Uptown-Parker-Gray Historic District
Also known as: VDHR File Number: 100-0133
Why it's listed
Covering most of the northwestern quadrant of Old Town Alexandria, this district follows a street grid laid out in 1797, though most of the land stayed vacant until the 1860s and nearly all surviving buildings date from after 1870. Small frame and brick row houses and town houses dominate, many with restrained Italianate, Queen Anne, Greek Revival and Colonial Revival details. Brick Colonial Revival rows built by developers fill whole blocks in the west, and more than 200 units of public housing from the 1940s to 1959 stand in the northeast. Warehouses line former railroad routes along North Henry and North Fayette Streets. Queen Street was once the city's main African-American business district, and a segregated school opened in the neighborhood in 1920, helping define it as the Parker-Gray community. Recent infill and restorations blend with older fabric, so the district keeps its architectural coherence. It contains 984 contributing resources.
Significance in brief: The district is a historically African American neighborhood whose development followed the city's slow growth, with frame row houses, Colonial Revival row houses and public housing, and commercial buildings. The Queen Street corridor was once the city's primary African-American business district. The form also ties it to the segregated school built in 1920 and to the period ending in 1959.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 09001232, listed January 12, 2010. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly Cameron St. N. to 1st St. and N. Columbus St. W. to the following sts forming W. line, Buchanan, N. West, Alexandria (Independent City) |
|---|---|
| County | Alexandria |
| Listed | January 12, 2010 |
| Reference number | 09001232 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Queen Anne, Italianate, Colonial Revival, Art Deco/Modern |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Black, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Historic and current functions are mainly domestic, with religious, commercial, funerary and recreational uses also present. Many historic houses have been restored in the last twenty years. |
| Acreage | 201.6 |
| Within district | Alexandria Historic District |
| Coordinates | 38.81209, -77.05034 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 09001232.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14713425
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.