Thursday Ramble: What Is Around Home

I live on a hilltop, just south of the city of Alexandria, Virginia.  Alexandria was a port city, just south of Washington DC, that has been a city since before Washington DC was anything.  Washington DC was swamp land that the adjoining states really didn't care about and was carved out to build a new capital City that was not a part of any state.  It was originally 10 miles, by 10 miles, in a square turned on it's side.  As part of a free-state - slave-state compromise the land on the west side of the Potomac River was ceded back to Virginia.  If not for that, I would live just south of the District of Columbia, as in be able to clearly see DC from this hilltop, on a cloudy day. 

This hilltop was owned by the Fairfax family, part of an original colonial land grant.  One of the family homes, was were the parking lot in front of my building is.  George Washington had dinner with the family, literally in my front yard, a week before he died. 

Many of the revolutionary founding fathers spent time in Alexandria, in an area we call Old Town Alexandria.  Washington, Jefferson and Franklin would gather at Gatsby's Tavern to talk, eat, and drink.  Washington was a brewer and distiller at Mt Vernon, just 8 miles downriver.  He had a townhouse just down the street from the tavern.  It was a two hour ride by horse to Mt. Vernon.  I did notice that the house was twice as close to the tavern as it was to the church.

Alexandria played a role in the Civil War, being occupied by the Federal Troops, it was home two military hospitals, and one of the first Federal cemeteries.  Ships were built along the waterfront in World War I and World War II,  "Liberty Ships" in WWII.  The art center at the end of King Street, is in a building that housed a torpedo factory.  Ford had an assembly plant on the waterfront (in the early years it was easier to transport parts and assemble cars locally than it was to transport finished cars and Ford had a lot of local assembly plants around the country.) Sadly, there is virtually no freight traffic left this far up the river.

King Street, it really Main Street USA, with shopping, a lot of it local independent shops - most catering to expensive taste, restaurants and bars.  There are some national and world chains, but also a nice balance of small businesses.  I try to do business there as I can. 

Market Square in front of City Hall has been a market site since colonial days.  The market is open year round on Saturday mornings, with free parking in the underground garage under the market on Saturday mornings.  

In theory King Street is walkable from home, but, we are on top of a steep rather tall hill, the climb back up is a challenge, and there is an 8 lane expressway between here and there.  We usually drive.  

If you go out the back gate of the condo, we are a ten minute walk to a subway station.  Our connection to the City, and really to the world, the train stops at the airport on the way into DC.