If you’re looking for those new Ray-Ban smart glasses, look no further than the new Sunglass Hut in Old Town.
After being vacant nearly four years, the shop officially opened last week in the former longtime home of Gap Outlet at 622 King Street.
Both Gap Outlet and its Banana Republic sister store (628 King Street) at the corner of King and Washington Streets closed in Jan. 2021.
The former Banana Republic space is now a Chase Bank.
Alexandria Living Magazine first reported last month that Sunglass Hut was opening at the space.
As previously reported, the original building at 628 and 622 King Street was constructed as a 600-seat theatre in 1854. During the Civil War, the building was named Washington Hall General Hospital, and contained 100 beds for Union soldiers. The building would become a laundromat and insurance firm before burning down.
“The two lots were then combined and a new structure on the site was built for retail purposes, a Lerner’s store which prospered well into the mid-twentieth century when downtown Alexandria was the center of shopping in Northern Virginia,”according to the Office of Historic Alexandria.
