Among many of the Halloween happenings around Alexandria this year is a new one on the waterfront: a conversion of the tall ship Providence into a ghost ship.
The Saturday (Oct. 28) before Halloween, the Providence is set to be decked out for the spooky season and will set sail along the river with a spooky party.
The Tall Ship Providence sailed up the Potomac River to its new permanent home at Waterfront Park in Alexandria on Tuesday, and the floating Senator John Warner Maritime Heritage Center will start offering interactive tours for the public starting this Saturday, June 17.
The effort to build the maritime center goes back to 2018, and construction started last year. In April, the center was floated up from Baltimore and final touches have been added to the two cottages housing an education center where visitors will get an immersive lesson about sailing during the Revolutionary War.
While Gen Z has decided, correctly, that Alexandria is superior to D.C., at least one local attraction is headed to the further shore for much of this year.
The Tall Ship Providence is planning to move to The Wharf for the “2022 cruise season” while construction is ongoing at the Senator John Warner Maritime Heritage Center in Old Town.
A barge, new pier and cottages are still joining the Tall Ship Providence as part of the historical exhibit, but the pandemic has forced the ship operates to reduce the scope of their nautical ambitions.
The Tall Ship Providence Foundation is seeking city permission at a Planning Commission meeting on March 2 to amend earlier amendments to improve the planned design and layout of pier, cottages and barge. The Maritime Center section of the Tall Ship Providence was originally approved last March.
It was a historic week in Alexandria.
Alexandrians overwhelmingly helped reelect U.S. Senator Mark Warner and Congressman Don Beyer, and 80% of voters chose Democrat former Vice President Joe Biden for president over incumbent Republican President Donald Trump.
In 1777, the original Tall Ship Providence found something eerie off the coast of New York — an abandoned, rudderless ghost ship full of rich clothing, bread and even a dog.
“We came within pistol shot and hailed her, but received no answer,” noted Marine Captain John Trevette in his diary.
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Ever wonder what it feels like to sail around the Potomac River in a sloop of war? The Tall Ship Providence, which is a replica of the first naval warship commissioned by the Continental Congress in 1775, is open to the public for tours and cruises.
Tall Ship officially opened to the public over the July 4 weekend, and it was a fitting opening date for the 110-foot, 12 gun sloop of war. The replica, which was unveiled in time for the 1976 Bicentennial, is almost exactly like the original Providence, with the exception of an engine, electricity and some air conditioning in the Captain’s quarters.
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