The Athenaeum is a gallery of fine arts and a performance venue in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is also home to the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association since 1964. The building is an important example of

Greek Revival architecture Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

. The Athenaeum has a long history and has served several purposes during its lifetime. The building is now part of the Virginia Trust and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1980.

History

The land on which the edifice hosting the museum was built belonged to

William Fairfax William Fairfax (1691–1757) was a political appointee of the British Crown in several colonies as well as a planter and politician in the Colony of Virginia. Fairfax served as Collector of Customs in Barbados, Chief Justice and governor of the ...

; it was surveyed by

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

. The building was constructed between 1851 and 1852 at the intersection of Lee and Prince streets to serve as the office of the Bank of the Old Dominion, where it is reported that

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

had an account. The bank was at the head of the ''Captains' Row'', a block of 18th-century buildings that still face the cobblestone street. The Bank of the Old Dominion operated at the site until the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, when Alexandria was occupied by the Union forces and the building became the abode of the U.S. Commissary Quartermaster. The Bank of the Old Dominion closed its doors in 1862, but the building again hosted a bank, this time the First Virginia Bank, in the years from 1870 to 1907. In 1907 the building started to be used by the pharmaceutical wholesalers Leadbeater and Sons, one of the oldest Alexandria firms. In 1925 the property passed to the

Free Methodist Church The Free Methodist Church (FMC) is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement, based in the United States. It is Evangelicalism, evangelical in nature and is Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian in theology. The Free Met ...

of North America, which used it until 1964, when the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association (NVFAA) purchased the building. The NVFAA still owns the property, which is used for several purposes, mainly for fine arts exhibitions. It was formerly a satellite office to the Washington School of Ballet. The Athenaeum is part of the Virginia Trust and is listed on the

. The building, also known as the ''Old Dominion Bank Building'', is one of the few privately owned buildings in Alexandria open to the public and thus depends largely on community donations for its survival.

References

External links

Athenaeum, Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association
- official site {{authority control National Register of Historic Places in Alexandria, Virginia Buildings and structures in Alexandria, Virginia Bank buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Art museums and galleries established in 1964 Museums in Alexandria, Virginia Commercial buildings completed in 1852 Greek Revival architecture in Virginia Arts centers in Virginia 1964 establishments in Virginia