Potomac, Historic district in Alexandria, Virginia, US
Potomac is a historic district in Virginia with an independent street grid separate from the neighboring Old Town and containing roughly 690 residential buildings spread across about 1,840 acres. The houses were built over several decades, creating a cohesive residential neighborhood with its own character.
The area originated in 1894 from several smaller settlements and was formally incorporated as the Town of Potomac in 1908, marking its establishment as an independent community. This expansion reflected the growth of residential areas around Washington D.C. in the early modern period.
The area shows the development of a suburban community with early 20th-century houses built along streetcar routes and reflecting middle-class living patterns of the time. Walking through, you still see the original layout of these neighborhoods that shaped daily community life.
Visitors should know this is a cohesive residential area best explored on foot or by car, since the buildings spread across a wider area rather than clustering in one spot. There is no central attraction, so the experience comes from discovering the streets and house styles of this historic district at your own pace.
The residential buildings show a wide range of architectural styles from Victorian to Craftsman, making five decades of different building trends visible at a glance. Walking through, you can directly read the evolution of residential design and taste preferences of that era from the building facades themselves.
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