Getting a Colonial Education or, Stuff White People Like: Historic Areas

As I was walking to class from the King Street Metro station yesterday it hit me—I’m back in school and in another colonial universe, Old Town Alexandria. Completely unintentionally, I’ve managed to get all of my higher education in areas where the buildings and initial planning efforts date from a really long time ago. Williamsburg is certainly older, as it became Virginia’s capital in 1698 and George Washington didn’t start laying out Old Town Alexandria until 1749, but the architecture, active preservation efforts, strong senses of history and community, and good coffee shops are very similar.

It’s funny how things you’ve never realized about yourself can all of a sudden snap into focus. Of course I’m consistently surrounded by historic areas; I’m an enormous geek who loves colonial-era architecture, mature trees, and cobblestone sidewalks. Being surrounded by old buildings and period clothing wasn’t the reason I chose to attend William and Mary or the reason I’m now attending Virginia Tech’s Alexandria campus, but the propensity towards historic areas isn’t purely coincidental either. While other high school seniors were looking for schools with good football teams, lots of opportunities for socializing and extracurricular activities, and an Ivy league name for their diplomas, I was suckered in visions of laying in the Sunken Garden reading post-modern literature, sitting on a bench in Colonial Williamsburg under a tree whose leaves are changing colors talking to the new best friends I was going to make, and taking classes in the architectural gem of the Sir Christopher Wren Building.

Thinking about it now, I realize that a sense of place has been important to me for a long time. Knowing that, urban planning becomes the natural thing for me to study. I know I owe a debt to my mother for instilling in me this appreciation of place. When we moved back to Hampton Roads in 1997, as I was entering high school, she insisted that we needed to live in a gorgeous old Norfolk neighborhood with mature magnolia trees and houses that dated from the 1930s and 40s. Most of the other people I knew in high school lived in much newer, sparkling houses that were far more convenient to our school (my mom took turns with another mom driving us 30 minutes to school every day), but my attachment to the aesthetics of that neighborhood, the people we met there, and the memories I have with my family from that time have completely colored my preferences for houses and neighborhoods. Living in an older house with a depth of character and an established neighborhood is an experience that I want to have and want my future family to have.

Alexandria is great because it has a strong sense of place without being as overwhelming as D.C. and it’s proximate enough to D.C. to take full advantage of participating in the regional economy. I’m a new pedestrian in Alexandria, so I’m still getting the lay of the land, trying to find the best coffee, and nailing down the best bookstore. I’m dying to go to the old movie theatre on King Street, dreaming that it can compare to the Kimball but not getting my hopes up.