Parker-Gray - Alexandria

Parker-Gray is a historic 40-block area located in the northwest quadrant of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.  The largest historically black neighborhood in Alexandria, Parker-Gray was settled by freed Blacks before the Civil War and at one time was considered the best neighborhood in town for successful middle-class black entrepreneurs and government employees. Sometimes called "the Harlem of Alexandria," Parker-Gray hosted the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles at American Legion Post 129 when white venues wouldn't admit them.  A black library, created in 1939 in protest against a whites-only library, still stands as the Black History Resource Center.  

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Parker-Gray History

The community draws its name from two former Alexandria educators, John Parker and Sarah Gray.  The segregated school for black students, which opened in Alexandria in 1920, was named Parker-Gray in honor of John Parker and Sarah Gray, who had been principals of two segregated schools during the later part of the 19th century.   Today, many of the buildings and town homes date back to the mid-to-late 19th century.  As the neighborhood has gentrified, many of the town homes and row houses have been lovingly restored to their former glory and are interspersed with newer developments such as the Lofts at Braddock Metro and newly constructed condo buildings.  The 2008 Braddock-area improvement plan helped spur the tear-down of old warehouses to make way for new parks and retail spaces while improving the value of the existing housing stock.

Parker-Gray Location

Parker-Gray is located west of Washington Street extending north to south from First Street to Cameron Street and from east to west from Alfred Street to N.  West Street.   Close to all of the attractions that Old Town has to offer as well as the Potomac River Waterfront and Mount Vernon Bike Trail, Parker-Gray is also a quick drive to Reagan National Airport, the Pentagon and Downtown DC.  The Braddock Road Metro Station on the Yellow and Blue lines is the closest metro station to the area.