Jaybird's Jottings

Remaking the Waterfront: Point Lumley

Last time we talked about West’s Point, the birthplace of the city.  Today, we walk seven blocks southward to the foot of Duke Street to Point Lumley.

Long lost to landfill which covered its shallow cove, one of Alexandria’s most distinguishing features was its two shipping points, West’s and Lumley.   Not to worry though, to find these two spots just find the two Robinson Terminal warehouses.

Let’s start out with a map found at the City's Historical Plan.   The tip on the line was Point Lumley, named after a captain who moored his ship there.   The large building is the South Robinson Terminal.    The end point was located about where their offices are now.

With trade prospering, the city trustee’s looked to Point Lumley for further waterfront development.   In 1751, they asked John Carlyle to clear out access to Duke Street.   Four years later he built a warehouse here. 

In 1764, Issac Fleming, shipwright extraordinaire, built “Lumley Point Public Wharf.”    Shomette called it a “formidable addition.”

This part of the waterfront continued to buzz with activity.   In the boom decade of 1850, when the population of the city swelled from 8,000 to 12,000, residents watched a six-story flour mill rise at the foot of Duke, and located precisely where the warehouse is today.   Pioneer Mill (1852-1897) could produced up to 8,000 barrels of flour a day before it went up in flames.   

Because it was the birthplace of the city, the commemorative plans for West Point’s are very exciting.  Nevertheless, the plans for this area hold much excitement too, and it's my guess they will see more tourist activity. The small park here is run-down and seldom seen, much less used.

Among the recommendations are a permanently berthed historic vessel, interpretive signage for Pioneer Mill and the ship making industry, and of course, making the area pedestrian friendly.   Also, public art could be inspired by masts and riggings.

 

Sources:

Maritime Alexandria, Donald Shomette

A Waterfront Block from Duke to Wolfe by Ted Pulliam

 

 

 

 

Bridging the Gap

There are several things I like about National Harbor.   First and foremost are the dining and retail options, followed by its fun factor, the ease of going there and its beautiful skyline at night. 

In a more subtle form, I like the way National Harbor can bring together people from Virginia and Maryland.   This is true in the obvious physical sense, but also in ways not normally seen.

For example, at the “Local Kicks” website, which caters to Alexandria, their “Community News” section showed a pair of links earlier in the week.  One story was about the Alexandria Waterfront while the other highlighted the news about the Outlet Center coming to National Harbor.

The river can divide us, but in this case, shoppers and real-estate news junkies in both sub-markets can be excited about the news that the “Tanger Outlet Center” at National Harbor is one step closer to a 2013 arrival.   

As noted by Local Kicks reporter John Arundel, shopping at a brand name and designer outlet center has meant long-distance driving to Woodbridge, Leesburg, Arundel Mills near BWI or Queenstown.

Tanger Outlet Centers is now targeting metro areas.  This one will be located in the large empty lot in between the Capital Beltway and National Harbor, an area also known as the Salubria property.   

In his piece, the CEO of Tanger provides the update:

Steven B. Tanger said the opportunity to build a Tanger Outlet Center at National Harbor was "extremely compelling," as it "affords us the chance to build a metro-specific, next-generation outlet shopping center in this beautiful location."

"It is expected to house approximately 80 outlet designer and name brand stores in a center measuring up to 350,000 square feet."

Note:  The Wilson Bridge website has some fabulous photos of both sides of the river.  I guess we can call it "two for the price of one..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top Twelve Buildings and Homes in Alexandria

We are looking at my selection of 12 top homes and buildings in Alexandria.  Today is our third selection as we look at the Fitzgerald Warehouse.

 

Fitzgerald Warehouse

Southeast Corner of King and Union

Occupants:  Starbucks, The Virginia Store, Offices

100-104 South Union Street

Year Built: c. 1795-1797

The Fitzgerald Building is an easy choice.  You don't even have to know the history behind it, it's such a magnificent force with primo location.

The Alexandria website agrees, calling it, "one of the Alexandria Waterfront’s true historic treasures."    John Fitzgerald, close friend and aide-de-camp of George Washington during the Revolutionary War, and Mayor of Alexandria, built the warehouse around 1795.

Diane Riker covers the early history in "The Fitzgerald Warehouse, The Early History of an Alexandria Landmark."    Fitzgerald, who emigrated from Ireland in 1769, stored grain and tobacco here.   The warehouse had three separate storage areas, now occupied by Starbucks, an office, and the Virginia Gift Store.

Alexandrians had special feelings for this "broad-shouldered Irishman." Everything you need to know about him can be summed up by saying he dined with Washington at Mount Vernon over 30 times.   Fitzgerald served as a Colonel in the Continental Army, mayor of the city in 1787, and helped found St Mary’s Church.

Fitzgerald passed away in 1799 and is buried at the site of Warburton Manor (Fort Washington) beside his wife Jane Digges.    Her father and Washington were close friends.

In Alexandria’s historic plan, they recommend several things as it relates to this warehouse, including renaming Wales Alley, Fitzgerald’s Alley, its original name, and erecting a figure of Fitzgerald.

 

 

A Visual Tour of Civil War Alexandria

In the index of his book, “Alexandria in the Civil War,” James Barber lists Andrew J. Russell, seven times.   That’s the same amount as Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, the commander of the Union force that marched into the city in May 1861, and quickly became a martyr and a hero.

So who was Russell?

In a program titled, “A Visual Tour of Civil War Alexandria,” Wally Owen provided the answer last night at the Lyceum in Alexandria.   An audience of about 100 filled the upstairs auditorium, used as a convalescent center during the war.    Owen is the co-author of, “Mr. Lincoln’s Forts: A Guide to Civil War Defenses of Washington,” and Assistant Director of the Fort Ward Museum.  

Russell (1830-1902) was a Captain with the 141^st New York Infantry.   He learned photography from Egbert Guy Fowx, who worked for the famed photographer Matthew Brady.   General Herman Haupt, in charge of the military railroads during the war, saw something in Russell, and gave him a special assignment in 1862 - photograph the military railroads in Alexandria.   

Russell took over 1,000 photographs of Alexandria, which had become a major supply depot during the war.   Owen presented several dozen of these, some from private collectors and some from his own collections.   

Some of Russell’s best work took place at what is now "Old Town Village" and "Old Town Station" near Route 1 South and Duke Street.   Hints of history are found there today, the Roundhouse Lane street sign, and the community center built in the same shape as the roundhouse that stood one block to the east, at what was then the corner of Wilkes and Henry.

Russell stood on top of one of the station's buildings and took an array of photographs in each direction.   Landmarks still standing helped the audience pinpoint the view, and Owen provided the orientational guides too.

After General Meigs replaced Haupt, he tasked Russell with taking pictures of buildings in the city.  A lot of oos and aahs could be heard in the audience, perhaps the person seeing their house or what was there before.

Russell went on to distinguish himself in other parts of the country, including his famous “Joining the Rails” photograph of the meeting of the first transcontinental railroad.

Owen indicated that the Library of Congress has digitalized over 7,000 Civil War photos.   Once scanned and published on the web, historians can glean more information.   The speaker showed us several dramatic examples of this zooming in.  The future is very promising in this regard.

 

 

 

Chasing Art Thieves

Last night, if you weren’t able to reach a museum curator in Washington, chances are they were at the National Press Club.   A well-heeled audience of over 200 heard a five-man panel discuss the pilfering of art and antiquities.   

James Grimaldi, an investigative reporter at the Washington Post moderated the event.   On the prosecuting side, so to speak, and in support of their book, "Chasing Aphrodite: The Hunt for Looted Antiquities at the World's Richest Museum," were Jason Felch and Ralph Frammolino (the latter by phone from Bangladesh).   Defending museums were former Getty curator Arthur Houghton and Gary Vikan, director of the Walter Museum of Art in Baltimore.

This is not an area I am familiar with, so I refer you to an excellent write-up by Tanya K. Lervik of ARCA.

I will say it is interesting to compare this story with steroids in baseball.    Was an actual crime committed?    What took so long for the authorities to intervene?  Are all art pieces now suspect?   What should art museums do going forward?   Why go after certain suspects and not others?   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top Twelve Homes in Alexandria

We are looking at my selection of 12 top homes and buildings in Alexandria.  Today we look at the "Fowle House."

Fowle House, 711 Prince Street

In Hollywood, inquiring minds and helicopters want to know where movie stars live.  In Old Town Alexandria, the million-dollar homes are made famous mostly by their 18^th and 19^th Century occupants.

In the case of 711 Prince Street, where a red-brick three-story home is set back from the street, the rich and famous celebrity was William H. Fowle.   He distinguished himself in Alexandria as a businessman who ran several prominent companies including Pioneer Mill and the Bank of Virginia.  Harold W. Hurst writes that the Fowle home was the center of “many brilliant social gatherings.”  ("Alexandria on the Waterfront")

According to the Alexandria website, the original owner was James Patton.   Some 14 years later, William Fowle purchased the property.  Ted Pulliam (Historic Alexandria) notes he enlarged what was a two-story flounder house built in 1808.

The Office of Historic Alexandria wrote about this house in 2010, in their weekly series “Out of the Attic,” published in the "Alexandria Times."  They note, “Fowle expanded his home considerably, adding a west wing that was at least two and possibly three stories high.”

His daughter oversaw another enlargement to the northwest side of the building.   In the late 1800s and early 1900s, a porch, sleeping porch and portico was added.  Owners in 1960 secured a preservation easement, designed to ensure architectural integrity.

In her book, "The History of Old Alexandria, Virginia," Mary G. Powell notes that Fowle amassed a considerable fortune and was “a man whose generous charities were well known.”

The beauty of this house is matched by its fabulous location, one of the best in the city.   That is to say, I’m not sure there is an equivalent in terms of having such a large house, a front yard, and being just one block from King and Washington.  And the neighbors - The Lyceum and the equally beautiful Swann-Dangerfield House across the street.  

Everyone has their favorites and this is one of mine.  And fortunately, there’s no helicopters involved.

 Note:  Do not confuse this house with the Bayne-Fowle House at 811 Prince.

 

Historical Aspects of Alexandria’s Waterfront Plan: West’s Point

Producing an authentic visitor experience is a major emphasis of Alexandria‘s Waterfront Plan, and the promotion and increased understanding of Alexandria‘s cultural, historic and natural resources into an organized Cultural System is a primary product of that focus. – Alexandria Waterfront History Plan, Alexandria Archaeology, Office of Historic Alexandria

 

A ton of ink has been splashed covering the Alexandria Waterfront Plan, which is designed to open up blocked waterfront passages by tearing down two large warehouses no longer needed.   The saga is poised to finally give way to re-development actions, as the Alexandria City Council voted 5 to 2 in approval this past weekend.

Opponents gained a small victory of sorts, as the plan was amended to allow two instead of three boutique hotels.   The first one is scheduled to built in the next couple of years at the corner of N. Union and Cameron.   The Robinson Terminal North warehouse will be torn down (the rarest of rare case in Old Town where few tears will be shed), making way for one of the boutique hotels.

As we wait for the momentous occasion when this long-hidden viewpoint along the Alexandria shoreline is finally opened up to the public (the rack rates on that hotel will make its own history), let’s take a brief look at the rich history behind this spot.   It is a story that began almost three centuries ago, and one that speaks to the beginning of Alexandria itself.   

In today’s world, if we wanted to place a powerful symbol of our economy into a time capsule, a top candidate would be a smart phone.   For much of the 18^th Century, a hogshead, large wooden barrels used to ship and store tobacco, would have been most appropriate.    Across the commonwealth of Virginia the gummy leaf was king.  

In the first part of the century, plantation owners north of Williamsburg sent their tobacco to the nearest place along the Potomac River.   The English Parliament saw this as inefficient in terms of shipping logistics, and established laws that persuaded Virginians to build tobacco inspection centers.   In 1730, the Tobacco Inspection Act mandated that exports to England be shipped from central warehouses along the Potomac River.   

One of the locations selected was located along a crescent-shaped bay just north of where the tide waters slipped into a tributary called Hunting Creek.   We know this spot now as the Robinson Terminal North. 

In 1748 George Washington, a 16-year old surveyor in training, sketched out a simple map of the area.   Little squares mark the warehouses owned by Scottish merchants and town fathers John Carlyle, William Ramsay and Hugh West. 

The following summer, West, the Fairfax County deputy surveyor laid out the town in 84 half-acre lots.   The streets were grid-designed, following the style of the day.    King, Cameron and Oronoco were prominent.   Oronoco was named after a type of tobacco.   

The sale of lots was held at the northwest corner of N. Lee (then at the water’s edge and N. Cameron and now marked by a commemorative marker).   Washington bought two lots for his brother-in-law (south side of the 200 block of King).  The other square parcels were snapped up in a hurry.

As the Historical Plan notes, West’s Point is “the earliest continuously occupied site in the city…  It was from this settlement, at the foot of a rolling road, with a clutch of buildings and a ferry that Alexandria emerged.” 

In the decades to come, development would begin on the other point of the bay, known today as the end point of Duke Street and where the Robinson Terminal South blocks views and interrupts the walk along the river.   It would become “Lumley’s Point,” now a poorly lit patch of grass rarely seen or visited.   

This is where the second hotel and other parts of the re-development will take place.   At both locations, the waterfront walk will be re-established.  The City’s waterfront plan recommends historic reminders including interpretive markers, and other measures.     

Those who opposed this plan are to be commended for their efforts. Three hotels was too many.  But this particular chapter of redevelopment is not the same as many of the others in Old Town.   Unlike before, it is desireable to tear down those corrugated steel eye-sores.   It is necessary to fund flood mitigation.   It is important to give our visitors more and closer stay options.   It is time to send those 18-wheelers somewhere else.  And before it is too late for some, it is time to put aside our differences and support the re-development of the Alexandria waterfront.  The history of our fair city awaits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because Mentioning the Cherry Trees (Especially on a Dreary Cold Winter Monday Morning) Is Never a Bad Thing

A cherished, pink-colored, long-time institution in the nation's capital could soon marry up with a popular, red-accented, new one, in an effort to make the former an even better one.  

Say what?

The National Park Service and Capital Bikeshare are working together to install five new stations in areas around the Tidal Basin.    The plan is to do so before the start of this year’s National Cherry Blossom Festival.   

With next to no parking down there, and the closest Metro stops a hike away, this is great news for festival- goers.   This year’s celebration will mark the 100^th anniversary of the gift from Japan.

And a head’s up (literally!) for new visitors and new bikers - watch out for those low, overhanging tree limbs!

 

Additional Reading:

The story of Washington’s cherry blossoms By Ichiro Fujisaki

 

 

 

 

Forum on “Remembering Slavery, Resistance and Freedom”

What exactly did the "Emancipation Proclamation" accomplish?   What are the most appropriate and effective ways to commemorate the Sesquicentennial of its release? At what sites in Northern Virginia should this take place?

On Saturday morning, these questions and other related issues were discussed at the Charles Houston Rec Center in the heart of the Parker-Gray section of Alexandria.   

Dr. Michael Blakey, Professor of Anthropology and American Studies at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, accompanied by four researchers from the university, led the four-hour public forum.  The planners are collecting ideas on how to commemorate the 150^th anniversary of President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863).

16 or so participants attended the event.   More than half represented or were aligned with historical organizations from across the region, while the others shared their areas of expertise.   The turn out was likely lessened due to the winter weather which slickened roads and making walking treacherous.

Officially designated as the “Remembering Slavery, Resistance and Freedom Project,” the planning effort is supported by the Virginia General Assembly’s Lincoln Subcommittee of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission, the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, and the College of William and Mary.

The participants voiced a variety of thoughtful ideas and suggestions, commensurate with the Northern Virginia region’s strong connections to this area of history.    

As far as recommendations for sites where commemorations could take place, a couple of participants mentioned several sites in Alexandria, including the Freedman’s and Contraband Cemetery, the Freedom House, the Bruin Slave Pen site (Edmonson Sisters sculpture), and the African-American Heritage Park.    

A handful of sites in Fairfax County were suggested and representatives from the District of Columbia offered their assistance with plans that could dovetail with the District’s sesquicentennial commemorations of  Emancipation Day.    Such inter-region planning is particularly important in the Washington region, given the separate funding and focus by historic organizations in Virginia, Maryland and the District.   

One lady from Falls Church, whose spouse indicated he is a descendant of the Edmonson Sisters, recommended the need for genealogical studies to tie the past with the present.    She recommended the recognition of distinct individuals, rather than a generalized approach.

The panel solicited thoughts on slave resistance as well.  Proving a poignant example, someone from Prince William County spoke about her research on Agnes, a slave in Brentsville, who murdered her owner Gerard Mason, grandson of George Mason in 1845.  

The forum’s discussions veered off track a few times, with focused points leading to broader issues, but this seemed inevitable.   Such are the nuances of discussing history.

During one discussion, it became apparent that emancipation can mean different things.   On April 16, 1862, some nine months before the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln signed the “Compensated Emancipation Act.”   It freed enslaved people in D.C., the first such act by the federal government.   In 2005, Emancipation Day became a public holiday in the District.

After the project team is finished with their survey, a website will be established.    The regional point of contact is Louis Hicks, Director with the Alexandria Black History Museum.

 

Note:  A few moments before the forum began, I had the chance to visit the Museum’s Reading Room. Quite impressive in the number of volumes.   

 

 

 

To Free a Family

After the seasonal lull, the author appearances are picking back up.     I went to the National Archives yesterday to hear Sydney Nathans talk about his new book, “To Free a Family, The Journey of Mary Walker.”   It is the story of how Walker escaped her owner in 1848, and then set out to gain the freedom for her son and daughter.

Walker, a Professor at the University of Duke, began by saying his research was a long journey.  He related, as he does in the book’s prologue, how his direction abruptly turned when he came across an emotional letter written in 1859 on behalf of Walker.    It was a plea to the owner of her two children she had left behind in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1848.   Walker had saved up money while working in Philadelphia, and was willing to “sacrifice anything to see them once again and have their young lives renew the freshness of her own weary spirit.”  

The author’s hunt for Walker’s story took him to Massachusetts and Colorado.   He poured through letters and diaries.   Herbert Gutman’s The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom proved to be a source of information and inspiration.    The story also includes Peter and Susan Lesley who befriended and assisted Walker.

Books galore have and will be written about battles, and Generals and Lincoln.   All are critical to understanding the conflict, but equally compelling are the stories of those such as Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman, who made the courageous escape from the bonds of slavery.   All of their stories stand in contrast to the belief that slavery destroyed African-American families.

Nathans’s book has 25 photos, including one of Frederick Walker, Mary’s grandson who was a Cambridge postman for 25 years.  I mention this because some of us standing in line for the book signing were curious if there was an image of Mary.    I asked the author and he said, unfortunately, no.  

This book is getting great reviews.    Hopefully more of these freedom sagas will come along during the Sesquicentennial.

 

Note:  Photojournalist Bruce Guthrie’s photos of the event are at his website.