Market Square (Historical Marker)
GPS Coordinates: 38.8047274, -77.0434976
Closest Address: 301 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:
Market Square
Old Town
— Welcome City of Alexandria 1749 —
Alexandria's Market Square was established only a few years after the town was founded in 1749. The site selected was centrally located in a prime block of the colonial settlement, immediately adjacent to the City Hall. At the time, Cameron and North Fairfax Streets were the main avenues in Alexandria, and that intersection was considered one of the most important in Northern Virginia.
Originally, Market Square was little more than a scruffy field where housewares, foodstuffs, animals, meat and local farm products would be sold to local townspeople or those coming to Alexandria from its rural hinterlands. The area was also used for other purposes, such as the sale of African slaves imported through an established process of global trade, and the mustering of local militias to maintain the town's security and military order in the region. But the late 18th century, the square itself began to be developed with permanent structures and buildings, providing a premier location for prospering shops, taverns and warehouses, which often included a residence for their owners.
By the start of the Civil War, buildings framed the block fronts of the square, with the marketplace reduced in size to an interior courtyard accessed by two small alleys. Sharpskin Alley connected the mid-block space between North Royal and North Fairfax Streets, and Market Alley linked Sharpskin to King in the direct center of the block. Within this confined space, supplemented by open stalls built at the rear of City Hall, a huge variety of commercial activities took place, often spreading out on the public sidewalks outside the square. The area was even the early home of the Friendship Fire Company before its move to South Alfred Street in 1855.
Until the mid-20th century, commercial activity at Market Square businesses thrived as Alexandria maintained its role as Northern Virginia's most important urban center. However, by the 1950s, development of new residential and commercial centers in outlying suburban areas caused Alexandria's downtown to decline. Within the next decade, a large urban renewal project was implemented to revitalize the downtown business district, resulting in the demolition of dozens of buildings to recreate the openness of the original public square. Instead of an open field, the current brick plaza and fountain serve as the focal point of a new, modern Alexandria, and a multi-level parking garage is provided beneath this public square.
The Old Town Farmers' Market has been held year round each Saturday morning at the Market Square for more than 260 years; George Washington sent his produce from Mount Vernon to be sold at the market. In fact, Old Town Farmers' Market is the oldest farmers' market in the country held continuously at the same site. Today, the market offers residents of and visitors to Alexandria a way to reconnect to the past, while participating in an ongoing local and national tradition. During the peak season, more than 70 vendors sell an abundance of items, including fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry, cheeses, breads, pastries, fresh pasta, pickled vegetables, cut flowers, potted plants, soaps, fabric art and paintings.
Erected by City of Alexandria.
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Here follows an excerpt from the "Jaybird's Jottings" blog in 2010 as written by Jay Roberts:
Old Town Alexandria Commemorative Plaques: Market Square
Market Square, Park and Garage (Gadsby Commercial Urban Renewal Project, Phase One)
109 N. Royal
We now come to one of the most controversial chapters in Old Town’s history. In 1963, the City introduced plans for urban renewal in the “blighted section of the city.” I’m not sure how many buildings were targeted, but Walter B. Douglas’s report in the Washington Post (June 15, 1963) noted that the City had identified “all or part of 13 downtown blocks.”
Preservationists fought tooth and nail to stop the destruction of the homes and buildings on both sides of the 300, 400, 500 and 600 blocks of King Street, as well as an “L-shaped residential project” along Princess and N. Pitt. It should be noted that the latter was not part of the Gadsby Commercial Urban Renewal.
The Gadsby plan consisted of three phases. The first included what is now Market Square, plus the square block to its west (King, N. Pitt, Cameron, N. Royal), and half blocks to the south.
A walk along this portion of King Street today clearly identifies the delineation of old and neo-Colonial office buildings and stores.
Opinions differ on Market Square’s look. One thing I find remarkable and interesting is the plaque itself. It pays homage to the park, and the garage, and was placed by the entrance to the underground parking lot.
Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but you get the impression someone was gloating that day the plaque was unveiled. Of course, it was the V8 era.