News

On This Day in Alexandria History — “On June 4, 1870, the Friendship Firehouse on South Alfred Street (built 1855) was reported to be in structurally unsound condition, requiring the removal of all fire equipment stored in the building. Although the building had only been constructed fifteen years earlier, the massive steeple that then topped the building was often battered by high winds, twisting the small structure below and allowing rain water to penetrate the roof and framing. This issue, coupled with deferred maintenance during the Civil War period, required that the tall steeple be replaced by a lower cupola instead. Although the new cupola was an improvement, twisting and weather infiltration continued to plague the building for decades, and was only rectified when the cupola was restored and strengthened by the City of Alexandria in 2010.” [Historic Alexandria]

Croatian Ambassador Visits Alexandria — “When one of the best football teams in the world picks your city, you roll out the welcome mat. Alexandria is Team Croatia’s official World Cup Team Base Camp, so it was only fitting that we gave Croatian Ambassador Pjer Šimunović a taste of what Alexandria has to offer.” [Visit Alexandria/X]

On This Day in Alexandria History — “On June 3, 1897, just after midnight, a large fire broke out at Herbert Bryant’s fertilizer mill on the Strand. It spread quickly, destroying Bryant’s warehouse, Pioneer Mills and the Old Dominion Boat Club, and numerous other buildings and wharves along The Strand from Duke to Prince Streets. Considered virtually fireproof at the time of its completion in March 1854, Pioneer Mills was a massive structure was built of brick with a slate roof, and stood over six stories high, with the roof elevated 77 feet above the first floor. Built for the American Steam Power Company, the mill was capable of producing eight hundred barrels of flour per day, processed by grinding over four thousand bushels of wheat through 12 sets of “run-of-burr” millstones.” [Historic Alexandria]

Fox5 to Broadcast from Old Town Friday Morning — “Tune in or attend the FOX 5 morning-long live broadcast from Alexandria’s Waterfront Park this Friday, June 5. The 7—11 a.m. ET broadcast is part of the station’s annual Zip Trips series, in which they highlight communities around the D.C. region on Fridays during the summer. The news team is working in coordination with Visit Alexandria and our partners at the City of Alexandria.” [Visit Alexandria news release]