Lecture: “Military Housing in Alexandria”

The Alexandria Historical Society and the Office of Historic Alexandria present a virtual lecture, “Military Housing in Alexandria,” by Ryan Reft, a historian at the Library of Congress. Built as part of the Lanham Act of World War II, Chinquapin Village, Ramsey Homes, and Cameron Valley in Alexandria provided quarters for war workers, veterans, and service personnel and their families. Each housing complex persisted after the war due to the needs of an expanding Cold War military, growing military industrial complex and a national housing shortage. Due in great part to their construction and the families that resided in them, wartime housing transformed Alexandria from a small southern city into a growing and developing suburb. In particular, Chinquapin Village’s history serves as a window into the racial and class hierarchies of the day as well as Alexandria’s struggle to position itself in a burgeoning and competitive Northern Virginia suburban landscape.

Tickets are $6 for non-members and free to members of the Alexandria Historical Society.
Purchase tickets at https://shop.alexandriava.gov/EventPurchase.aspx
Guests will receive an email with the Zoom meeting link, Meeting ID, and password by noon the day prior to the lecture. Ticket sales will close at 4 p.m the day of the lecture.