Alexandria, VA – We were fortunate to have last month’s photo submitted to our online Facebook group by Ken Crutchfield a couple of months ago. The image features the shoreline at low tide at the foot of Prince Street, with a glimpse of the Tall Ship Providence in the background. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the image to me is the unlikely revelation of rarely seen remnants of an old dock.
As a child, I used to see the tops of a few pilings from the same dock, which were less eroded in the 1960s. What I didn’t realize at the time was that these pilings are all that remain of the old dock owned by the Norfolk & Washington Steamboat Company. Known informally as the Night Boat, the company’s route ran from the Maine Avenue wharf to Norfolk, with stops along the way in Alexandria and Old Point Comfort.
These boats carried freight and passengers as well as their cars. The steamboat line ran roughly from 1891 to 1949. Operations ended after WWII, mainly because the federal government requisitioned two of their three steamboats, and they were too expensive to replace, especially with a changing transportation system emerging after the war. The old dock at the foot of Prince Street lay neglected until it deteriorated into the Potomac in 1959.
Have you noticed this around town? Where is it? What do you know about it?
To see more quirky photos and close-up angles of secret and not-so-secret spots in Old Town, Alexandria, and jump in with guesses, and comments, follow the discussion, and submit your own photos for consideration, join the Unseen Old Town Facebook group!
As for the photo above, we will reveal what it is and where it is in our next issue, along with a new one for you to ponder.
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