Freedom House Museum

Virginia budget provides $1M to rehabilitate Alexandria’s historic Freedom House Museum

Published July 1, 2026 at 9:15AM

Freedom House Museum (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

Alexandria’s Freedom House Museum has received $1 million in Virginia’s approved two-year budget to support its continued renovations.

The $1 million in state funding provided in the 2027 fiscal year and matching city funds through the Office of Historic Alexandria will support interior rehabilitation and accessibility improvements at 1315 Duke Street. Historic Alexandria director Gretchen M. Bulova told ALXnow the upgrades will provide public access to the basement where enslaved men were held when it was home to one of the country’s largest slave trading companies.

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Shiloh Baptist Church receives $360K grant to preserve historic sanctuary

By Emily Leayman

Published March 2, 2026 at 3:45PM

Shiloh Baptist Church (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria’s Shiloh Baptist Church is among more than 30 historically Black churches to receive a new grant aimed at preserving and restoring their buildings.

The church at 1401 Jamieson Avenue has received $360,000 from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund as part of its Preserving Black Churches grant program. Recipients were announced last week.

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African American History Division director discusses ways to explore Alexandria’s vast history

By ALXnow.com

Published February 20, 2026 at 3:30PM

Alexandria Black History Museum (image via City of Alexandria)

Audrey Davis, the first director of the African American History Division in the Office of Historic Alexandria, is at the forefront of preserving and showcasing the city’s Black history.

Black History Month has brought music, historical discussions and exhibits, displays of student art and so much more to Alexandria this month, commemorating a vast history spanning hundreds of years, from the 18th century to the Civil Rights Movement and present day.

Around Town

Alexandria celebrating 100 years of Black History Month with music, exhibits and more

By Emily Leayman

Published February 3, 2026 at 1:15PM | Updated February 3, 2026 at 4:30PM

The Washington Revels perform "The Courage to Be" at the Alexandria Lyceum for Black History Month 2025 (via Washington Revels/Facebook)

Various events will honor Black history in Alexandria as this February marks the 100th anniversary of Black History Month being nationally observed.

Founded in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson, Black History Month is an observance to preserve and honor Black history as a month-long celebration. Alexandria has its own rich Black and African American history, dating back to 18th century free Black communities to the 19th century slave trading operations and Civil War, to the 1939 library sit-in protest and 2020 protests after George Floyd’s death.

Around Town

History tours, concerts and more coming to Alexandria this winter for America’s 250th anniversary

By James Cullum

Published January 5, 2026 at 2:45PM

The 1st Virginia Regiment of the Continental Line cries 'Huzzah!' at the George Washington Birthday Parade in Old Town, Feb. 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

From historical tours and adult field trips to trivia nights, several events coming to Alexandria this winter will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States.

The various roles Alexandria played in the forging of the U.S. will be told in events across the city. The events are compiled in a list by the American Revolution 250 Commission, or VA250, which was established by the General Assembly in 2020.

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Freedom House Museum reopens after exterior renovations restore pre-Civil War appearance

By James Cullum

Published November 10, 2025 at 3:50PM

A poster shows the Freedom House Museum's new look (top left), before exterior renovations (bottom left) and during mid-1860s (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

The Freedom House Museum reopened last Thursday following over a year of exterior renovations to restore the building’s pre-Civil War facade.

Alexandria leaders cut the ribbon on the renovations during a ceremony Saturday afternoon, where Mayor Alyia Gaskins said the museum — formerly a site where slave traders trafficked tens of thousands of enslaved peoples — serves as a declaration that the city will not forget its history.

Around Town

Freedom House Museum to reopen after exterior restoration

By Ryan Belmore

Published October 27, 2025 at 12:00PM

The newly rehabilitated front façade of the Freedom House Museum. (via alexandriava.org)

The Freedom House Museum will reopen to the public Nov. 6 following the completion of exterior rehabilitation work that restored the building’s pre-Civil War appearance, the city announced Monday.

The Office of Historic Alexandria will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. at the museum, located at 1315 Duke Street. Experts will be available from 1-3 p.m. that day to discuss details of the renovation work.

News

Three historic houses unite for Freedom House Museum fundraiser

By James Cullum

Published July 15, 2025 at 10:30AM

Freedom House Museum (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

Alexandria is fundraising for one of its historic crown jewels, which is undergoing renovation.

The Office of Historic Alexandria is conducting a historical discussion and fundraiser on Sunday, July 20, at the Morrison House Hotel (116 S. Alfred Street) to benefit the Freedom House restoration project. The event features a historic discussion on the former slave pen with actor William T. Newman and town crier Ben Fiore-Walker, as well as readings from the Alexandria-based mystery novel “Spite House” by John Wasowicz.

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Alexandria’s historic sites part of major museum social impact study

By Ryan Belmore

Published March 18, 2025 at 10:30AM

Alexandria Black History Museum (image via City of Alexandria)

The Office of Historic Alexandria wants your help with a national study on how museums impact society. It’s one of 40 institutions chosen for the Museum Social Impact in Practice (MSIIP) study, and it needs at least 150 people to visit three museums and share their thoughts.

This study, backed by the American Alliance of Museums and funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, runs until July. If you participate and complete the survey, you’ll get a special gift, an invite to hear about the results in November and free membership to the ALXHistoryLovers Society.