Waterfront Park | ALXnow

City Looking on Feedback to Send Art Installation at Waterfront Park to Old Town Pool

Published October 26, 2020 at 5:05PM

New public art at Waterfront Park (Photo by James Cullum)

The Wrought, Knit, Labors, Legacies art installation at Waterfront Park will be taken down next month at Waterfront Park, and the public is being asked to weigh in on a proposal to temporarily move the installation outside of Old Town Pool (1609 Cameron Street).

The four figurative sculptures by Olalekan Jeyifous are meant to convey Alexandria’s history with African American quilting and textile designs, and was unveiled in March. The installation is the second to occupy the public art space at Waterfront Park, after the Mirror Mirror installation in 2019.

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There’s a Candlelight Vigil For Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg in Old Town Thursday Night

By James Cullum

Published September 22, 2020 at 11:30AM

There will be a candlelight vigil for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Old Town on Thursday night.

Ginsburg passed away at the age of 87 on September 18. She and served on the court for 27 years.

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published September 22, 2020 at 9:00AM

Virginia Tech Announces Advisory Board for Innovation Campus — “The board consists of company leaders along with several tech pioneers. Members include Sanju Bansal, founder and CEO of Hunch Analytics; Dave Calhoun, president and CEO of Boeing; Ted Colbert, executive vice president of Boeing; Joe DeSimone, professor at Stanford University and executive chairman and co-founder of Carbon; Lynne Doughtie, former chairman and CEO of KPMG; Regina Dugan, CEO of Wellcome Leap; Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm; Russ Ramsey, board chair of Greater Washington Partnership; Kathy Warden, CEO, of Northrop Grumman Corporation; Glenn Youngkin, co-chief executive officer of The Carlyle Group.” [Patch]

Beyer: Trump and Republicans Should Feel Same Urgency With COVID-19 as Ginsburg Replacement — “Imagine if Donald Trump and Senate Republicans felt this urgency about responding to a pandemic that has now killed over 200,000 Americans. 4 months ago the House passed a bill to help American families and boost the economy. Mitch McConnell said he didn’t feel any ‘urgency.'” [Twitter]

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published August 25, 2020 at 9:00AM

New Virginia Majority Wants to Suspend Evictions to April 2021 — “Do you live in SD-39 (parts of Alexandria, southern Fairfax County & northern Prince William County)? Your community needs YOU to urge Senator George Barker to support legislation to stop evictions in Virginia through April 30, 2021.” [Facebook]

Beyer Continues Daily Stream of Anti-Republican/Trump Social Messaging — “Still thinking about when Trump wanted to inject people with bleach.” [Twitter]

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published June 18, 2020 at 9:00AM

Large Income Disparities in Alexandria — “White Alexandria is pulling in significantly more money than Hispanic workers and African Americans, according to numbers from the United States Census Bureau. A look at average income shows non-Hispanic whites make more than $85,000 a year. That’s more than three times the average income for Hispanic workers, $24,000, and more than twice the average income for black workers, $37,000.” [Gazette]

Water Taxi Returns to Old Town — “A face mask requirement and other safety measures are in place for the limited water taxi service.” [Patch]

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published June 17, 2020 at 9:00AM

Waterfront Park along the Potomac River in Alexandria, with National Harbor and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in the background. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

Beyer Criticizes Pence Over Second Wave Comments — “Over 116,000 Americans have died. Over 2,000,000 have gotten sick. The person appointed by the President to lead the response (you) flout basic safety precautions recommended by the CDC to prevent spread of the virus as more people get sick.” [Twitter]

Alexandria DMV Opening June 22 by Appointment Only — “The validity of driver’s licenses and identification cards expiring on or before July 31, 2020, is extended for 90 days, not to exceed August 31, 2020. This means that a customer whose credential expired between March 15 and May 31 will have 90 days beyond the expiration date to renew, and credentials with an expiration date from June 1 to July 31 must be renewed no later than August 31, 2020. Vehicle registrations that expire in March, April, and May are extended for 90 days; those expiring in June are extended for 60 days; and those expiring in July are extended for 30 days. In addition, the federal enforcement date for REAL IDs was moved to October 1, 2021.” [DMV]

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Waterfront Park Art Project to be Completed Next Week

By Vernon Miles

Published March 19, 2020 at 3:15PM | Updated March 20, 2020 at 2:14AM

New public art at Waterfront Park (Photo by James Cullum)

Despite the coronavirus pandemic and economic woes afflicting Alexandrians, there’s a rare bright spot today: the art project at Waterfront Park in Old Town is nearly complete and on-course to be finished next week.

The designs for the new art project from Olalekan Jeyifous at the park were first unveiled last year. They depict silhouetted figures representing the city’s history of slavery and its role in building the industries Alexandria was later known for.

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Planning Commission Approves Tall Ship Providence Maritime Center at Waterfront Park

By James Cullum

Published March 4, 2020 at 12:45PM | Updated March 5, 2020 at 12:59AM

The Tall Ship Providence Foundation's proposed maritime center at Waterfront Park. (Image via City of Alexandria)

The Alexandria Planning Commission unanimously approved a new maritime center for the Tall Ship Providence on Tuesday night.

If passed by city council, the 18th-century replica ship will be docked at a new floating pier at Waterfront Park.

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Here Are the Top Alexandria Stories of 2019

By James Cullum

Published January 2, 2020 at 3:30PM

It was quite a year in Alexandria. It’s safe to say that 202o will be just as busy, but in the meantime let’s take a look at the top stories from the last year.

1. The Seminary Road Diet

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Old Dominion Boat Club Hopes to Shore Up its Docking Options on the Waterfront

By Vernon Miles

Published December 3, 2019 at 11:35AM | Updated December 3, 2019 at 12:24PM

Plans for a new pier at the Old Dominion Boat Club (photo via City of Alexandria)

A plan to replace a disused pier would help the Old Dominion Boat Club bring more boats to Alexandria and hopefully make the waterfront a little cleaner.

In plans submitted to the City of Alexandria, the boat club in Old Town laid out its vision for replacing an outdated and disused wharf just to the south of the club’s location on The Strand with a new pier and floating dock.

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EXCLUSIVE: First Look at the Next Waterfront Art Project Replacing ‘Mirror Mirror’

By Vernon Miles

Published November 20, 2019 at 1:50PM

Olalekan Jeyifous' concept proposal for Site/See: New Views in Old Town, 2020 (image courtesy Office of the Arts)

The new art project coming to Waterfront Park (1 Prince Street) next year will feature a series of silhouettes representing the city’s history of slavery.

The concept renderings from artist Olalekan Jeyifous feature four three-dimensional silhouettes, each roughly 11 feet tall, with industrial imagery carved into the bodies. The figures will face out towards the river. The ground of the plaza will be covered with a pattern referencing African-American quilting — mixing traditional symbols with ones that represent industries from the city’s past — like an armory and rail tracks.