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Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA

Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

MuseumsLocal GemRainy-Day PickFree

Torpedo Factory Art Center

105 N Union St · Alexandria, VA

Why you should go…

The Torpedo Factory Art Center fills a former U.S. Naval Torpedo Station on the Potomac waterfront in Old Town Alexandria. You can wander three floors of open studios where artists in painting, ceramics, photography and jewelry work and sell their pieces, plus galleries and the Alexandria Archaeology Museum. A green Mark XIV torpedo built here in 1945 still sits in the main hall.

  • #art center
  • #artist studios
  • #old town alexandria
  • #art galleries
  • #archaeology museum

Good to know

General museums guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Check the special exhibition separately

    Touring shows usually carry their own ticket and their own opening hours, listed apart from general admission.

  • Look for the free window

    Many museums run community days, member evenings, or discounted late openings. It is worth a look before you pay full price.

  • Travel light through the door

    Large bags and backpacks often have to go to a coat check, and lines for it move slowly at opening.

  • Weekday mornings beat weekend afternoons

    School groups clear out by early afternoon midweek, while weekends stay busy from late morning on.

What's around here?

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

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Office of Historic Alexandria

    Free

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

    0.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • 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.

    1.1 mi awaySwitch it up: Stay

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Alexandria

    Free

    A historic riverside city just south of Washington, D.C., known for cobblestone Old Town and the King Street waterfront.

    1.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums
    Powerful

    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

    Free

    A profound, self-guided journey through Holocaust history just off the Mall, free, with timed passes for the Permanent Exhibition.

    5.7 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    Rainy-Day Pick

    National Museum of Asian Art

    Free

    Walk two connected Smithsonian galleries of Asian art on the National Mall, including the Peacock Room.

    5.8 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    Free

    Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

    Free

    See modern and contemporary art in a drum-shaped Smithsonian museum on the National Mall, with a sunken sculpture garden beside it.

    5.8 mi awayMore like this