Museums in Alexandria

Historic Museums

Alexandria's historic district preserves the civic and social life of early America through its specialized museums. This collection features Gadsby’s Tavern, a center for 18th-century political gatherings, and the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary, which remains stocked with original botanical medicines and hand-blown glass. The list also includes the Friendship Firehouse, established in 1774, and The Lyceum, which serves as the city’s history museum within an 1839 Greek Revival building. Specialized exhibits at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Museum showcase the evolution of American intellectual property.

Dmadeo / CC BY-SA 3.0

Gadsby's Tavern Museum

Gadsby's Tavern is a complex of historic buildings at 134 and 138 North Royal Street at the corner of Cameron Street in the Old Town…

Ser Amantio di Nicolao / CC BY 3.0

Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Musuem

The Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Shop/Museum is a historic apothecary's shop in Alexandria, Virginia, that has been preserved as a museum.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Museum

Great museum concerned with patents and inventions. Various items on display and educational tours.

Friendship Fire Station

Established in 1774, this historic firehouse occupies an 1855 building. It displays a collection of 19th-century firefighting equipment, including hand-drawn fire engines, suction pumpers, and leather fire buckets used by Alexandria’s early volunteer fire companies.

Lyceum Museum

Housed in an 1839 Greek Revival building, this museum documents Alexandria's history through colonial artifacts, Civil War-era medical tools from its time as a hospital, and local decorative arts.