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The Athenaeum, Alexandria, VA

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MuseumsHistory BuffLocal Gem

The Athenaeum

Step into an 1851 Greek Revival bank in Old Town Alexandria that now holds changing art shows and small concerts.

201 Prince Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 · Alexandria, VA

About The Athenaeum

This Greek Revival building at Prince and Lee streets opened in 1851 and 1852 as the Bank of the Old Dominion, where Robert E. Lee kept an account. Union forces used it as a quartermaster's office during the Civil War, and it later housed a bank, a wholesale pharmacy and, from 1925 to 1964, a church. Since 1964 the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association has owned it and runs a gallery with changing exhibitions plus talks and concerts. It is a short walk from the Old Town waterfront.

  • #art gallery
  • #historic building
  • #old town alexandria
  • #greek revival
  • #exhibitions

What's around here?

The closest stops to The Athenaeum, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Museums
    Local Gem

    Torpedo Factory Art Center

    No admission fee

    A former Navy torpedo plant on the Old Town waterfront where you watch artists at work in three floors of open studios.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    Steps awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Office of Historic Alexandria

    No admission fee

    The City of Alexandria agency that runs the city's historic museums and sites, headquartered at the Lloyd House.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    0.3 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums

    Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum

    Under $25

    A history museum in Old Town Alexandria housed in an 1839 building that once served as a lecture hall and library.

    0.3 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Freedom House Museum

    Under $25

    Learn the history of the domestic slave trade inside the Alexandria building where Franklin and Armfield, the largest US slave-trading firm, kept its office.

    0.7 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    History Buff

    Jones Point Park

    Check prices

    Walk or bike the Mount Vernon Trail to a riverside park with an 1856 lighthouse and the south cornerstone of the original District of Columbia.

    0.8 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Stay
    Date Night

    Hilton Alexandria Old Town

    $50+

    A full-service hotel on King Street one block from the King Street-Old Town Metro, a short walk from Old Town shops and dining.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    1.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Stay

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