Artist Todd Healy Will Debut His 2025 Old Town Calendar at 75th Birthday Celebration

ALEXANDRIA, VA-On November 4, Todd Healy turned 75, but he’s have to wait until Saturday, November 9, to celebrate with his Old Town friends and family. That day, he will be at Gadsby’s Tavern in Old Town on November 9th for a party to celebrate. And you are invited. There will be cookies, cupcakes, coffee, and a whole show of Todd Healy’s holiday offerings, including the newest calendar.

Healy frequently refers to himself as “this old guy,” but don’t let him fool you. He’s still working every day.

He “retired to Richmond to be nearer his daughter and grandchildren.” Still, he scoots back to Old Town whenever he can and retains many customers who regularly request custom framing or to buy a particular print or hand-colored antique bird’s eye map for a gift.

His passion is the historic architecture of Old Town Alexandria and the period maps of familiar cities such as Richmond, Washington D.C., and Annapolis. He admires the original work of the map makers. “These guys were in balloons in the 1800s hanging over whatever city, with a fountain pen and some kind of canvas,” he says. “I like to hand-color and restore an original and then reproduce them as collectible giclee prints that make them affordable.”

“Growing up in Alexandria, I have fond memories of Mr. Healy’s iconic calendar,” said Maura Burchette, owner of Monday’s Child, “and now I get to live in a house on Captain’s Row that he’s painted”

Burchette said she got to know him by visiting his studio on Royal Street, where he was always welcoming, with his door wide open and sitting in his armchair. “He was very engaging with my three boys, encouraging their artistic pursuits,” added Bruchette who said they purchased a big bird’s eye view of Old Town, and when her son created his own version at age six, Healy graciously offered to frame it. “Both versions now hold a special place on our wall,” she remarked. “He also insisted on framing my boys’ letters from overnight camp, in which they complain about how miserable they are and how much they hate camp. They are my favorite frames in the house!”

In 2016, noted journalist Cokie Roberts marked the sesquicentennial of the Civil War with a riveting book called Capital Dames, which examined women’s experiences, influence, and contributions during that time. Todd Healy’s hand-colored 1860s period bird’s eye view of Washington, D.C., was the book’s cover art.

Healy’s work lines the walls of many Alexandria homes and businesses. His signature pen-and-ink drawings, depicting the most iconic buildings in town, are the building blocks of his career and the subject of 45 years of his month-to-month calendars.

Each year he claims this will be his last calendar. “But this one could be it,” protests Healy. “I don’t know how much longer I can do it. Really.”

That makes this year’s edition a future collectible. Todd’s work is legendary, but his calendar is always the talk of the town around this time of year, especially amongst those who have been around the cobblestones a while and know about tradition. When you put away the holiday trimmings, you also pull down the old Healy calendar and hang the new one.

And yes, millennials, this is an actual paper calendar. And you hang it on a nail. “On the inside door of the pantry is where mine holds vigil all through the year,” says Susan Hahn, who lives in Mount Vernon. “We love all things Todd Healy—we have the ornaments too!”

Each month a different building is featured, colored, and accented for the seasons. More than one or two people have framed every one of the top pages and used them as décor. Each original drawing usually takes over 300 hours, about which he remarks, “I do it to honor the significant contributions of the craftsmen who built the buildings and made Alexandria such an extraordinary place to live and work, then and now.”

Healy’s original drawings of places like Christ Church, Friendship Fire Company, Gadsby’s Tavern, Carlyle House, Captain’s Row, and the Spite House are available as prints, framed and unframed. They are also used to inspire note cards, bag tags, gift bags, shopping lists, notepads, and ornaments.

In case you miss the celebration at Gadsby’s Tavern, 135 N, Royal Street, on November 9 (9 a.m. until 3 p.m.) and need to find the calendar or one of Healy’s other gift items, they will be available at Monday’s Child, 127 S. Fairfax Street, or Boxwood, 1205 King Street.

“I fell in love with Todd Healy’s work when we were shop neighbors on Royal Street,” Boxwood owner Joanna Sxczerban told the Zebra, “It’s classic Alexandria.”

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