Del Ray officially lost one of its most famous residents this week, as Vice President JD Vance moved from his Del Ray home to the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory. The move also means that Judy Lowe Neighborhood Park at 1 E. Del Ray, which is next to Vance’s former home has reopened to the public.
The reopening of the park was announced on the city website. Moving trucks were spotted by an ALXnow tipster on Saturday, Jan. 18 — two days before the inauguration.
The Republican bought the nearby home for $1.6 million in Feb. 2023, just three months after being elected to the U.S. Senate. A year-and-a-half later, Vance was named President Trump’s vice presidential nominee, resulting in the closure of Judy Lowe Neighborhood Park whenever he or his family were home.
Concrete Jersey barriers were erected at the park, as the U.S. Secret Service set up camp and shut down E. Del Ray Avenue. The barriers were soon covered with chalk graffiti, and then painted over.
Vance is the second vice president to live in Alexandria.
Former President Gerald Ford, his wife and children moved to the city in 1951 during his second term in Congress. Ford even lived in the city with his family as vice president, and gave the keynote address for his son’s graduation from T.C. Williams High School. For his first 10 days in office as president, Ford commuted to the White House from Alexandria. He was also sworn into office as president in 1974 in a suit cleaned and pressed the night before by Presto Valet in Alexandria.
“For me, leaving the White House wasn’t nearly so much of a wrench as leaving our house in Alexandria,” said former First Lady Betty Ford.
