History PhD students lead walking tour about LGBTQ history of Old Town Alexandria
Sunday, June 29, 2025 2:00 PM EDT
Off-Campus Location
Out and About in Old Town
Uncovering LGBTQ+ History in Alexandria
A Behind-the-Scenes Walking Tour
Begins at the Torpedo Factory Art Center
Join the Alexandria Historical Society for a one-of-a-kind walking tour exploring powerful, real-life stories
of LGBTQ+ activism, community, and change in Alexandria from the 1970s through the 1990s.
Led by George Mason University graduate students and 2024 AHS Golden Grant recipients, this tour brings
history to life at the very sites where it happened.
Highlights include:
• French Quarter Café (now Don Taco) – Once a trailblazing gay bar, central to the 1991 court case that
overturned Virginia’s discriminatory ABC rule.
• Alexandria City Hall – Site of the 1988 vote that made Alexandria the first locality in Virginia to ban
discrimination based on sexual orientation.
• The Torpedo Factory – Where local artists marked the 1993 Day Without Art to mourn lives lost to AIDS.
Route & Access:
• Tour distance: ~1 mile
• Terrain: Mostly flat, brick sidewalks
• Registrants will receive details via email the day before the tour
Register Today:
• AHS Members: alexandriahistoricalsociety.org/membertour
• Non-Members: alexandriahistoricalsociety.org/nontour
• Learn More: alexandriahistoricalsociety.org/outabouttour
Contact: alexandriahistoricalsociety@gmail.com
Presented by: Alexandria Historical Society
Take a walk through Alexandria’s LGBTQ+ legacy—and help ensure these stories are never forgotten.
