Step into Attics and Alleyways with New Alexandria Tour

The Office of Historic Alexandria has added a new, limited tour in May focusing on what lies behind some of Alexandria's closed doors and in its attics.

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. This behind-the-scenes access is in honor of National Preservation Month and Virginia's Year of the Historic Home. Tickets are limited. Tours will be offered every Saturday in May beginning at 9 a.m. at the Lee-Fendall House, located at 614 Oronoco St., and ending around noon at Carlyle House, 121 N. Fairfax St. Tickets are $25 per person, $20 for volunteers and friends group members of any of the four participating sites. For the quickest updates about Alexandria, "like" Old Town Alexandria Patch on Facebook and follow @alexandriapatch …

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Hunt for Easter Eggs at Lee-Fendall House

The historic house museum and gardens has some reservation times still available for the 14th annual event.

As we head toward the end of March, don't forget that this month it's free admission at the Lee-Fendall House. Since its construction in 1785, the house has been called home by 37 members of the Lee family. It has also housed convalescing Union soldiers during the Civil War, the locally prominent Downham family and 20th Century labor leader John Lewis, who lived there until 1969. The house museum and garden is on the corner of North Washington and Oronoco streets and is open Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Admission after March is the regular $5 for adults, $3 for students ages 5 to 17. Children under 5 are admitted free. Additionally, reservations are currently available for its annual Easter egg …

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Historic Lee-Fendall House Hosts Annual Open House, Giving Campaign

The Old Town museum is seeking funds to help repair serious weather-related structural damage.

The Lee-Fendall House, once home to 37 members of the historic Lee family as well as 20th century labor leader John Lewis, is hosting an open house and giving campaign. The event, Thursday, Dec. 6 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., will include singers in colonial garb as well as an open bar and hors d’oeuvres. The cost is $40 per ticket. “This house is a special place because it’s full of Alexandria history,” Lee-Fendall board member Rebecca Thorsen told Patch, but, she added, it’s also “off the beaten path of the historic district” near City Hall, making the historic house often overlooked by tourists and others. Caretakers of the museum, which includes almost 1 acre of gated space right inside Old Town, are trying to drum up funds to help repair …

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Celebrate the History of Chocolate in Old Town Alexandria

Historic Alexandria candlelight tours team up with Mars Chocolate North America for special tour centered around the history of chocolate in the United States.

Historic Alexandria candlelight tours are going to be even a little sweeter this year. The historic division of candy company Mars has teamed up with Historic Alexandria's candlelight tours this December to enable participants to sample chocolate while visiting Gadsby's Tavern, Carlyle House, Lee-Fendall House and the rarely open Bank of Alexandria at 133 N. Fairfax St. The special event is occurring for only one weekend. Tours will run from 6 p.m to 9 p.m. Dec. 8 and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 9. Same-day tickets on Dec. 8 and 9 will be available at Gadsby's Tavern, 134 N. Royal St. While touring the houses by foot or by shuttle drop-off, participants will enjoy chocolate at all four stops, offered in chocolate recipes that would have …

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Lee-Fendall Hosts Historic Homes Workshop

Event will take place in the historic Lloyd House, which houses the Office of Historic Alexandria.

The Lee-Fendall House Museum and Garden is sponsoring the second session of its popular historic homes workshop this month. The Oct. 27 workshop is designed to aid prospective and current owners of historic homes as they consider research, architectural review and code compliance and other related issues. This second session will feature City of Alexandria Architect Al Cox offering a survey of residential styles found in Old Town Alexandria and address implications for their repair and management. Becky Super, director of Prince Williams County’s Rippon Lodge Historic Site, will discuss landscaping for the historic home. The workshop will be held at the Lloyd House at 220 N. Washington St., which houses the administrative offices of the …

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Lee-Fendall House Hosts Workshop for Historic Home Owners

The workshop is designed for residents of the D.C.-metro area to interact with experts in selection, care and restoration of historic architecture.

Old Town Alexandria’s Lee-Fendall House and Museum is hosting a two-date workshop for owners of historic homes. The sessions are designed to introduce residents of the area to professionals with expertise in the selection, care and restoration of historic architecture. On Sept. 15, Office of Historic Alexandria Director Lance Mallamo will discuss historic windows. Craftsman Christopher Owens will address the significance of floors in assessing overall maintenance or restoration as well as strategies in making them serviceable while preserving their historic integrity. The second session will be held Oct. 27, featuring a survey by City of Alexandria Architect Al Cox of residential architectural styles found in Old Town Alexandria and …

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Young LIfe in an Old Town

Young Life in an Old Town: Easter Egg Hunts Around Town

No plans for Easter yet? It's time to hop to it with this round-up of eggstra special events in Alexandria.

Did you receive an email recently from “Unsuccessful Lottery Notification” informing you that you did not win coveted tickets to the White House Easter Egg Roll? If so, there’s no need to despair. Try as I might to win tickets every year, I know that the White House event is not all it’s cracked up to be (pardon the second bad pun but I couldn’t resist). I secured tickets two years ago and the wait to enter the White House lawn was atrocious. I recall that the ratio of minutes spent waiting in line to minutes spent egg rolling was about 30-to-1. There are several egg hunting opportunities closer to home and if the scenery is not quite as exciting as the White House lawn, I guarantee that it’s all the same to your toddler. Lee-Fendall House…

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