 Adjacent jurisdictions 2 2 Neighborhoods 2 3 Climate 3 Demographics 3 1 2020 census 3 2 2010 census 4 Economy 4 1 Largest employers 5 Arts and culture 5 1 Events 5 2 Landmarks 6 Sports 7 Parks and recreation 8 Government 8 1 History 8 2 Ecocity 8 3 Public safety 8 3 1 Police and law enforcement 8 3 2 Firefighting 9 Education 9 1 Colleges and universities 9 2 Primary and secondary schools 9 3 Public libraries 10 Transportation 10 1 Bus and rail 10 2 Roads 10 3 Airports 10 4 Cycling 11 Notable people 12 In popular culture 13 Sister cities 14 See also 15 References 16 Further readingHistory editFurther information History of Alexandria Virginia and Timeline of Alexandria Virginia Early history edit According to archaeologists estimates a succession of indigenous peoples began to occupy the Chesapeake and Tidewater region about 3 000 to 10 000 years ago Various Algonquian speaking peoples inhabited the lands in the Potomac River drainage area since at least the early 14th century 7 In the summer of 1608 English settler John Smith explored the Potomac River and came into contact with the Patawomeck loosely affiliated with the Powhatan and Doeg tribes who lived on the Virginia side as well as on Theodore Roosevelt Island and the Piscataway also known as the Conoy who resided on the Maryland side 8 On this visit Smith recorded the presence of a settlement called Assaomeck near the south bank of what is now Hunting Creek 9 Colonial era edit nbsp An 1878 map of Alexandria County including what is now Arlington County and the City of Alexandria Map includes the names of property owners at that time City boundaries roughly correspond with Old Town On October 21 1669 a patent granted 6 000 acres 24 km2 to Robert Howsing for transporting 120 people to the Colony of Virginia 10 5 That tract would later become the City of Alexandria 10 5 Virginia s comprehensive Tobacco Inspection Law of 1730 mandated that all tobacco grown in the colony must be brought to locally designated public warehouses for inspection before sale One of the sites designated for a warehouse on the upper Potomac River was at the mouth of Hunting Creek 11 However the ground proved to be unsuitable and the warehouse was built half a mile up river where the water was deep near the shore Following the 1745 settlement of the Virginia s 10 year dispute with Lord Fairfax over the western boundary of the Northern Neck Proprietary when the Privy Council in London found in favor of Lord Fairfax s expanded claim some of the Fairfax County gentry formed the Ohio Company of Virginia They intended to conduct trade into the interior of America and they required a trading center near the head of navigation on the Potomac The best location was Hunting Creek tobacco warehouse since the deep water could easily accommodate sailing ships Many local tobacco planters however wanted a new town further up Hunting Creek away from nonproductive fields along the river 12 Around 1746 Captain Philip Alexander II 1704 1753 moved to what is south of present Duke Street in Alexandria His estate which consisted of 500 acres 2 0 km2 was bounded by Hunting Creek Hooff s Run the Potomac River and approximately the line which would become Cameron Street At the opening of Virginia s 1748 49 legislative session there was a petition submitted in the House of Burgesses on November 1 1748 that the inhabitants of Fairfax Co praying that a town may be established at Hunting Creek Warehouse on Potowmack River since Hugh West was the owner of the warehouse The petition was introduced by Lawrence Washington the representative for Fairfax County and more importantly the son in law of William Fairfax and a founding member of the Ohio Company To support the company s push for a town on the river Lawrence s younger brother George Washington an aspiring surveyor made a sketch of the shoreline touting the advantages of the tobacco warehouse site 13 Since the river site was amidst his estate Philip opposed the idea and strongly favored a site at the head of Hunting Creek also known as Great Hunting Creek It has been said that in order to avoid a predicament the petitioners offered to name the new town Alexandria in honor of Philip s family As a result Philip and his cousin Captain John Alexander 1711 1763 gave land to assist in the development of Alexandria and are thus listed as the founders This John was the son of Robert Alexander II 1688 1735 On May 2 1749 the House of Burgesses approved the river location and ordered Mr Washington do go up with a Message to the Council and acquaint them that this House have agreed to the Amendments titled An Act for erecting a Town at Hunting Creek Warehouse in the County of Fairfax 14 A Public Vendue auction was advertised for July and the county surveyor laid out street lanes and town lots The auction was conducted on July 13 14 1749 Almost immediately upon establishment the town founders called the new town Belhaven believed to be in honor of a Scottish patriot John Hamilton 2nd Lord Belhaven and Stenton the Northern Neck tobacco trade being then dominated by Scots The name Belhaven was used in official lotteries to raise money for a Church and Market House but it was never approved by the legislature and fell out of favor in the mid 1750s 15 The town of Alexandria did not become incorporated until 1779 In 1755 General Edward Braddock organized his fatal expedition against Fort Duquesne at Carlyle House in Alexandria In April 1755 the governors of Virginia and the provinces of Maryland Pennsylvania Massachusetts and New York met to determine upon concerted action against the French in America 16 In March 1785 commissioners from Virginia and Maryland met in Alexandria to discuss the commercial relations of the two states finishing their business at Mount Vernon The Mount Vernon Conference concluded on March 28 with an agreement for freedom of trade and freedom of navigation of the Potomac River The Maryland legislature in ratifying this agreement on November 22 proposed a conference among representatives from all the states to consider the adoption of definite commercial regulations This led to the calling of the Annapolis Convention of 1786 which in turn led to the calling of the Federal Convention of 1787 16 In 1791 Alexandria was included in the area chosen by George Washington to become the District of Columbia Early 19th century edit nbsp Slave ship taking on slaves at the Alexandria waterfront in 1836 Alexandria s slave trade made Virginia a more pro slavery state after retrocession In 1814 during the War of 1812 a British fleet launched a successful Raid on Alexandria which surrendered without a fight As agreed in the terms of surrender the British looted stores and warehouses of mainly flour tobacco cotton wine and sugar 17 In 1823 William Holland Wilmer Francis Scott Key and others founded the Virginia Theological Seminary 18 116 From 1828 to 1836 19 Alexandria was home to the Franklin amp Armfield Slave Market one of the largest slave trading companies in the country By the 1830s they were sending more than 1 000 slaves annually from Alexandria to their Natchez Mississippi New Orleans and later Texas markets to help meet the demand for slaves in Mississippi and nearby states 20 Later owned by Price Birch amp Co the slave pen became a jail under Union occupation 21 A portion of the City of Alexandria most of the area now known as Old Town as well as the areas of the city northeast of what is now King Street and all of today s Arlington County share the distinction of having been the portion of Virginia ceded to the U S Government in 1791 to help form the new District of Columbia Over time a movement grew to separate what was called Alexandria County from the District of Columbia As competition grew with the port of Georgetown and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal fostered development on the north side of the Potomac River Alexandria s economy stagnated at the same time residents had lost any representation in Congress and the right to vote and were disappointed with the negligible economic benefit on the Alexandria side of being part of the national capital Alexandria still had an important port and market in the slave trade and as talk increased of abolishing slavery in the national capital there was concern that Alexandria s economy would suffer greatly if this step were taken After a referendum voters petitioned Congress and Virginia to return the portion of the District of Columbia south of the Potomac River Alexandria County to Virginia On July 9 1846 Congress retroceded Alexandria County to Virginia 22 The City of Alexandria was re chartered in 1852 and became independent of Alexandria County in 1870 The remaining portion of Alexandria County changed its name to Arlington County in 1920 Late 19th century edit nbsp Map of Alexandria showing the forts that were constructed to defend Washington during the American Civil War nbsp An 1863 aerial view view of Alexandria from the Potomac River with Fort Ellsworth visible on the hill in the center background The first fatalities of the North and South in the American Civil War occurred in Alexandria Within a month of the Battle of Fort Sumter the Civil War s first battle Union Army troops occupied Alexandria landing troops at the base of King Street on the Potomac River on May 24 1861 A few blocks up King Street from their landing site the commander of the New York Fire Zouaves Colonel Elmer E Ellsworth sortied with a small detachment to remove a large Confederate flag displayed on the roof of the Marshall House Inn that had been visible from the White House While descending from the roof Ellsworth was shot dead by James W Jackson the hotel s proprietor One of Ellsworth s soldiers immediately killed Jackson 23 24 Ellsworth was publicized as a Union martyr and the incident generated great excitement in the North with many children being named for him 23 24 Jackson s death defending his home caused a similar sensation in the South 23 25 Alexandria remained under military occupation until the end of the Civil War Fort Ward one of a ring of forts built by the Union army for the defense of Washington D C is located inside the boundaries of present day Alexandria 26 There were five military prisons in the city the largest being the Washington Street Military Prison 27 28 After the creation by Washington of the state of West Virginia in 1863 and until the close of the war Alexandria was the seat of the so called Restored Government of Virginia also known as the Alexandria Government 16 During the Union occupation a recurring contention between the Alexandria citizenry and the military occupiers was the Union army s periodic insistence that church services include prayers for the President of the United States Failure to do so resulted in incidents including the arrest of ministers in their church In 1861 and 1862 escaped African American slaves poured into Alexandria Safely behind Union lines the cities of Alexandria and Washington offered comparative freedom and employment Alexandria became a major supply depot and transport and hospital center for the Union army 29 Until the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1 1863 escaped slaves legally remained the property of their owners Therefore they were labeled contrabands to avoid returning them to their masters Contrabands worked for the Union army in various support roles After all slaves in the seceding states were liberated even more African Americans came to Alexandria By the fall of 1863 the population of Alexandria had exploded to 18 000 an increase of 10 000 people in 16 months 29 As of ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment Alexandria County s black population was more than 8 700 or about half the total number of residents in the county This newly enfranchised constituency provided the support necessary to elect the first black Alexandrians to the City Council and the Virginia Legislature 30 In the waning years of the 19th century Alexandria suffered its two documented lynchings The first in 1897 was Joseph H McCoy and the second in 1899 was Benjamin Thomas Both were Black male teenagers accused but never convicted of assaulting young white girls that were known to them They were both kidnapped from jail and hanged by mobs 31 20th century edit nbsp Child laborers working at a glass factory in Alexandria in 1911 nbsp A Confederate memorial on George Washington Memorial Parkway c 1920 At the turn of the 20th century the most common production in the city was glass fertilizer beer and leather The glass often went into beer bottles Much of the Virginia Glass Company effort went to supply the demands of the Robert Portner Brewing Company until fire destroyed the St Asaph Street plant on February 18 1905 The Old Dominion Glass Company also had a glass works fall to fire then built a new one The Belle Pre Bottle Company held a monopoly on a milk bottle that they patented yet that organization only lasted 10 years 32 Most businesses were smaller where the business occupied the first floor of a building and the owner and family lived above 33 50 Prohibition closed Portner Brewing in 1916 33 50 President Woodrow Wilson visited the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation on May 30 1918 to drive the first rivet into the keel of the SS Gunston Hall 33 50 In 1930 Alexandria annexed the town adjacent to Potomac Yard incorporated in 1908 named Potomac In 1938 the Mt Vernon Drive In cinema opened 34 In 1939 the segregated public library experienced a sit in organized by Samuel Wilbert Tucker 35 In 1940 both the Robert Robinson Library which is now the Alexandria Black History Museum and the Vernon Theatre opened 36 Jim Morrison of The Doors as well as Cass Elliot and John Phillips of The Mamas amp The Papas attended the George Washington High School in the 1950s 37 In 1955 then Representative and future President Gerald R Ford and his family moved to Alexandria from Georgetown 38 95 The Fords remained in their Alexandria home during Ford s tenure as Vice President 1973 1974 as the vice president did not yet have an official residence 39 Following the resignation of Richard Nixon Ford spent his first 10 days as President in the house before moving to the White House 39 In March 1959 Lieutenant Colonel William Henry Whalen the highest ranking American ever recruited as a mole by the Russian Intelligence Service provided Colonel Sergei A Edemski three classified Army manuals in exchange for 3 500 at a shopping center parking lot within the city 40 Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation later arrested Whalen on July 12 1966 at his home in the city 41 p1 In 1961 the original Woodrow Wilson Bridge opened 42 In 1965 the city integrated schools 43 69 In 1971 the city consolidated all high school junior and senior students into T C Williams High School Freshman and sophomore students were assigned to attend either Francis C Hammond or George Washington formerly four year high schools as part of a system wide overhaul of the public school system beginning with kindergarten classes in an attempt to racially balance student population throughout the city s public schools to better reflect the city s racial makeup The plan was known as the K 6 2 2 2 plan Classes were broken out beginning with kindergarten through sixth grade then seventh through eighth then freshman and sophomore classes and finally junior and senior classes with the changes including being moved to a different school building 43 69 The same year that head coach Herman Boone joined the school and lead the football team to a 13 0 season a state championship and a national championship runner up the basis for the 2000 film Remember the Titans where Boone was portrayed by Denzel Washington 44 In 1972 Clifford T Cline purchased the 1890 Victorian house at 219 King Street and converted it into the Creole serving Two Nineteen Restaurant 45 167 In 1973 Nora Lamborne and Beverly Beidler became the first women elected to the city council 33 63 In 1974 the Torpedo Factory Art Center opened 37 In 1983 the King Street Old Town station Braddock Road station and Eisenhower Avenue station opened as the Washington Metro system expanded 42 In 1991 the Van Dorn Street station opened and Patricia Ticer became the first woman to be elected mayor 33 63 History of libraries edit nbsp The Charles E Beatley Jr Central Library in Alexandria nbsp The city s first library located in an apothecary shop John Wise a local Alexandria businessman and hotel keeper hosted a meeting in his home in 1789 to discuss the creation of a Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge Members include Rev James Muir physician Elisha Cullen Dick and George Washington s personal attorney Charles Lee The Society did not last for long However on July 24 1794 the founders of the Society once again met at Wise s home to establish a subscription library During the first year one hundred nineteen men joined the circulating library which was to be called the Library Company of Alexandria Members agreed to pay an initiation fee and annual dues The company was chartered as a corporation in 1798 in an act passed by the General Assembly of Virginia Druggist Edward Stabler was elected the first librarian and the library s first location is believed to have been housed in his apothecary shop James Kennedy was elected the second librarian and the library moved to his residence and place of business Kennedy sold books from his personal collection to the Library Company Those books and other bought from two local merchants formed the foundation of the subscription library The first catalog of the library s collection was published in 1797 The collection grew over time bolstered in part by the fact that some members paid their dues in books Most members were initially men although records exist showing some women were members as early as 1798 One noted female member in 1817 was Mary L F Custis wife of George Washington Parke Custis The catalog published in 1801 indicated a collection of 452 books mostly on history and travel By 1815 there were 1 022 entries in the catalog and the collection had added more biographies fiction and magazines The library was housed in several locations over the ensuing years including the New Market House next to the City Hall the Lyceum Company building and Peabody Hall which was owned by the Alexandria School Board Raising funds for the library was a continuing challenge In 1853 a lecture series was created to raise money Speakers included Professor Joseph Henry of the Smithsonian Colonel Francis H Smith of the Virginia Military Institute and humorist George W Bagby The Civil War took its toll on the library collection Members were able to remove some of the collection prior to the library s occupation by Union troops The library was used as a hospital and much of the library s collection was lost during this time After the war the building was sold to a private owner who planned to turn the building into a private residence and asked the library to remove what was left of the collection Funds continued to be hard to come by and in 1879 the Library Company closed The remainder of its collection was stored in Peabody Hall In 1897 a group of women in Alexandria formed the Alexandria Library Association The leaders of the group were Virginia Corse Mrs William B Smoot and Virginia Burke They petitioned the school board to open a subscription library in Peabody Hall using the old books stored there Permission was given and doors to the new subscription library opened on December 1 1897 In 1902 the library moved to the first floor of a house in the 1300 block of Prince Street while negotiations were underway for a permanent move to the Confederate Hall located at 806 Prince Street In May 1903 the library moved to the Confederate Hall now known as the Robert E Lee Camp Hall Museum where it stayed for 34 years In 1936 Dr and Mrs Robert South Barrett presented a proposal to the Library Association They agreed to donate a building in memory of Dr Barrett s mother Kate Waller Barrett if the city would commit to running it as a public library The city agreed and the Society of Friends offered a 99 year lease on an old Quaker graveyard located on Queen Street The old library was closed on March 1 for the books to be packed and moved to the new library which opened to the public in August 1937 The Alexandria Library Association became the Alexandria Library Society In 1939 the Barrett library was the scene of possibly the nation s first sit in demonstrations as Samuel Tucker a young law school graduate from the neighborhood and several other African American residents insisted on access to the racially segregated library where they had been banned Tucker later became a prominent attorney in Richmond 46 47 In 1947 the Library Society was reconstituted and took the earlier historic name Alexandria Library Company A lecture series was also revived Speakers included Thomas Jefferson biographer Dumas Malone Some of the books belonging in the original collection of the Alexandria Library Company can now be found in the Local History Special Collections Room at the Queen Street library that still carries Mrs Barrett s name 48 In 1948 Ellen Coolidge Burke became director Burke brought bookmobile services to Alexandria one of the first services in Virginia She oversaw the growth of the library system by the addition of two new branch libraries In April 1968 the Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch at 4701 Seminary Road was opened and in December 1969 the James M Duncan branch at 2501 Commonwealth Avenue Burke retired in 1969 49 Geography edit nbsp Hoffman Towne Center in Alexandria nbsp The Thornton in Alexandria According to the U S Census Bureau the city has a total area of 15 5 square miles 40 1 km2 of which 15 0 square miles 38 9 km2 is land and 0 42 square miles 1 1 km2 or 2 85 is water 50 Alexandria is bounded on the east by the Potomac River on the north and northwest by Arlington County and on the south by Fairfax County The western portions of the city were annexed from those two entities beginning in the 1930s The addressing system in Alexandria is not uniform and reflects the consolidation of several originally separate communities into a single city In Old Town Alexandria building numbers are assigned north and south from King Street and west only from the Potomac River In the areas formerly in the town of Potomac such as Del Ray and St Elmo building numbers are assigned east and west from Commonwealth Avenue and north only from King Street In the western parts of the city building numbers are assigned north and south from Duke Street The ZIP Code prefix 223 uniquely identifies the Alexandria postal area citation needed However the Alexandria postal area extends into Fairfax County and includes addresses outside of the city Delivery areas have ZIP Codes 22301 22302 22303 22304 22305 22306 22307 22308 22309 22310 22311 22312 22314 and 22315 with other ZIP Codes in use for post office boxes and large mailers 22313 22331 22332 22333 Part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway is the one national protected area within the borders of Alexandria Adjacent jurisdictions edit Arlington County Virginia north Fairfax County Virginia west and south Prince George s County Maryland east District of Columbia east Neighborhoods edit Main article Neighborhoods of Alexandria Virginia Neighborhoods in the City of Alexandria include Old Town Parker Gray The Berg Arlandria Rosemont Del Ray Beverley Hills Braddock Heights Eisenhower Valley Seminary Valley Temple Park West End and Potomac Yard Many areas outside the city have an Alexandria mailing address yet are a part of Fairfax County including Hollin Hills Franconia Groveton Hybla Valley Huntington Lincolnia Belle Haven Mount Vernon Fort Hunt Engleside Burgundy Village Waynewood Wilton Woods Rose Hill Virginia Hills Hayfield and Kingstowne Some refer to these areas as Lower Alexandria South Alexandria or Alexandria Fairfax County 51 Climate edit The climate in this area is characterized by hot humid summers and generally mild to cool winters According to the Koppen climate classification system Alexandria has a humid subtropical climate abbreviated Cfa on climate maps 52 Demographics editHistorical population CensusPop Note 17902 748 18004 97180 9 18107 22745 4 18208 21813 7 18308 2410 3 18408 4592 6 18508 7343 3 186012 65244 9 187013 5707 3 188013 6590 7 189014 3395 0 190014 5281 3 191015 3295 5 192018 06017 8 193024 14933 7 194033 52338 8 195061 78784 3 196091 02347 3 1970110 92721 9 1980103 217 7 0 1990111 1837 7 2000128 28315 4 2010139 9669 1 2020159 46713 9 U S Decennial Census 53 1790 1960 54 1900 1990 55 1990 2000 56 2010 2020 57 2010 58 2020 59 2020 census edit Alexandria city Virginia Racial and ethnic compositionNote the US Census treats Hispanic Latino as an ethnic category This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category Hispanics Latinos may be of any race Race Ethnicity NH Non Hispanic Pop 2000 60 Pop 2010 58 Pop 2020 59 2000 2010 2020 White alone NH 68 889 74 878 78 519 53 70 53 50 49 24 Black or African American alone NH 28 463 29 778 31 314 22 19 21 28 19 64 Native American or Alaska Native alone NH 255 327 217 0 20 0 23 0 14 Asian alone NH 7 199 8 351 11 205 5 61 5 97 7 03 Pacific Islander alone NH 100 109 77 0 08 0 08 0 05 Some Other Race alone NH 506 485 1 026 0 39 0 35 0 64 Mixed Race or Multi Racial NH 3 989 3 514 7 737 3 11 2 51 4 85 Hispanic or Latino any race 18 882 22 524 29 372 14 72 16 09 18 42 Total 128 283 139 966 159 467 100 00 100 00 100 00 2010 census edit At the 2010 census 61 there were 139 966 people 68 082 households and 30 978 families residing in the city The population density was 8 452 0 inhabitants per square mile 3 263 3 km2 There were 68 082 housing units at an average density of 4 233 2 per square mile 1 634 4 km2 The racial ethnic mix of the population was 60 9 White 21 8 African American 6 0 Asian 1 3 Indian 1 0 Filipino 0 9 Chinese 0 8 Korean 0 5 Thai 0 3 Vietnamese 0 2 Japanese 1 0 Other 0 4 Native American 0 1 Pacific Islander 3 7 from two or more races 16 1 of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any national origin 4 6 Salvadoran 1 7 Mexican 1 6 Honduran 1 1 Guatemalan 1 1 Puerto Rican 0 9 Bolivian 0 8 Peruvian 0 4 Colombian In 2000 there were 61 889 households of which 18 6 had children under the age of 18 living with them 32 2 were married couples living together 9 2 had a female householder with no husband present and 55 2 were non families 43 4 of all households were made up of individuals and 6 8 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older The average household size was 2 04 and the average family size was 2 87 The age distribution was 16 8 under the age of 18 9 2 from 18 to 24 43 5 from 25 to 44 21 5 from 45 to 64 and 9 0 who were 65 years of age or older The median age was 34 years For every 100 females there were 93 5 males For every 100 females aged 18 and over there were 91 7 males According to 2019 Census Bureau data the median household income was 103 284 and median family income was 130 395 62 Additionally 8 6 of the population of the population were below the poverty line 63 14 2 of those under the age of 18 and 3 1 of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line According to 2022 American Community Survey 1 Year Estimates 69 9 of Alexandria residents aged 25 and older have attained a bachelor s degree or higher compared with 42 2 statewide 64 65 Economy edit nbsp The Alexandria waterfront along the Potomac River nbsp Hoffman Town Center a mixed use retail and office development in the Eisenhower Valley nbsp One of the many restaurants that line King Street in Old Town Companies headquartered in Alexandria include BoatUS Crooked Beat Records Five Guys the Institute for Defense Analyses IDA The Motley Fool Oblon law firm Pentagon Federal Credit Union PenFed Port City Brewing Company Purple Strategies ThinkFun and VSE Federal agencies based in Alexandria include the National Credit Union Administration the United States Patent and Trademark Office National Science Foundation Office of the Inspector General U S Department of Defense and the Food and Nutrition Service Alexandria is home to numerous trade associations charities and non profit organizations including the national headquarters of groups such as Catholic Charities Citizens for the Republic Global Impact Good360 Islamic Relief USA United Way Volunteers of America and the Salvation Army Other organizations located in Alexandria include the American Counseling Association the Human Resource Certification Institute the Society for Human Resource Management the National Society of Professional Engineers the National Beer Wholesalers Association the American Society of Clinical Oncology National Industries for the Blind American Physical Therapy Association the National Association of Convenience Stores the American International Automobile Dealers Association and the International Centre for Missing amp Exploited Children Alexandria also has a Chamber of Commerce and other business associations including the West End Business Association the Del Ray Business Association and the Old Town Business Association Major employment sectors in Alexandria include management consulting business and finance office and administrative support computer and mathematical sales and legal Jobs in Alexandria are highly concentrated around the city s Metrorail stations primarily in Old Town North and the Braddock Road area Old Town and Carlyle near the Eisenhower Avenue Station as well as along the I 395 corridor on the west side of the city 13 of people that work in Alexandria live in the city while 87 commute in with 37 of those commuters being from Fairfax County An additional 61 000 people commute out of Alexandria to work 35 commute to Washington DC and 29 commute to Fairfax County 66 As of 2022 2 4 of Alexandria residents are unemployed 67 Largest employers edit According to the city s 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 68 the top public employers in the city are Employer of employees 1 United States Department of Defense Mark Center 8 000 2 United States Department of Commerce includes Patent and Trademark Office 5 500 3 City of Alexandria 2 700 4 Alexandria City Public Schools 2 500 5 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority 1 200 6 United States Department of Agriculture 800 7 United States General Services Administration 600 The top private employers in the city are Employer of employees 1 Inova Health System 1 700 2 Institute for Defense Analyses 750 3 Systems Planning amp Analysis Inc 700 4 Goodwin House 700 5 Kearney amp Company 600 6 CRS Facility Service 400 7 United Parcel Service UPS 350Arts and culture editEvents edit A popular Christmas time attraction in Alexandria is the Scottish Christmas Walk which was established in 1969 69 The event which involves a parade through the center of Old Town Alexandria celebrates the city s Scottish heritage and is the centerpiece of a yearly holiday festival 70 It serves as a fundraiser for social services in Alexandria 69 Other parades in Old Town celebrate Saint Patrick s Day 71 and the birthday of George Washington 72 Other annual events include the Red Cross Waterfront Festival in June the city s birthday celebration with fireworks show in July various ethnic heritage days at Tavern Square and First Night Alexandria which presents many family friendly entertainments on New Year s Eve These parades and other official events are typically led by Alexandria s town crier who often dressed in elaborately by a tradition dating to the 18th century in a red coat breeches black boots and a tricorne hat welcomes participants 73 nbsp Old Town Alexandria in March 2003 as seen from the observation deck of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial nbsp The Torpedo Factory Art Center is a former torpedo factory that now serves as an art center filled with independent art studios and exhibits Landmarks edit nbsp Old Town Alexandria nbsp Old Town from the water Landmarks within the city include the George Washington Masonic National Memorial also known as the Masonic Temple and Observation Deck Christ Church United States Patent and Trademark Office which includes the National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum 74 Gadsby s Tavern Stabler Leadbeater Apothecary Shop John Carlyle House Little Theatre of Alexandria Lee Fendall House Alexandria City Hall Market Square the Jones Point Light the south cornerstone of the original District of Columbia Robert E Lee s boyhood home the Torpedo Factory Art Center and the Virginia Theological Seminary Other sites of historical interest in the city include Alexandria Black History Resource Center Fort Ward Park and Museum Phoenix Mill and the Alexandria Canal lock re creation at Canal Office Center Interesting sites with Alexandria addresses but outside of the city limits include River Farm Collingwood Library amp Museum Green Spring Gardens Park Huntley Meadows Park Historic Huntley Pope Leighey House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright Woodlawn Plantation Washington s Grist Mill and Mount Vernon Estate In 1830 John Hollensbury s home in Alexandria was one of two homes directly bordering an alleyway that received a large amount of horse drawn wagon traffic and loiterers 75 In order to prevent people from using the alleyway Hollensbury constructed a 7 feet 2 1 m wide 25 feet 7 6 m deep 325 square foot 30 2 m2 two story home using the existing brick walls of the adjacent homes for the sides of the new home 75 The brick walls of the Hollensbury Spite House living room have gouges from wagon wheel hubs the house is still standing and is occupied 75 The Oswald Durant Center in the Upper King Street neighborhood of the Old Town is named after Dr Oswald Durant one of the first African American doctors in Alexandria 76 Sports editDue to its proximity to Washington D C Alexandria has only been the home of one professional sports team the Alexandria Dukes a minor league baseball team which moved to Woodbridge in 1984 to become The Prince William Pirates now known as the Fredericksburg Nationals 77 In December 2023 Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and Monumental Sports amp Entertainment founder Ted Leonsis announced plans to develop a 70 acre area in Potomac Yards to include a concert venue businesses and a new arena that would have been home to the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards 78 The proposal failed in March 2024 with the announcement Virginia negotiations were ending and Monumental planning to sign an additional lease with Washington D C after it did not advance in the Virginia General Assembly 79 Parks and recreation editAlexandria has a distributed park system with approximately 950 acres 3 8 km2 spread across 70 major parks and 30 recreation centers of which Chinquapin is one of the largest Chinquapin offers facilities for swimming tennis racquetball and other sports The city also organizes several sports leagues throughout the year including volleyball softball and basketball The city is home to Cameron Run Regional Park which includes a water park with a wave pool and water slides as well as a miniature golf course and batting cages A portion of the Mount Vernon Trail a popular bike and jogging path runs through Old Town near the Potomac River on its way from the Mount Vernon Estate to Roosevelt Island in Washington DC There is also a largely unbroken line of parks stretching along the Alexandria waterfront from end to end Government editSee also List of mayors of Alexandria Virginia nbsp Alexandria City Hall United States presidential election results for Alexandria Virginia 80 Year Republican Democratic Third party No No No 2020 14 544 17 63 66 240 80 28 1 724 2 09 2016 13 285 17 54 57 242 75 56 5 235 6 91 2012 20 249 27 58 52 199 71 11 963 1 31 2008 19 181 27 26 50 473 71 73 710 1 01 2004 19 844 32 26 41 116 66 84 555 0 90 2000 19 043 34 50 33 633 60 93 2 523 4 57 1996 15 554 34 26 27 968 61 60 1 877 4 13 1992 16 700 31 70 30 784 58 44 5 191 9 85 1988 20 913 45 66 24 358 53 18 533 1 16 1984 21 166 46 77 23 552 52 05 535 1 18 1980 17 865 44 23 17 134 42 42 5 389 13 34 1976 16 880 44 53 19 858 52 38 1 172 3 09 1972 20 235 55 95 15 409 42 60 525 1 45 1968 13 265 41 69 14 351 45 11 4 200 13 20 1964 8 825 34 36 16 828 65 52 30 0 12 1960 8 826 47 58 9 662 52 08 63 0 34 1956 8 633 52 48 7 451 45 30 365 2 22 1952 8 579 56 92 6 471 42 93 22 0 15 1948 3 903 44 83 3 917 44 99 887 10 19 1944 3 405 43 53 4 391 56 13 27 0 35 1940 1 802 30 90 4 004 68 67 25 0 43 1936 1 225 26 34 3 381 72 71 44 0 95 1932 1 199 28 66 2 941 70 29 44 1 05 1928 1 617 55 30 1 307 44 70 0 0 00 1924 556 28 37 1 136 57 96 268 13 67 1920 921 38 71 1 417 59 56 41 1 72 1916 364 25 78 1 038 73 51 10 0 71 1912 132 10 99 951 79 18 118 9 83 1908 247 16 77 1 218 82 69 8 0 54 1904 187 20 06 738 79 18 7 0 75 1900 935 31 76 2 003 68 04 6 0 20 1896 1 281 40 28 1 830 57 55 69 2 17 1892 1 162 36 74 1 982 62 66 19 0 60 1888 1 523 47 52 1 665 51 95 17 0 53 1884 1 273 42 21 1 730 57 36 13 0 43 1880 994 39 23 1 540 60 77 0 0 00 As an independent city of Virginia as opposed to an incorporated town within a county Alexandria derives its governing authority from the Virginia General Assembly In order to revise the power and structure of the city government the city must request the General Assembly to amend the charter This is called Dillon Rule The present charter was granted in 1950 and it has been amended in 1968 1971 1976 and 1982 Alexandria adopted a council manager form of government by way of referendum in 1921 This type of government empowers the elected City Council to pass legislation and appoint the City Manager The City Manager is responsible for overseeing the city s administration The Mayor who is chosen on a separate ballot presides over meetings of the Council and serves as the ceremonial head of government The Mayor does not have the power to veto Council action Council members traditionally choose the person receiving the most votes in the election to serve as Vice Mayor In the absence or disability of the Mayor the Vice Mayor performs the mayoral duties City Council 81 Position Name Party First Election District Mayor Justin M Wilson Democratic Party 2018 previously served as councilmember from 2007 to 2009 and 2013 to 2019 At Large Vice Mayor Amy B Jackson Democratic Party 2018 At Large Member Canek Aguirre Democratic Party 2018 At Large Member Sarah R Bagley Democratic Party 2021 At Large Member John T Chapman Democratic Party 2012 At Large Member Alyia Gaskins Democratic Party 2021 At Large Member R Kirk McPike Democratic Party 2021 At Large In 2008 the City of Alexandria had 78 standing local boards commissions and committees to advise the City Council on major issues affecting the community 82 All members are appointed by the City Council In addition Alexandria City Public Schools has a school board with nine members Three are elected from each of the city s three school board districts 83 Alexandria is part of Virginia s 8th congressional district represented by Democrat and Alexandria resident Don Beyer elected in 2014 The state s senior member of the United States Senate is Democrat Mark Warner first elected in 2008 The state s junior member of the United States Senate is Democrat Tim Kaine first elected in 2012 History edit Since its foundation Alexandria s government has had several different forms of government Before 1921 Alexandria had an elected eight member Board of Aldermen and a sixteen member Common Council whose members were elected by ward In addition there was an elected mayor with the power to veto legislation from the two councils Reformers within the city during the early 20th century hoped to adopt the then popular council manager system As a means to implementing this new system the reformists proposed a plan to create a single city council elected at large This new system was adopted in 1921 and the first at large councilmen were elected in June 1922 84 In 1930 Alexandria annexed the town of Potomac from Arlington County Alexandria and Potomac stood in stark contrast The streetcar suburb commuter town of Potomac had as part of Arlington been heavily influenced by the anti vice crusades of staunch progressive Commonwealth s Attorney Crandal Mackey In Potomac slaughterhouses and saloons were banned Residents of the former town of Potomac had a different identity from those in Alexandria and after annexation former Potomac residents began to push for the reimplementation of the ward system In a 1932 referendum voters decided in favor of a new plan that would expand the city council to nine members three elected at large and six elected by ward Support for the new plan was highest in the former town of Potomac 85 City councils elected under the new ward system began to take a more direct role in city administration The city council and city manager gave conflicting orders to city employees while spending increased to accommodate appropriations coming from both the council and manager With over one million dollars spent on unauthorized projects a movement to go back to at large councilmen emerged In 1944 a referendum to eliminate the ward system ended with a vote in favor of the ward system Shortly afterwards a number of high ranking city officials resigned and residents appealed to the Circuit Court for an order to force a referendum Unbeknownst to the city government Delegate Armistead Boothe introduced a bill in Richmond to hold another referendum This bill passed the General Assembly and a vote was held on March 2 1948 The options in the referendum included retaining the extant system or replacing it with a council of seven at large members Voters approved the new system with 61 of votes in favor 85 More recently a 1983 push by the Virginia NAACP to return to the ward system failed because of a lack of support from elected officials 86 Ecocity edit In 2008 the city council approved a charter where citizens businesses and city government participate in a vibrant community that is always mindful of the needs and lifestyles of the generations to come 87 4 That charter defined sustainability as meeting our community s present needs while preserving our historic character and ensuring the ability of future generations to meet their own needs 87 5 In Ecocity Berkeley an ecocity is defined as an ecologically healthy city 88 3 In 2022 Alexandria enacted a 5 cent plastic bag tax consistent with the phase out of lightweight plastic bags in the United States 89 Public safety edit Police and law enforcement edit See also Alexandria Police Department Alexandria s primary law enforcement is the Alexandria Police Department APD which is led by a Chief of Police who is appointed by city government 90 In April 2022 Don Hayes was appointed as Chief of Police 91 As of 2023 the APD employs roughly 300 officers that receive training at the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy 92 Every four years Alexandria residents elect a sheriff that leads the Sheriff s Office in overseeing roughly 200 deputies and a detention center for pre trial and short term inmates 93 This jail is used to house pre trial inmates in federal espionage cases 94 Firefighting edit See also Alexandria Fire Department The Alexandria Fire Department AFD is the city s fire protection and emergency medical services provider and is led by Fire EMS Chief Corey A Smedley 95 The AFD operates 10 stations throughout the city and employs over 300 fire and EMS professionals Education editColleges and universities edit Virginia Tech s Washington Alexandria Architecture Center also known as WAAC is located on Prince Street in Old Town offering graduate programs in Urban Affairs and Planning Public and International Affairs Architecture and Landscape Architecture In 2018 Virginia Tech announced the construction of an Innovation Campus in Potomac Yard with graduate programs in computer science and computer engineering 96 Virginia Commonwealth University operates a Northern Virginia branch of its School of Social Work and The George Washington University also has a campus near the King Street metro This campus mainly offers professional and vocational programs such as an executive MBA program urban planning and security studies It also includes the Alexandria campus of Northern Virginia Community College The largest seminary in the Episcopal Church Virginia Theological Seminary is located on Seminary Road Primary and secondary schools edit nbsp Entrance to Northern Virginia Community College s Alexandria campus The city is served by the Alexandria City Public Schools system Alexandria s public school system consists of twelve elementary schools for grades 5 year old Kindergarten through 5th grade with 3 of them offering PreK as well Two schools Patrick Henry and Jefferson Houston are PreK through 8th grade schools while Middle Schools George Washington and Francis C Hammond serve 6th through 8th graders Minnie Howard Ninth Grade Center and Alexandria City High School serve grades 9th and 10 through 12 respectively for the entire city The demographics of Alexandria City Public Schools contrast with those of the city In 2008 only 14 of the students at Francis C Hammond Middle School were non Hispanic whites compared to about 60 when looking at the city as a whole 27 were of Hispanic descent and 48 were black About 9 of the school was of Asian descent In 2004 62 of the school going children received free lunches by 2008 that number had decreased to 56 97 At George Washington Middle School 41 of students are non Hispanic whites 34 were Hispanic and 21 was black 2 of the students were Asian and 52 of students received free lunch 98 Alexandria City High School formerly known as T C Williams High School follows this trend as well 23 of the students were classified as non Hispanic whites 25 as Hispanic and 44 as black 7 of the school was Asian and 47 of all students received free lunch 99 In November 2020 the school board unanimously voted to rename T C Williams High School and Matthew Maury Elementary School The high school was renamed Alexandria City High School and Maury Elementary was renamed Naomi L Brooks Elementary School effective July 1 2021 100 101 The Department of Defense Education Activity DoDEA the federal school system for military dependents is headquartered in Alexandria 102 Alexandria has several of the Washington D C area s top how private schools such as St Stephen s and St Agnes School Bishop Ireton High School and Episcopal High School Also in the city are Alexandria Country Day School Commonwealth Academy the Basilica School of Saint Mary St Rita s Catholic School Blessed Sacrament School and Global Health College Public libraries edit nbsp Beatley Central Library in Alexandria The Alexandria Library serves the residents of Alexandria and provides a variety of services which include adult young adult and children s materials as well as access to genealogy records and full text articles from thousands of magazines and newspapers through online databases E Books can be borrowed through OverDrive e Audio books and all branches offer free public Internet access and free Wifi 103 The Alexandria Library maintains a reciprocal agreement with neighboring libraries in Arlington District of Columbia Fairfax Falls Church Fauquier Frederick Loudoun Montgomery Prince George s and Prince William 104 Transportation editBus and rail edit nbsp George Washington Masonic National Memorial and the elevated Yellow Line Metro tracks seen from a high rise on Eisenhower Avenue The Alexandria city government operates its own mass transit system the DASH bus connecting points of interest with local transit hubs In 2021 DASH underwent route redesigns and became fare free 105 Metrobus Washington Metro and the Virginia Railway Express better known as the VRE also serve Alexandria The city also offers a free trolley diesel bus service on King Street from the King Street Old Town Washington Metro station to the Waterfront 106 Hornblower Cruises operates the Potomac Water Taxi to and from Georgetown and The Wharf development in Washington DC and the National Harbor development in Prince George s County Maryland 107 nbsp Southbound Amtrak train at Alexandria s Union Station Alexandria Union Station the city s historic train station has Amtrak intercity services and the Virginia Railway Express regional rail service The station is directly adjacent to the King Street Old Town Metro station at the convergence of the Blue and Yellow Lines Four other Metro stations in Alexandria are Van Dorn Street Eisenhower Avenue Braddock Road and Potomac Yard The traditional boundary between Old Town and the latterly annexed sections of the city follows the railway acquired by Virginia in 2021 and formerly owned by CSX Transportation 108 Roads edit nbsp I 95 I 495 the Capital Beltway in Alexandria Concurrent Interstate highways 95 and 495 the Capital Beltway including the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River roughly parallels the city s southern boundary with Fairfax County before very briefly passing through D C and entering Maryland Interstate 395 crosses north and south through the western part of the city Alexandria is bisected east and west by State Route 7 known as King Street The most western section of King Street in the city was once the terminus of the Leesburg Turnpike VA 7 terminates at State Route 400 Washington Street which connects the northern and southern segments of George Washington Memorial Parkway GWMP State Route 236 runs east west along the southern side of the city also terminating at VA 400 in Old Town Other primary state highways serving Alexandria include the short limited access State Route 241 which connects the beltway and VA 236 Duke Street as well as multiple thoroughfares serving the western side of the city which are State Route 401 Van Dorn Street State Route 402 Quaker Lane and State Route 420 Seminary Road in the west Janneys Lane in the east U S Route 1 passes north south through the city parallel west of Washington Street and GWMP Through Old Town the highway follows Patrick and Henry Streets named after Patrick Henry In 2019 the name of U S 1 was changed from Jefferson Davis Highway to Richmond Highway 109 Until 2014 local legislation mandated that all new north south streets in the city be named for Confederate military leaders 110 Efforts have increased in recent years to expedite the renaming of these streets with Mayor Justin Wilson and the City Council setting a goal of renaming three of these streets annually 111 Airports edit Alexandria is adjacent to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington County Alexandria is also serviced by Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles Virginia and Baltimore Washington International Airport in Anne Arundel County Maryland Cycling edit In 2012 Capital Bikeshare a bicycle sharing public transportation system launched in Alexandria 112 By early 2022 the system will operate 61 rental locations throughout the city 113 The East Coast Greenway and Mount Vernon Trail cycle routes pass through Alexandria Notable people editDiedrich Bader actor 114 Hannibal Brumskine III internet entrepreneur 115 Stewart Copeland drummer for The Police Leon Day Hall of Fame baseball pitcher who played in the Negro leagues Elena Delle Donne forward guard Washington Mystics WNBA champion two time league MVP 116 Stefon Diggs wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills Donna Dixon former actress model William O Douglas American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the US 1939 75 and environmentalist resided in Old Town for four decades Chad Dukes Alexandria Virginia radio personality pioneer in podcasting 117 Cass Elliot and John Phillips of The Mamas amp The Papas 37 Charles Esten actor singer Margaret Fetterolf previously unidentified murder victim discovered in Woodlawn Baltimore County Maryland in 1976 identified in 2021 Gerald R Ford former President of the United States lived at 1521 Mount Eagle Place in Parkfairfax and later at 514 Crown View Drive 118 where he lived during his term as vice president and for the first ten days of his presidency Rick Franklin a Piedmont blues guitarist singer and songwriter was born in Alexandria 119 Dave Grohl founder and frontman of Foo Fighters drummer for Nirvana 116 Moses Hepburn first African American town councilor of West Chester Pennsylvania Sarah Gibson Jones African American educator journalist poet lecturer and clubwoman Archie Kao actor who grew up in Alexandria and graduated from George Mason University in nearby Fairfax Virginia Thomas Kail theater director 120 Angus King U S Senator for the state of Maine 121 Gregory Lawler mathematician who won the 2019 Wolf Prize in mathematics Henry Lee III often known by his nickname Light Horse Harry Revolutionary War lieutenant colonel Virginia Governor father of Robert E Lee moved to Alexandria in 1810 Robert E Lee Civil War general grew up on Oronoco Street 122 32 Thad Levine general manager of Minnesota Twins was born in Alexandria Emma Louise Lowe American musician educator former First Lady of American Samoa and former First Lady of Guam 123 Noah Lyles Olympian 124 Scott McKenzie musician Jim Morrison of The Doors 37 lived at 310 Woodland Terrace 1959 61 Dean Muhtadi former American football player and former WWE wrestler 125 Dermot Mulroney American Actor known for his role in My Best Friend s Wedding among others Mick Mulvaney Director of the Office of Management and Budget and former U S Congressman representing South Carolina born in Alexandria Richard M Nixon former President of the United States lived at 3426 Gunston Rd in Parkfairfax 118 11 Sandie Pendleton Lieutenant Colonel in the C S Army Adjutant to Stonewall Jackson and other Confederate Generals Eddie Royal Chicago Bears wide receiver 126 Willard Scott national television personality grew up in Rosemont 127 Garren Stitt actor known for his roles in General Hospital and Andi Mack Nicholas Trist Diplomat who negotiated the Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo Kali Uchis singer Wernher von Braun NASA rocket scientist residence on Vicar Lane buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery 128 Ella Wall Van Leer American artist architect and women s rights activist Richard Hooker Wilmer former Episcopal bishop second Bishop of Alabama Megan Young Miss World Philippines 2013 and Miss World 2013 129 In popular culture editThis section may contain irrelevant references to popular culture Please remove the content or add citations to reliable and independent sources July 2017 nbsp The marina behind the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria The PBS TV series Mercy Street is set in Alexandria during the American Civil War The Walking Dead comic book series and subsequent TV adaptation features a protected area of Alexandria known as the Safe Zone 130 The 2000 film Remember the Titans about the T C Williams High School football team s 1971 state championship team takes place in Alexandria and the cemetery scene was filmed at Ivy Hill Cemetery in Alexandria However the school featured in the movie was not the actual T C Williams High School in Alexandria Alternative rock band the Foo Fighters has a track titled Arlandria on their 2011 release Wasting Light front man and ex Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl lived in Alexandria during the early 2000s and recorded two Foo Fighters albums in his home studio The Arlandria neighborhood is also referenced in the song Headwires from the band s 1999 release There Is Nothing Left to Lose 131 In The X Files the address of Special Agent Fox Mulder is given as Apartment 42 2630 Hegal Place Alexandria VA 23242 132 Sister cities editAlexandria has four sister cities 133 nbsp Gyumri Shirak Province Armenia nbsp Helsingborg Skane County Sweden nbsp Dundee Scotland 134 nbsp Caen Calvados France 135 136 Alexandria was twinned with Gyumri as a means of showing goodwill in the wake of the 1988 Armenian earthquake 137 See also edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexandria Virginia nbsp Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Alexandria Virginia Alexandria Police Department Alexandria Fire Department List of famous people from the Washington D C metropolitan area Mod National Register of Historic Places listings in Alexandria Virginia Wales BreweryReferences edit 2019 U S Gazetteer Files United States Census Bureau Archived from the original on October 16 2020 Retrieved August 7 2020 U S Census website United States Census Bureau Archived from the original on December 27 1996 Retrieved January 31 2008 US Board on Geographic Names United States Geological Survey October 25 2007 Archived from the original on February 12 2012 Retrieved January 31 2008 Alexandria city Alexandria city Virginia United States Census Bureau Archived from the original on February 6 2022 Retrieved January 30 2022 Statistics amp Demographics www alexandriava gov Archived from the original on March 30 2021 Retrieved March 21 2021 Tax Guide for New City Residents www alexandriava gov Archived from the original on October 26 2019 Retrieved July 30 2019 Please note that some Alexandria postal addresses are located in Fairfax County while some Arlington postal addresses are located in the City Ferguson Alice and Henry 1960 The Piscataway Indians of Southern Maryland Alice Ferguson Foundation p 11 Humphrey Robert L Chambers Mary Elizabeth 1977 Ancient Washington American Indian Cultures of the Potomac Valley George Washington University Cressey Pamela June 6 1996 Assaomeck village depended on fish Alexandria Gazette Packet Archived from the original on August 12 2020 Retrieved November 30 2019 a b Brockett Franklin Longdon Rock George W 1883 A Concise History of the City of Alexandria Va From 1669 to 1883 with a Directory of Reliable Business Houses in the City Gazette Book and Job office p 140 Economic Aspects of Tobacco during the Colonial Period 1612 1776 Tobacco org Archived from the original on February 22 2012 Retrieved January 29 2012 Discovering the Decades 1740s Historic Alexandria City of Alexandria VA Alexandriava gov January 5 2011 Archived from the original on 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