Free Republic

OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Nestled in centuries of dirt and debris, several well-preserved ships and artifacts have been unearthed that offer a glimpse of life at what was once one of the busiest ports in the North American colonies. At the site for Robinson Landing, a new townhouse and condominium development along the Potomac River here, excavations have uncovered the protruding, curved wooden bones of the ships. Three ships were scuttled and buried here centuries ago as Alexandria sought to expand its land into the deeper waters of the river. “It tells us a lot about the resourcefulness of...

In the Old Town historic district here, tourists and shoppers stroll brick sidewalks along King Street and peer into a wide range of boutiques — rug shops, antiques dealers, a cheese shop, even a comic book store. Old Town’s latest offering, though, has been stopping visitors in their tracks since it opened in January. It is called Le Tache, a “couples boutique,” more commonly known as a sex shop, which is sandwiched between art galleries whose offerings are more common in Old Town than colorful vibrators and steamy DVDs. The boutique’s owner leased the building after a dispute between the...

OLD TOWN — Thousands of brass tacks, hammered by hand, scatter light across the glossy, cedar-planked hull of a 17-foot canoe, cradled on sawhorses in the Old Town Canoe Co. wood shop. That's the way they've built canoes here for a century. Upstairs, workers install seats in 12-foot kayaks made from PolyLink3, a patented composite that sandwiches flotation foam between two layers of strong plastic. That's how modern boats are made. The past and future intermingle here at Old Town Canoe, the country's largest canoe and kayak maker. This summer has been a time to reflect on that heritage, as...