Site Type: Historic District / Historic Community

Historical Significance:

The Cross Canal neighborhood was a quiet rural area during the Civil War, named for its position just across the Alexandria Canal at the northeast tip of the city. Barges moved cargos of grain, whiskey, lumber, or coal through the canal locks along First Street from 1843 until the canal closed in 1886. African-Americans may have moved to Cross Canal in search of affordable housing, or in order to be close to jobs at the wharves. Some worked at the Old Dominion Glass Factory, a bottle manufacturer located on North Fairfax Street from 1901 to 1925.

No early buildings from Cross Canal survive. A plaque at North Fairfax and Montgomery streets commemorates the neighborhood, and another at 800 North Royal Street commemorates the Alexandria Canal—still intact underneath the nearby tennis courts. The Alexandria Canal Tide Lock reconstruction in the waterfront park at the foot of Montgomery Street provides a history of the canal.

Physical Description:

The Cross Canal area centers around the 800 block of North Fairfax Street between Montgomery and First Streets, bordered on the western side by South Royal Street. None of the buildings survive. However, a plaque at North Fairfax and Montgomery Streets commemorates the neighborhood. The Alexandria Canal Tide Lock reconstruction can be enjoyed in the waterfront park at the foot of Montgomery Street. Another plaque on 800 North Royal Street commemorates the Alexandria Canal which still remains underneath the tennis courts.