The driver of a privately owned dump truck got distracted and jumped the curb, hitting the building, according to Bill Conkey, Historic Architect for the City of Alexandria.

A spokesperson for the Alexandria Fire Department said the accident caused structural weakness to the building but declined to offer more details.

Following the accident, residents expressed concern about the structure’s condition and the landowner’s ability to repair the historic property with limited resources and materials.

“I remember Charlene’s. She rented the space, so the landlord is responsible for repairs. Hopefully, it will be up and running again soon,” Ann, a community resident, said. She declined to provide her surname for privacy purposes.

Although the Fire Department’s spokesperson said occurrences like the Nov. 20 accident are “uncommon,” community members wonder how to care for and maintain their historic residences. These additional considerations leave many residents questioning whether the responsibility of owning a historic home is worth the effort and cost.

“When moving into a historic area, you need to know the responsibility you are getting into or else don’t get a historic home,” Ann said.

The City of Alexandria Historic Zoning and Preservation Commission and the Board of Architectural Review provide online design guidelines for post and pre-1932 properties depending on location, year built, and whether the building is front or side facing the street.

But homeowners do not receive financial assistance from the city for privately owned properties, leaving many to fend for themselves when obtaining materials or any other historical equivalent that helps maintain Old Town’s signature historic atmosphere.

The Office of Historic Alexandria’s budget is over $4 million, according to Alexandria’s multi-year budget . The department oversees maintenance, preservation, and planning to ensure the historic heritage of public spaces remains intact, and the budget goes to supporting those initiatives.

Old Town Alexandria is a historic district with 40 properties registered on the National Registry of Historic Places.

“Some recent residents who moved to Old Town are looser regarding historical accuracy. The area’s appearance is why many move here. I don’t mind the additional requirements, but some do,” Robert Moore, an Old Town resident, who does not own property directly within the historic district, said.

Since residents face additional considerations, Moore said he worries whether newer community members find it worth it to maintain historic aesthetics and appeal by seeking out historically appropriate materials.

“Over time, [the board] will move with the people’s will and ease historic restrictions causing the area to lose its charm and uniqueness,” Moore said.

Alexandria’s Board of Architecture Review (BAR) has online design guidelines showcasing which materials residents can use for repairs on their property but have limited options when deciding what building materials fit BAR and the Historic Preservation Commission’s historically aesthetic standards.

“Some houses are fully documented. Others are not. We are currently working on a survey of the historic district where we hope to gather information on all buildings in the district,” Susan Hellman, principal planner at the City of Alexandria, said.

She said they are still “years away” from completing their survey efforts to document all the historic Old Town homes. According to Hellman, the city provides limited resources for maintaining these properties and does not have a centralized page with all information or resources but works toward streamlining the process for residents.

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Fire officials confirmed that the woman had to be removed from her car, a silver Toyota Corolla, using the “jaws of life” before being taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital.

Officials declined to comment on the extent of the woman’s injuries or the hospital to which she was taken.

The accident happened at the intersection of South Van Dorn Street and Greendale Village Drive just after 11 am. Police officials declined to comment on the other vehicle involved.

The accident and subsequent rescue halted northbound traffic on South Van Dorn Street for about 30 minutes.

Fairfax Police where at the scene clearing the accident and directing traffic. However, police officials declined to comment.

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The hospital exhibit was one of several the history museum offered this fall. Among others: and the .

These events are part of the Lyceum’s mission to help Alexandria preserve and celebrate its history.

The “Alexandria Hospital: Woman Mobilize the Community” exhibit opened on Oct. 27. it aims to present how local Alexandria organizations like “The Twig” helped fund and develop the hospital, according to the City of Alexandria and Lyceum faculty.

“The exhibit will be open for about a year, or a year and a half,” said Karen, a volunteer at the Lyceum. She declined to provide a last name for privacy purposes.

“The exhibit showed women’s role in funding, advocating, supporting, and serving Alexandria Hospital, and we presented recorded interviews with former nurses, along with candy-striper uniforms and memorabilia from that era,” Kristin Lloyd, Lyceum assistant director and curator, said.

On Halloween weekend, Oct. 30 to Oct. 31, the Lyceum offered “Poe in Alexandria,” two live performances by actor David Keltz, recreating Edgar Allen Poe’s 19th-century lectures, Lloyd said.

“For Poe in Alexandria, we considered the Halloween holiday. Edgar Allan Poe did not speak at our Lyceum, but was a Lyceum speaker and had family here. The Lyceum is an education movement in the first half of the 19th century, where communities would get together and hear lectures,” she said.

The Alexandria Lyceum relies on funding from the city, local and state grants, and donations. Additionally, the Lyceum rents its lecture hall for group events, meetings, and after-school programs.

“Most of the museums throughout the country at one time were not getting the funding. Thankfully, with support and funding from the City of Alexandria and other donations, we remain open,” Karen, a volunteer at the Old Town Alexandria Lyceum, said. She did not disclose her surname because she said she was not authorized to speak for the Lyceum.

The Lyceum remained operational throughout the Covid-19 pandemic with financial assistance from the Alexandria government. The Office of Historic Alexandria administers the Lyceum and other historic sites in Old Town, like Gadsby’s Tavern Museum and the Black History Museum, according to the .

“We couldn’t be open to the public for a while, but the staff would take turns coming in to address any issues with the structure’s maintenance and care,” Lloyd said.

Lloyd is responsible for organizing the museum’s displays. The Lyceum’s exhibits adapt based on season, historical anniversaries, and community interests.

“We do a lot of research for these exhibits. Sometimes we get artifacts loaned to us from other organizations or private collections, and sometimes we draw from our own collections. It depends on the direction we want, whether it be object-based or more text-based,” Lloyd said. “We aim to create exhibits, performances, and speeches with a good draw. An example of something that would not appeal to today’s audience is like Benjamin Hallowell, one of the founders of the Lyceum here, was ‘Vegetables of Theology,’” Lloyd said.

According to the Office of Historic Alexandria, Hallowell, a prominent Quaker teacher and abolitionist, and six other locals established the Lyceum in Alexandria during the public education movement in the 1820s.

Hallowell promoted the location as a place of “adult education,” which included a town library, exhibits on natural history, and life sciences, and hosted lectures on topics of interest to community members, according to Lloyd.

“The Lyceum is an essential part of this community, and I grew up going to it with my family when I was a boy. I learn new things with each changing exhibit,” Elmer Bustillo, a Lyceum visitor, said.

The Lyceum partners with other museums in Old Town to exchange information, research, program ideas and coordinates various events, according to Jennifer Lane, the Lyceum’s education coordinator.

“With less than 100 employees in our department, we really coordinate well with other museums in DC and around Old Town. It’s part of our living mission,” Lane said.

The Lyceum posts monthly event. However, some community members feel the Lyceum should further incorporate the community.

“I think the Lyceum is a beautiful building, but very underused. It should have more community outreach programs,” Steve, an Old Town resident, said. He declined to provide his surname due to privacy reasons.

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Today’s ballot included a fight between incumbent Rep. Donald S. Beyer Jr., a Democrat, and Republican challenger Katrina A. Lipsman to represent Virginia’s Eighth congressional district in the House. But voters also were looking forward to next year’s election when Alexandria next choses its local government, and these voters hope their elected will address their concerns.

Crime in Old Town has increased by 7% since the first five months of last year, according to the City of Alexandria Police.

“One of the big issues a lot of the people I spoke with is an increased crime in Alexandria, which played a major factor in whom they voted for. They want a reduction in crime and don’t feel Beyer has done enough to address it,” Taylor Barns, a voter and poll greeter, said.

Some voters say that, if those elected address education, violence could be contained.

“Hearing students’ voices more in the community will help alleviate violence. With the right people on the board, it can make a difference,” said Sheila, a poll worker who asked that her last name not be used.

These voters also said they hoped for more housing opportunities for low-income individuals. “A housing transformation from commercial to residential would help low-income individuals and provide cheaper alternatives which will curb the increased interest and inflation rates,” said one voter, who requested anonymity.

“My vote counts, and I want it to count toward improved education and low-income housing,” another anonymous voter said.

“It would be nice to get more support on these commercial to residential conversions, because housing is obviously an issue,“ Barns said.

Several of today’s voters noted that Old Town residents struggle to maintain serenity when helicopters, planes, and other air vehicles pass over the Potomac River. Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) is 10 minutes from Old Town, and these community members hope their elected officials will focus on existing and future noise ordinances.

“Our voice matters as a community. We want to see less crime and a with the president and vice-president making frequent international flights and incoming national flights over the Potomac disturb the neighborhood’s peace, making it hard to raise a family,” Alex Door, poll greeter, said.

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In some respects, yes. Americans agree on age limits for elected officials. A recent poll by show most voters are interested in setting an age limit for Congress and the presidency.

“Age seems to be gaining traction as something young voters care about,” according to David Barker, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies and American University professor. “It has not traditionally been something that has motivated voter interest,” he wrote in an email.

For a little more than a decade, the average American’s age has been 38. At the same time, the average age of a an elected official in the House or Senate is 63, so much older than  those they are elected to represent, according to a Washington D.C.-based data and media company.

Barker says years of experience can count.

“Just because someone has grown aged does not mean that they can’t do a great job, and experience DOES matter,” Barker wrote in an email.

But a report by the nonpartisan indicated that most Americans believe the age of officials has become more apparent and that elected officials no longer represent the concerns of younger generations.

“With relation to the same priorities, struggles, and ideology, I would say that it is very poor representation,” said Ron Elving, NPR Senior Editor and congressional correspondent.

However, “the longer a representative stays in office, the more power the representative receives,” said Elving, also an AU School of Public Affairs executive in residence.

Pelosi started as an intern

More than half of today’s leaders in the House of Representatives first won public office at age 35 or younger. According to , congressional members spend 40 years or longer in office, according to a statistic company specializing in marketing and consumer data.

“Nancy Pelosi began as an intern on the Hill 60 years ago; that’s six, zero. When you get a jam at the top of the leadership for roughly speaking a generation, that’s a long time to suppress the ambitions of people below you,” Elving said.

Karoline Leavitt, 25, a former President Trump White House aide, recently won the GOP primary in New Hampshire. Similarly, Joe Vogel, D-Md., Nabeela Syed, D-Ill., Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and Ray Reed, D-Mo., are among candidates between 25 and 30 who ran to revitalize their communities, states, and cities, according to the candidates’ official campaign websites.

“An ideal form of representation would be one that proportionally represented the demographics of American society, age, race, gender, class, sexuality,” Rashika Pedris, 33, voter, wrote in an email.

Millennials are increasing as congressional candidates, according to the , which is aimed at growing young leaders in Congress. In 2020, some generation Z citizens, born in 1997, became eligible to vote, according to the . The youthful trend for electing candidates from younger generations continued to grow throughout every state in the country, Able to elect someone who would represent them through public policy and action.

Leadership ‘out of touch’

A recent survey by , a think tank and polling firm, noted that younger generations like Millennials and Generation Z do not feel represented by the current 117^th Congress and that the representatives are not prioritizing issues relevant to the current political and social climate.

The Millennial Action Project and Data For Progress detailed concerns young voters consider when voting. Many prioritized climate concerns, inflation, crime, safety, and reproductive rights. The survey showed that only 78 out of 4,014 diverse felt represented by the 117^th Congress regarding age.

“Democratic leaders in Congress are old and out of touch,” Kaylen Ralph, contributor to Teen Vogue, wrote in an article referring to the lack of generational representation in Congress.

How old are they?

The oldest Congressional members, are Rep. Don Young R-Ark., 88, Sen. Dianne Feinstein D-Calif., 88, Sen. Chuck Grassley R-Iowa, 88, Sen. Richard Shelby R-Ala., 87, and Sen. Jim Inhofe R-Okla., 86.

For comparison, the youngest members of Congress include Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-NC, 27, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, 33, Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., 32, Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-NY, 33 and Rep. Jake LaTurner, R-Kan., 33.

“It’s scary to think that these people who are 60 to 70, for the most part, make such big decisions that will continue to affect my children when they are long gone,” Gabi Casais, 25, a real estate agent said.

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To achieve this, the city last month opened an Oral History Center aimed at preserving memories and stories through verbal interviews with community members.

The Oral History Center is currently located at The Lloyd House on 220 North Washington Street. The center provides information on how to conduct an oral history on the Alexandria City .

Francesco De Salvatore, manager of the Alexandria Oral History Center, said he hopes to acquire a building specific to oral histories by next year to make the experience more interactive.

The new Oral History Center offers training and services to community members who want to document their stories in a public online historical archive.

Old Town Alexandria’s city government dedicated funds and resources to a “full-time” oral history center, according to De Salvatore. Funds for the center came from the city, grants, and the American Rescue Plan Act.

Old Town Alexandria’s archaeological department conducted oral histories in the 1960s and ’70s. But it was not until last September that the Old Town Alexandria Council ordered a center dedicated to oral history.

The center launched the “StoryKit” program to teach the community how to conduct an oral history, its methods, and practices so that community members can create historical records for themselves.

“One aspect is collecting the everyday life, Alexandria. But the other aspect is actually training people and putting people in charge of the interpretation and preservation of their histories and the city’s history,” De Salvatore said.

The Oral History Center also partners with other local organizations for community-driven on efforts. One such project is the preservation of Douglas Cemetery, a historic 1895 Black burial ground.

The once-forgotten sight fell into disrepair and poor condition until recently when the City of Alexandria, Old Town Village, the Social Responsibility Group, and the Friends of Douglass Cemetery became interested in caring for the cemetery, according to the City of Alexandria.

“In terms of oral history, we are going to be working on recording descendants of the cemetery, and there’s many, there’s dozens,” De Salvatore said, “These efforts preserve various outlooks and lifestyles within Old Town.”

The Oral History Center assists with programs outside the Old Town Alexandria area. The center used conservation and oral recording practices to document the near Old Town, a site currently used as a 66-unit affordable housing community, according to the Samuel Madden website.

The new Samuel Madden Redevelopment project in Alexandria will redevelop the housing unit to include a “sustainable mixed-use community with affordable and workforce housing,” according to the Samuel Madden website.

“Part of the mitigation efforts is to record people who lived there in the past and currently,” De Salvatore said.

Oral histories are crucial for understanding a community and documenting life, according to Dan Kerr, an American University professor and past president of the Oral History Association. Community members can share their experiences and provide first-hand accounts of historical moments through their unique voice, style, interpretation, and behavior.

The Twig, an Old Town Alexandria-based nonprofit organization founded in 1933, is one of the first community-oriented organizations to use the services provided by the Oral History Center.

“The Twig is going to be celebrating our 90th year next year, and so I wanted to record and put down our participation in the growth of Alexandria.” The Twig President, Michele Cumberland, said.

The Twig is an Old Town Alexandria-based nonprofit that exclusively donates funds to the Alexandria Hospital. “The Twig” name refers to “a small branch of the tree which supported Alexandria Hospital,” according to The Twig’s website.

The Oral History Center program aims to detail the lives, actions, memories, and perceptions of Alexandria with a focus on communities that “commonly and unfortunately were pushed out of historical narratives,” according to De Salvatore.

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Work on a new sewer tunnel began last year, and Alexandria Sanitary Infrastructure Division Chief Erin Bevis-Carver said the project is scheduled for completion in 2025. The system will replace the original Combined Sewer System (CSS) with one that separates rainwater from contaminated sewage.

“Climate change has not helped Old Town. Every year it floods more. The threat from Hurricane Ian proved we needed this update,” Bevis-Carver said.

Project developer RiverReview says the updated system will prevent 140 million gallons of combined sewage from entering Old Town Alexandria’s waterways.

“It is a water quality project. What happens in an average year causes 140 million gallons of combined sewage to overflow into the Potomac River, Hunting Creek, and Holmes Run,” Caitlin Feehan, RiverRenew’s program director, said.

Alexandria’s City Council created AlexRenew, formerly Alexandria Sanitation Authority, to build, operate and maintain sewage treatment systems. RiverReview is a project partnership between the City of Alexandria and AlexRenew.

The Water Infrastructure Finance funds the project, and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loaned AlexRenew $307 million, half of the project’s total cost. Additional funding came from state grants, loans, and cash contributions from AlexRenew, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and RiverReview.

Although flooding in Alexandria will continue, when it floods, the updated system will capture rainwater and prevent sewage from entering waterways like the Potomac River, according to Bevis-Carver.

“These overflows happen every single time it rains; 91���� a quarter inch of rain results in an overflow from these outfalls, containing bacteria, nitrogen, and phosphorus, which pollutes our waterways,” Justin Carl, program manager for Alexandria’s water treatment department, said. “When we are done, overflows will be less than 17 million gallons a year and goes from 70 to four events on average.”

A similar large-scale project usually takes 10 to 15 years to complete. Viriginia in 2017 authorized the construction of a sewer system that did not pollute the Potomac River or other local waterways. And, it set a seven-year time limit to expedite the process and combat a growing national water management issue.

The mandate created a strict project deadline where AlexRenew prioritised scheduling, planning, material coordination, and “going from 0% design to an operational system in seven years,” Carl said. “We had to stack a lot of activities to make this doable.”

The wastewater process uses activated microbes that dissolve the waste and run through a tertiary process, filtering bacteria using ultraviolet light before the water reenters the waterways. The new tunnel stores water and transports the captured water to AlexRenew’s wastewater treatment facility, located within walking distance from Old Town Alexandria at 1800 Limerick St.

AlexRenew’s wastewater treatment facility operates 24 hours a day throughout the year to ensure water treatment expectations. The project aims to provide healthier, more beautiful waterways, a safer environment for wildlife, and new and improved public spaces by the waterfront, according to RiverReview.

“Right now, we have one of the most advanced wastewater treatment plants in the United States on one of the smallest footprints,” Carl said. “We are treating wastewater to near drinking water standards.”

Project planning and development began in 2017, during which AlexRenew faced pandemic-related shutdowns, material shortages, and Ukraine war-related equipment shortages. AlexRenew’s tunnel project, despite the challenges, kept on schedule to “beat” the July 1st, 2025 deadline, according to Carl.

“All along the way, we worked with really great partners that have been able to work with us and collaborate in order to achieve the scheduled date,” Feehan said.

AlexRenew took precautions to ensure the project left a minimal imprint on historic Old Town Alexandria and worked alongside the community to help preserve the city’s storied history.

“Most of our project touches the most historic areas of Alexandria. We had to site these facilities in a historic setting,” Carl said. “We wanted the community to make sure they felt part of this project and remained continuous of the construction impacts they had to endure.”

“Flooding continues to be a problem in Old Town. It is a curiosity for the people who come down specifically to see the flooding,” Alexis VonSchoening, a clerk with The Old Town Shop clerk, said. “Business and accessibility depend on a lot of factors, whether the town closes off a road or we have to use sandbags. It’s a mixed bag, sometimes flooding happens, and sometimes it doesn’t. Hopefully, the new system can help alleviate some issues.”

Similar entities to AlexRenew are working on projects like the one in Old Town. Washington, D.C., built a combined sewer system in 2008 and recently expanded the system to the Anacostia to filter rain and sewer water away from waterways. Diversion of rainwater and sewage is not only a tristate initiative; 740 communities nationwide are working toward cleaner waterways through proper wastewater management, according to AlexRenew.

AlexRenew completed three proceeding projects in 2021 before beginning Alexandria’s tunnel project. “This project is unique because it is the largest infrastructure project in Alexandria’s history,” Feehan said. “AlexRenew does not expect to do any more tunnels after this.”

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Artists protest a plan to revitalize Alexandria’s Torpedo Factory Art Center, saying the city’s new re-jurying process drives out long-established art center studio members.

The City of Alexandria implemented the “Action Plan for Vibrancy & Sustainability” at the Torpedo Factory to examine an artist’s marketability, personality, background, and understanding of current artistic trends. The jury granted 26 out of 78 applicants a studio in 2022, leading artists to question the application process’s fairness, transparency, and ease.

“I felt ambushed and betrayed. I’ve been here since ’77, and I was good enough until now. All of a sudden, I’m not good enough anymore,” re-juried Torpedo Factory Artist Gerda Atzl said.

However, American University art professor Jack Rasmussen, a 2022 Torpedo Factory juror, said, “Yes, artists are, in a sense, being kicked out. Some of these artists have been there 30 years. So, they wanted to re-evaluate what was in the Torpedo Factory because, otherwise, it’s this never changing thing.”

Alexandria took control of all Torpedo Factory operations in 2018. Since then, artists say they have felt betrayed, saddened, and hurt by Alexandria’s new Action Plan for Vibrancy & Sustainability. The plan took effect on Dec. 14, 2021. The plan is intended to re-assess and circulate new artists into Torpedo Factory studios to attract people and revenue to aid in the center’s popularity and upkeep.

“The Vibrancy Plan will re-establish the art center’s identity for a 21st Century audience,” according to the 2022 Open Call Jury Report. The Vibrancy plan will re-assess and terminate artist contracts and replace them with artists Alexandria finds “more agreeable,” according to the Vibrancy Initiative.

The Vibrancy Initiative aimed to revitalize the building with a focus on public ease of access, establishing the waterfront entrance as the main entrance, and offering more “hands-on” opportunities. The interactive approach would allow the Torpedo Factory to provide more public services and increase interest in art and culture, according to the initiative.

The initiative will increase fundraising opportunities to support the community and explore alternative outreach methods. Alternative methods include modified hours to meet visitor needs, lessen artist fatigue, and provide more private studio time.

Torpedo Factory Director Brett John Johnson declined to comment but provided written information detailing how the center  qualified artists for a studio. The process is divided into three phases, based on a 100-point system.

Phase one, worth 50 points, had jurors determine craftsmanship and originality and if the artist “reflects awareness of current trends and aesthetics in the larger art world.” Phase two, worth 25 points, had jurors judge whether artists could explain their artistic process and engage with an audience. The artists need to market themselves and their work in person and through a social media presence. In phase three, worth  25 points, jurors looked at the art’s quality and vetted how artists communicated and behaved with the public.

Artists are separated into three groups. Group A artists who obtained a studio between 1975 and 2003 and are subject to rejury now, group B artists who obtained a studio from 2004 to 2017 will not re-jury until 2023, and group C artists who acquired a studio from 2018 to 2021 will not be juried until 2024.

Artists said they also felt abused during the pandemic when the Art Center closed. “They closed for two years. I paid rent throughout those two years with nothing really coming in. Then, when I came back and situated, I was re-juried and told I could no longer keep the studio. It’s an injury to insult. My work is good,” jewelry artist Marcos Teixeira said.

“A board of artists for artists, then, the city began removing board members and placing city-appointed members who started making changes,” Texieria said.

Alexandria has owned the Torpedo Factory since 1969. The city managed the art center for 22 years. Afterwards, the city used third parties to operate the facility, including the Torpedo Factory Artists Association, a group of artists who ran its operations.

“The jury here does not work with the artists. They work against them. There is no longer a sense of community within the Torpedo Factory,” Torpedo Factory Artist M. Alexander Gray said. Gray acquired his studio in 2014 and will not re-jury until next year.

The Torpedo Factory near King Street is a gathering place and art gallery for local artists willing to sell their work to the public. The Factory began as a munition storage facility built at the end of World War I in 1918. It functioned as a construction plant for Mark II and III torpedoes and a munitions storage for 32 years before being converted to an art center in 1974.

Additional Sources:

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