Freedom House Museum

Owner: Office of Historic Alexandria | Services: Cost Estimating

This National Historic Landmark at 1315 Duke Street in Alexandria was built in 1812. From 1828 to 1837, the building housed the most significant domestic slave trading company in the United States; this continued as the primary function of the building until 1861 when Union troops took over the building.

The City of Alexandria purchased the property in March 2020. Before the sale, the three-story, 9,673-square-foot Federalist-style row house functioned as office space with a small museum in the basement. Shortly after the acquisition, Mayor Justin Wilson initiated the renovation and conversion of the building, stating, “Freedom House is vital to telling Alexandria’s story…What happened at 1315 Duke St. had a terrible and lasting impact on America…Freedom House encourages us to speak truth to power and delve deeper to confront the hard, honest truths about race, class, and equity in this country.”

The Office of Historic Alexandria (OHA) commissioned a design team to produce a report on the historic structure, including treatment and use options to support OHA’s vision for the property.

The rehabilitation project focuses on stabilizing and protecting the building and returning the early portions to their pre-Civil War appearance, which helps tell the story of the domestic slave trade to its fullest. Once the project is complete, anticipated in late 2025, the museum will continue to honor the lives and experiences of the enslaved and free Black people who lived in and were trafficked through Alexandria.