ALEXANDRIA,VA- The Freedom House Museum, which was once home to the largest domestic slave trading firm in the country, is up for sale. The four level office/townhome at 1315 Duke Street is owned by the City and the Northern Virginia Urban League, and has a listing price of $2.1 million.
Alexandrian Glenn Klauss wants the city to buy the property so that the building is publicly accessible.
““The dealers that did business at 1315 Duke Street were considered the largest traders of enslaved people in the US, with about a million children, women, and men passing through the building,” Klauss wrote to city council on social media. “I would prefer to buy the house now, stabilize it, and mothball it while we search for a nonprofit partner.”
According to the listing on LoopNet.com, the four level, 20-room building is “[i]deally suited for association or non-profit headquarters, law firm, public affairs or other professional firm.” The building includes an elevator, six bathrooms, a sprinkler system, and a private parking lot that can accommodate a dozen cars. Its real estate taxes in 2019 were $19,411.
Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson said that the city is actively working to keep the building open to the public.
“We are working to ensure this property remains publicly accessible (as) we expand the interpretation of the significant history on this site,” Wilson said on Facebook.
