Gadsby's Tavern Kicks Off an Ice Melt Contest

 Gadsby's Tavern Museum is in need of $300,000 to restore its historic ice well, and is kicking off an Ice Melt Contest on Sunday, Feb. 20 to help defray the cost.

The underground ice well will be stocked with several tons of ice and participants are invited to guess how long it will take to melt.

The event begins at 2 p.m., as a block of ice is hauled from the Alexandria waterfront at the end of Cameron Street to the ice well at the corner of North Royal and Cameron streets. Once the ice block reaches the ice well around 2:30 p.m., visitors will be able to view the stocked ice well, purchase contest tickets, learn about ice in the 18th century and talk with George Washington outside the tavern. 

Contest tickets cost $10 each or six for $50. With each chance, contestants will select the latest date this year when ice will still be present in the 11-foot-deep well. Additional a little high-technology to a low-tech process, a webcam will allow contestants and others to peek in on the progress as ice turns to water.

First, second and third place prizes will be awarded to those who guess closest to the correct date.

In 1793, the Alexandria Common Council granted permission for tavern owner John Wise to build an ice well under Cameron Street, partially in the public right-of-way, according to the tavern. Harvested from the Potomac River in the winter, ice was hauled by cart to the tavern and stored in the ice well. Ice was covered with straw to help it last into the summer months. While often taken for granted today, the availability of ice helped to distinguish Gadsby’s Tavern as one of the finest of its kind in the late 18th century.

Tickets will first be available to the public on Sunday and can be purchased at Gadsby’s Tavern Museum or online. First prize is a white and black diamond bracelet valued at $1,600, second prize is a Waterford “Lismore” crystal ice bucket and glasses, and third prize is a $200 gift certificate to the PX Lounge in Old Town Alexandria. Full contest rules are posted at www.gadsbystavern.org.