This Week in Historic Alexandria

This Week in
Alexandria History

At the turn of the 20th century a small park was developed around the statue Appomattox at South Washington and Prince Streets. The statue and monument originally stood on roads of dirt and cobblestone, which were improved in 1897 with asphalt. In 1901, the land around the monument was enhanced with grass, floral beds, and granite curbing in a quatrefoil design. Four gas lamps lighted the plot, which measured 60 by 40 feet. On May 13, 1904, an ornamental iron fence and decorative cast iron urns were installed around the statue. As automobile traffic increased, the park-like grounds around the statue were reduced and in 1923, the land was rounded into a circle, with a diameter of approximately 20 feet. In the early 1930s, construction of the George Washington Parkway, which incorporated the full length of Washington Street, had the greatest impact. Landscaping was eliminated, leaving a small circle of grass and a simple curb around the monument base.

On Sale Now

Gadsby’s Tavern Museum is pleased to invite you to Mrs. Madison’s Ball, where guests will enjoy the most fashionable dances of 1813 and Dolley Madison’s favorite desserts on Saturday, June 8, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. This regency style ball is sure to live up to Mrs. Madison’s reputation for fine hospitality. The Ball will include live music, a special dessert collation, and a cash bar. Advance tickets are $45 per person and $50 at the door, if available. Tickets may be purchased by calling 703.746.4242 or online at www.gadsbystavern.org.

To prepare for Mrs. Madison’s Ball, dance lessons are encouraged! Learn English Country dancing from expert dance master Corky Palmer on May 23, May 30, and June 6 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. All classes are on Thursday evenings in the museum’s historic ballroom. Doors open at 7:00 p.m.

EVENTS * click the picture to see a larger photo

»	Tuesday, May 14 – Fencing Class Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, 134 North Royal Street Learn the art and historical importance of 18th-century fencing in classes taught by swordmaster Peter M. Ryan. Content will include basic position, preparations on the blade, attack combinations, lunge, lateral and parries, disarming, special movements, and more! This class will be held from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and meets the second and fourth Tuesday of every month. Participants must be at least 11 years old. Equipment may be rented with advance notice. Admission is $15 per person. For more information, please visit www.gadsbystavern.org or call 703.746.4242.
»	*Saturday, May 18 –Alleys and Attics* Walking Tour** Old Town, Alexandria Find out what mysteries lay behind closed doors in four of Alexandria’s historic sites! Attics and Alleys is a new three-hour walking tour featuring the rarely seen spaces of four sites—the Lee-Fendall House, Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum, and Carlyle House—revealing remnants of stories otherwise hidden. This behind-the-scenes access is in honor of National Preservation Month and Virginia’s Year of the Historic Home. Tickets are limited, and are now available for each Saturday morning in May at $25 regular ticket or $20 Volunteer/Members. Tours begin at 9 a.m. at the Lee-Fendall House (614 Oronoco Street) and end around 12 noon at Carlyle House (121 N. Fairfax Street). Light refreshments will be provided. Tour includes stairs, access to confined spaces, and walking over many city blocks, including through alleys. Walking shoes required; tour will be held rain or shine, with no refunds. Photography welcome. For more information, please call 703.746.4242.
»	Saturday, May 18 –Civil War 150th Concert at Fort Ward Fort Ward Museum, 4301 West Braddock Road Civil War 150th Concert featuring the Federal City Brass Band. Honor Armed Forces Day at an evening performance of songs from the Civil War era in the Fort Ward Park amphitheater. The Federal City Brass Band recreates the sound and appearance of a regular U.S. Army regimental brass band of the 1860s. A selection of mid-nineteenth century songs will be performed on original brass instruments. Free! 7 p.m. For more information, please visit www.fortward.org or call 703.746.4848.
»	Sunday, May 19 – Civil War Sunday Alexandria Archaeology Museum, 105 North Union Street, #327 Explore the Civil War in Alexandria with Civil War Sundays. See an original May 26, 1861, edition of The New-York Tribune detailing Colonel Elmer Ellsworth’s death in Alexandria, a Peeps diorama illustrating Ellsworth’s death, a TimeTravelers Passport exhibit featuring the Civil War drummer boy, a diorama of a heating system constructed in Alexandria to warm Civil War hospital tents during the winter of 1861, a cocked and loaded Wickham musket discarded in a privy during the 1860s, and an exhibit on a Lee Street archaeological site during the Civil War. Free! 1 to 5 p.m. For more information, please visit www.alexandriaarchaeology.org or call 703.746.4399.
»	Open throughAugust 3, *2013 – Living Legends of Alexandria: African American Activists* Exhibition** Alexandria Black History Museum, 601 Wythe Street Living Legends of Alexandria is an ongoing, not-for-profit photo-documentary project that was created in 2006 by artist-photographer Nina Tisara to identify, honor and chronicle people making current history in Alexandria. Over the years, 13 African Americans have been chronicled as part of the project. The African American Legends included in this exhibition are: Ferdinand Day, 2007-08; Lillie Finklea, Carlton Funn Sr., Eula Miller, Melvin Miller and Bert Ransom, 2008-09; Nelson Greene Sr., 2010; Lynnwood Campbell, 2011; Lillian Patterson, Gwen Menefee-Smith and Dorothy Turner, 2012; and Willie Bailey Sr. and Rosa Byrd, 2013. Free! The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, please visit www.alexblackhistory.org or call 703.746.4356.
»	*Open Through September 2013 – Occupied City: Life in Civil War Alexandria* Exhibition** The Lyceum, Alexandria’s History Museum, 201 South Washington Street Open daily, this exhibit traces life in Alexandria following Virginia’s decision to secede from the Union in May 1861. See how Robert E. Lee’s hometown was transformed literally overnight from a prosperous commercial port into a supply, hospital, and transportation center for the Union Army, and find out why Alexandria became a destination for African Americans seeking freedom. Explore the experiences of Alexandrians and others who lived here during this tumultuous time, through their own words, as well as in period photographs and collections items. The Lyceum is open Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Suggested admission is $2. For more information, please visit www.alexandriahistory.org or call 703.746.4994.
»	*Open Through 2013 – The Marshall House Incident* Exhibition** Fort Ward Museum, 4301 West Braddock Road The deaths of Union Colonel Elmer Ellsworth and secessionist James Jackson at the Marshall House Hotel on King Street during the Federal occupation of Alexandria on May 24, 1861, stirred patriotic fervor in both the North and South. This exhibit at Fort Ward features objects from the museum collection, like a star from the flag that had flown over Marshall House, and loan items from the Mary Custis Lee Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy, to tell this notable story of the event that launched the Civil War in Alexandria. Free! The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, please visit www.fortward.org or call 703.746.4848.