Part I
The resources in this section can all be accessed by the
address of the house, information that is likely to be
available to the beginning researcher. These sources
may lead to information about the owners of the property;
dates when property was built, changed hands, or was
altered; and the types of alterations that were done to
the house.
Alexandria City Directories. The earliest of the City Directories, which contain information about Alexandria residents and businesses, dates from 1791, and there is an almost continuous run of the directories from 1950 to 1980. Comparing information in the directories from year to year can lead to clues about the date a property was built. These resources can also be used to learn the function a property served, as well as the name of its owner. A useful feature appearing in editions from 1924 on is the crisscross directory, which is located in the back of each volume. This lists the properties by street, allowing the user to determine the name of the owner or resident of a particular address. Some of the earlier directories have only approximate addresses (e.g., Washington St. near Queen). Va. Ref. 917.55296 H
Building Permits. Covering dates from the 1890s to the 1920s, these permits provide information about the types of changes that were made to the building, when the changes were made, and who made them. There is an index which lists permits both by the address of the property and by the name of the owner, so the permits can also be used to find the owner of a particular address. Permits for later dates can be found at the Alexandria Archives and Records Center. Manuscript Collection Boxes 40-45
Built in America: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record 1933 - Present. Part of the Library of Congress's American Memory project, this collection contains images of architectural drawings, photographs, and notes on several Alexandria properties. The collection can be searched by keyword or browsed by subject or location.
Cox, Ethelyn. Historic Alexandria, Virginia, Street by Street: A Survey of Early Existing Buildings. This book is organized by street and contains photographs and descriptive information about a large number of historic Alexandria houses, often mentioning when a house was built and giving details about some of the owners. The book has information about both famous and lesser-known Alexandria houses. Cox’s book is an excellent place to start your research. Va. Ref. 917.55296 Cox
Davis, Deering, Stephen P. Dorsey and Ralph Cole Hall. Alexandria Houses 1750-1830. Although this book is rather old, it contains photographs of and information about several Alexandria houses and buildings, including some not found in Cox’s book. Va. Ref. 975.5295 Dav
Erickson, Philip M. Alexandria Water Company Permits: The First 1000 "Pipers". Information about the first 1000 buildings in Alexandria to install running water. The permits cover the years 1852-1922, and although some of these permits date from before the change in the street numbering system, all of the properties are identified by their current street number. The properties are indexed in four ways: by owner, inhabitant, date, and address. Some entries have additional information describing the nature of the buildings on the properties. Va. Ref. 975.5295 Eri
Ethelyn Cox Manuscript Collection. Of primary interest to the house hunter are Cox’s notes and research for Historic Alexandria. These include information about the sources she consulted, correspondence, and drafts of the text of the book. Like the book, the series is arranged by street. The Cox collection also includes materials related to her work with the Historic Alexandria Foundation. With finding aid. Manuscript Collection Box 287
Historic American Buildings Survey Drawings. Architectural drawings are available for several of the better-known historic properties in Old Town, including Lloyd House, Carlyle House, the Lyceum, and Gadsby’s Tavern. Map Collection Drawers 21, 22, 23
Hopkins 1877 Atlas of Alexandria. This map, which dates from before the change in the street numbering system, can be helpful in trying to identify the old-style address of a property. Microfilm Reel 00476; Map Collection
Morrill, Penny. Who Built Alexandria? Architects in Alexandria 1750-1900. The houses and other buildings in this book are arranged by the names of the architects who built them. It is necessary to know either the name of the architect or the house’s address, but the book gives good details about when the houses were built, the kinds of people who built them, and, sometimes, their owners. Va. Ref. 720.9755 Mor 1971
Photograph Collections. The different photograph collections contain many pictures of Alexandria buildings. Of special interest is the Cox Photograph Collection, which has prints of the photos used in Historic Alexandria. In the finding aid, photographs of buildings are grouped together by street.
Plumbing Permits. These permits, which cover the years 1936-1939, record the installation of running water in houses. They contain information about the owner of the house, the kind of house it was, what improvements were to be made, whether the house was old or new, and the name of the plumber who did the work. The permits are organized by street name, with all permits from the same street grouped together. Manuscript Collection Boxes 46A-46J
Ring, Constance K. and Wesley E. Pippenger. Alexandria, Virginia Town Lots 1749-1801, Together with the Proceedings of the Board of Trustees 1749-1780. Using information extracted from Fairfax County and Alexandria deeds and wills, this volume chronicles the histories of the lots into which the city of Alexandria was originally divided. The authors have provided maps to allow users to determine where the original lots were located. Helpful for tracing the names of owners and the dates on which land changed hands; less helpful for information about houses or other structures, which are not usually mentioned. Va. Ref. 929.3 Alexandria Rin
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. These detailed maps of the City of Alexandria, which are at street level and show every building, are an excellent resource for determining approximate dates for the construction or demolition of a particular building, its function, and the materials that were used to construct it. The 1885 map uses the original street numbering system. Eight maps are on microfilm; the earliest dates from 1885, the most recent has updates to 1958. The map collection also includes the original of the 1931 map, which does not appear on the microfilm. Microfilm Reel 00121; Map Collection
The Tax Assessor's Handiwork: Alexandria's Historic Structures Online. Images of the documents related to a special property tax assessment conducted in the late 1960s and early 1970s to document over 6,000 structures in Old Town. The original records are held at the City of Alexandria Archives and Records Center. This project is funded by a grant awarded in 2001 by the Library of Virginia. The project will take three years to complete and properties will be added throughout duration of the project.
Vertical File Materials. Files of information relating to commonly-researched topics, including materials on neighborhoods, streets, and historic properties. Also, the vertical files contain information about the Historic Alexandria Foundation, including details about their House Plaque Program. A subject list for the vertical files is available at the reference desk.