The annual Taste of Old Town North will return Thursday, Sept. 18, from 4 to 8 p.m. in Montgomery Park, featuring local restaurant tastings, live music and family-friendly activities.
The free event at 901 North Royal Street will showcase neighborhood restaurants, including Jula’s on the Potomac, Hank’s Oyster Bar, MacMillan Spirit and Ale House, Hank’s Pasta Bar, Hotel AKA Alexandria’s a.lounge+bar, and St. Elmo’s Old Town North Coffee Pub.
After years in development, The Art League will celebrate the opening of two new locations for art classes in Old Town North with a block party.
The free, family-friendly event will be held at the new Slaters Lane Annex (800 Slaters Lane) at 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 6, featuring art demonstrations, food, and ice cream bowls created by local artists, among other activities.
It’s been an intense week in Alexandria. Here’s a look at our top stories.
Our most-read story is on a woman found dead outside her apartment during an eviction process on Wednesday, Aug. 19. The Alexandria Sheriff’s Office reported on social media that deputies were conducting an eviction at an apartment at 400 Madison Street at around 9 a.m., when they found the adult woman dead outside the building. The woman’s identity and the circumstances surrounding her death have not been released.
An upcoming pub crawl in Old Town North will teach participants a little bit of Alexandria history.
On Saturday, Sept. 13, the North Old Town Independent Citizens Association (NOTICe) is hosting Canal Watering Holes: Alexandria Canal History and Pub Crawl. Tickets for the event, which runs from 1 to 4 p.m., cost $35 for individuals and $60 for couples.
Alexandria’s Department of Planning and Zoning has a full docket at its upcoming bi-monthly virtual community meeting.
On Sept. 2 (Tuesday), planning and zoning staff will conduct a meeting via Zoom to discuss updates to these issues:
A new hair spa will hold its ribbon cutting later this month in Old Town North.
GloWell Hair Spa officially opened in May at 712 N. Washington Street. At 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 19, spa owner Alleyah Miner, her staff, and visitors will formally cut the ribbon for the business.
The Alexandria Roller Rink in Old Town North was open from 1948 to 1986 (via Office of Historic Alexandria)Next month, the Alexandria Historical Society will host a behind-the-scenes panel to reflect on the legacy of a long-lost landmark: the Alexandria Roller Rink.
With its maple floors and Wurlitzer organ, the Alexandria Roller Rink (807 N. St. Asaph Street) could hold 3,000 skaters at a time. It wasn’t all about skating, though. In the 1970s, the rink was advertised as a “psychedelic ballroom” and the “Alexandria Rock Arena” and hosted concerts with stars like Janis Joplin, Jethro Tull, and Alice Cooper, according to the Office of Historic Alexandria.
Alexandria’s Waterfront Commission is gearing up for its yearly walking tour of the Old Town North waterfront on Saturday (June 21). This two-hour public event will showcase recent developments and ongoing projects along the Potomac River.
The tour kicks off at 8 a.m. from Oronoco Bay Park, covering key spots like Canal Center, the new TideLock project, and the Potomac River Generating Station redevelopment site.
No injuries were reported after a townhouse fire in Old Town North Monday morning (June 16).
The Alexandria Fire Department was called at around 3:30 a.m. by neighbors of the two-level home in the 1000 block of Vernon Street. AFD saw white smoke billowing from the rear of the home, and found difficulty gaining entry due to “hoarding conditions,” according to AFD dispatches.
A plan to convert a former motel on N. Washington Street into a multifamily building and a townhouse is heading to the Board of Architectural Review on Thursday (June 5).
Maryland-based PT Blooms is asking the Board of Architectural Review to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness to redevelop the property at 802 and 808 N. Washington Street into The Whitley — Phase 2, a 48-unit building with one- to three-bedroom condos. That’s the former Towne Motel property, which closed in 2017 and didn’t reopen as a Holiday Inn Express as planned.
It’s finally Friday in Alexandria!
Here’s a look back at our top stories of the week. Topping off our coverage are the delectable poll results on the top three Mexican restaurants in the city. More than 1,800 foodies cast their votes, and Taqueria el Poblano (2400B Mount Vernon Avenue) in Del Ray took the top spot, followed by Taqueria Picoso (1472 N. Beauregard Street) and Los Tios Grill (2615 Mount Vernon Avenue). Do you agree with the results?
