This photo was posted by the National Archives and labeled as “negro laborers, near coal wharf.” This beautiful old photo shows the faces of regular African-Americans in the 1860s, living and working around Alexandria. Photos like this really make you wonder who these individuals are, what their lives were like, and what happened to them. […]

Here’s a great photo of the Lord Fairfax House at 607 Cameron Street in Alexandria. By the way, Lord Fairfax was the Baron of Cameron, hence the street name. Source: Library of Congress And here’s the Google Street View today.

The sad truth is that slave pens existed in and around all of Washington. This photo shows one of those in Alexandria during the 1860s. We dug these up at the Library of Congress. Source: Library of Congress

These old Civil War photos of Alexandria are amazing. This one shows the steam frigate Pensacola in 1861, the beginning of the war. Click on it for some incredible details. Source: Library of Congress We also came across some amazing old photos of the frigate here.

This fascinating old photograph shows Alexandria, as seen from the air, in 1919. Click on the image to see some incredible details. Source: Library of Congress

Click on the image below to see the larger version and see if you recognize parts of Alexandria from the 1980s. Source: Library of Congress

I love old railroad photos like this. You’re looking at a couple photos of the Alexandria railroad roundhouse back during the Civil War. They’re just beautiful photos, frozen in time, so make sure you click on them for a larger, more detailed version. You’ll love them. Source: Library of Congress Source: Library of Congress

The sub headline for this article was “Walter Bryant Hurls Beer Bottle and Edward Bryant Uses Pistol.” Who do you think won that fight? We dug up this wild article in The Washington Post, printed on April 24th, 1908. Three days later, the 1908 Summer Olympics were held in London. Yes, the games took much longer […]

Can you find these homes today? I did some sleuthing and the best I could come up with was E Walnut St between Little St. and Mt. Vernon Ave. The directions in the advertisement seem to hint at that location too. I just can’t figure out which homes they are. The ad below was printed […]

What's the history behind Hank's Oyster Bar's building in Alexandria? 1026 King St. was built in the late 19th century.

Check out this old map of Del Ray north of Alexandria from back in 1921. It’s amazing to see how undeveloped the area was. The yellow structures are wood frame buildings and the pink ones are brick. Here’s a map of the same area today.

Now this is an interesting old film we found on YouTube. It’s a bit long, but if you’re from Alexandria, you’ll find it entertaining and recognize quite a few of the old buildings. What do you think? Did you recognize any of the old buildings?

This is a powerful Civil War-era photograph. It shows Price, Birch & Co., which was a slave dealing business. Source: Shorpy

Here is a series of cool old photos from Alexandria taken on September 23rd, 1940. Source: Charles W. Cushman Photograph Collection

Remember how nasty the Potomac River was? Yes, it’s still not the greatest, but it’s swimmable in some parts (as long as you don’t have open wounds). Back in the 1970s, it was absolutely polluted. Check out this sign from 1973, recommending you seek immediate medical attention after prolonged exposure. Source: U.S. National Archives

Here’s a cool ad for Hollin Hall, the plantation on Little Hunting Creek (read about it here). Hollin Hall was a plantation deeded to Thomson Mason, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, by his father George Mason.

I was grabbing a beer with a buddy this evening and we were talking about Hollin Hall, the mid-century modern neighborhood near Alexandria. Here’s a cool old post-war advertisement for that new housing development being built south of Old Town. I’m pretty sure he’s looking at the price, shaking his head. Source: Washington Post

Did you know the CIA's headquarters was almost built in Alexandria, Virginia? This Washington Post article from 1955 explains what happened.

Source: Library of Congress Interestingly, we came across this ad for a home being sold on January 2nd, 1900. The home at 219 North Saint Asaph Street in Alexandria also happens to just have gone under contract in the Google Street View image of today. [googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?cbp=12,94.55,,0,-6.55&layer=c&panoid=VbB4qNnNwIn5A2Bsup2IBQ&cbll=38.80672,-77.045433&dg=opt&ie=UTF8&ll=38.774428,-77.004547&spn=0.365089,0.724411&t=m&z=11&source=embed&output=svembed]

Now this is a cool old (really old) advertisement from the Daily Evening Star, printed on July 5th, 1854. It’s an advertisement for omnibus or coach service to Alexandria. Source: Library of Congress