Alexandria, VA

Located on the Potomac River, right off the Beltway circling the District of Columbia, Alexandria is part of the Greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. With an estimated population of 140,000, Alexandria is no longer just a bedroom community for commuters to Washington but an important business and technology center in its own right.

The city is ethnically diverse, with residents from more than 80 countries. The largest minority population is African American. More than 25 percent of Alexandria's residents are foreign born, the largest number of whom come from El Salvador.

NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISTRICTS

• Founded by Scottish merchants in 1749 as a seaport for nearby plantations, the highly gentrified neighborhood of Old Town is the historic center of Alexandria, with more than 4,000 historic buildings. In 1946 the neighborhood became the third designated historic district in the United States. Robert E. Lee grew up in the neighborhood and George Washington was a frequent visitor from his home in nearby Mount Vernon. Today its colonial architecture houses antique shops, contemporary art galleries, and trendy restaurants.
• Del Ray/Rosemont is a neighborhood of artists, drawn by the community-based art gallery at its center. Founded in 1894, the neighborhood is relatively modern by Alexandria's standards, filled with 19th- and 20th-century bungalows rather than Federalist townhouses.
• Arlandia, also known as Little El Salvador, is home to a large number of immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.

ECONOMY AND INDUSTRIES

During the colonial period, Alexandria was one of the busiest ports in America; today Alexandria's economy relies on a combination of tourism, technology companies, and federal agencies. Roughly 95,000 people work in Alexandria.

More than 3 million tourists visit Alexandria each year, spending $584 million annually in the city's hotels, restaurants, and shops.

In addition to tourism, Alexandria is home to the U.S. Patent and Trade Office and the concentration of technology companies that have grown up around it, a number of federal agencies, and the fourth-largest concentration of professional associations in the country. The Department of Defense is the city's largest employer.

A large proportion of the city's residents work for government agencies or private companies that contract to provide services to the federal government. The estimated median household income in 2008 was $80,806, though income varies dramatically according to ethnicity. Unemployment is relatively low, but the cost of living is about 30 percent higher than the national average. The median home value is $555,100,

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

• Gadsby Tavern: Both Washington and Thomas Jefferson entertained guests at this fully restored 18th-century tavern and hotel.
• Market Square: The nation's oldest farmers' market has operated here for more than 240 years. The square was once the site of the second-largest slave market in the United States.
• Lyceum: Alexandria's historical museum, housed in a 1939 Greek revival building, tells the story of the city's early days as a port.
• Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary: Opened by the young Quaker pharmacist Edward Stabler in 1792, the apothecary was operated as a family business for 141 years. Stabler was an avid abolitionist who used his own money to buy slaves in order to set them free.
• Fort Ward Museum and Historical Site: Established as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C., during the Civil War, Fort Ward is one of the few remaining Union encampments. The museum, housed in a reproduction of a Union headquarters building, tells the story of Fort Ward and of Alexandria's role in the Civil War.
• Alexandria Black History Museum: Housed in what was once the segregated library for Alexandria's African-American residents, the museum tells the history of African Americans in Alexandria.
• Freedom House Museum: Once the headquarters of the largest and most successful domestic slave-trading firm in America, the Freedom House Museum tells the story of slavery through the lens of a single trading company and the individuals it bought and sold.
• Torpedo Factory Art Center: Located on the waterfront, this renovated torpedo factory is home to 82 artists' studios and galleries exhibiting more than 200 professional artists.

EVENTS

• Alexandria, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, markets a triple crown of historical significance: colonial and Revolutionary America, the Civil War, and early African-American history. In addition to museums, historical sites, and archives, the city hosts both Revolutionary and Civil War reenactments and the annual Potomac Valley History Conference.
• George Washington's Birthday Celebration: Alexandria has celebrated the birthday of its most famous hometown hero every year since the end of the American Revolution. Today Washington's birthday party includes the Birth Night Banquet and Ball, musical performances, and historical reenactments.

LOCAL MEDIA

Alexandria is part of the Washington, D.C., media market. In addition to a variety of regional and national media, the city has a local AM radio station, WKDL, and a local newspaper, the Alexandria Times.