Old Town Alexandria
Old Town Alexandria was something I had wanted to do as part of The Schumin Web Photo Essay Blitz when I did the Northern Virginia day, but it got rained out. I was disappointed about that, and was hoping that it would be my only “miss”. I ended up hitting every other primary target dead on and it ended up being a resounding success. But Old Town was not lost…
I planned another road trip to the DC area, specifically to see Old Town. There was a slight chance of rain, and there were clouds hanging about, but all in all, the rain held out as long as I needed it to, and so everyone was happy. So let’s take Metro over to King Street station on the Blue and Yellow Lines, take the Dash About shuttle to the far end of King Street, and let’s visit Old Town Alexandria…
Coming off the bus, we immediately approached this fountain, shooting up a small wall of water…
Welcome to Old Town! You know you’re there when you see King Street…
The Old Town Holiday Inn, like much of Old Town, is restored for modern day use.
Going down King Street, we find the most clever-looking buildings, like this Burke and Herbert Bank building, restored and a great looking blue color.
Churches also help line Old Town in places, like this architectural masterpiece, the Washington Street United Methodist Church.
All the while, traffic is heavy on King Street, making such services as Dash About and Metro very important to have.
And now we reach the wig shop. Here they have hairpieces in modern styles…
…and styles less commonly worn. To me, this mannequin looks a bit like Virginia Governor Mark Warner, wearing George Washington’s hair.
This mannequin is particularly interesting, being a woman mannequin, but wearing that big mustache…
And as we’re walking past, the Dash About bus, advertising that this is the way to “Dash About the fun side of the Potomac”.
As we approach the next street corner, this sea-green building stands out prominently.
At the Old Town theater, “Crazy Love” is here, acclaimed as “extremely funny” by the Washington Post.
Don’t you just love these shirts? I’ve seen them like this, plus various ladies’ swimsuits, a Santa Claus elf one, and others. Personally, I’d like the one that looks like a muscular chest, so I can make everyone think that my muscles are huge…
Continuing down King Street, we encounter these row-buildings. I particularly like the blue one, due to the fact that you can see some of the brick’s natural color on the building as well as the paint, making a nice effect.
This is so cute with the plants growing on the top of the building. It’s a great visual effect, but I wonder if they ever have any problems related to the plants growing around the roof…
An American in Paris, a cute clothing store…
And we continue our walk through Old Town, we pass West Street, and this green building…
What is this? “The Laughing Lizard Lounge”… must remember to visit that one day…
This is just the coolest car! It’s a vintage truck for starters, then I love the way the owner has attached the frame on the back for holding the American flag on it…
And as we continue our walk, we pass this vintage thermometer, advertising Dr. Barker’s Horse Liniment.
And now, row houses…
The old and new come together on the facing of this building… you can see the Coca-Cola logo in stone on the front of the building, and then you can tell that “1500 King” was added in later.
Continuing along these row houses, we eventually happen upon a quaint little shop…
Further down the street, we happen upon another church…
And by this point the George Washington Masonic Memorial was visible in the distance, beyond the Metro station.
Coming closer to the Metro station, the buildings get noticeably more recent…
“Thai Peppers”? Sounds like you come in and eat one of those things, and flames shoot out of your mouth…
Between the opening to go to Old Town and the Metro station, is the King Street Gardens Park, a haven from the city’s tensions, though right in the middle of it all…
And now we have reached the end of Old Town, as the Metro looms up in the background…
My, Alexandria’s a hopping place!
And now we leave it, as we go around to hit our other objectives for the day…