#AlexandriaVirginia

[gcmyers]

Just a few of the available paintings now at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria. #gcmyersart #gcmyers #redtreetimes #redroofs #principlegallery #principlegalleryalexandria #art #principlegalleryalex #alexandriavirginia #alexarts #kingstreetgallery #artgallery #smallworks #smallpaintings #fineart #island #landscapepainting #symbolism #symboliclandscape #baseballpaintings #baseballart #baseball #boatpaintings #redroofsounds Alexandria. #gcmyersart #gcmyers #redtreetimes #redroofs #principlegallery #principlegalleryalexandria #art #principlegalleryalex #alexandriavirginia #alexarts #kingstreetgallery #artgallery #smallworks #smallpaintings #fineart #island #landscapepainting #symbolism #symboliclandscape #baseballpaintings #baseballart #baseball #boatpaintings #redroofs (at Principle Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmcE2skOsgE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[tigerbites-art]

Alexandria, Virginia Explore the charming streets of Alexandria, Virginia, and fall in love with its historic beauty.

[cat-chit-ananda]

Alexandria, Virginia

Discover the hidden gems of Alexandria, Virginia, where history comes to life at every turn.

[mmmgoodies]

Good Vibes 😎 . . . . #mmmgoodies #frozencustard #VisitALX #virginiaisforlovers #oldtownalexandria #alexandriava #alexandria #foodporn #dcfoodporn #extraordinaryalx #washingtondc #virginia #alexandriavirginia #shopsmall #visitalexandria #oldtown #nova #northernvirginia #arlingtonva #GODisCEO (at Goodies Frozen Custard & Treats) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClpXDt3NZrx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[snakehouserva]

#alexandriavirginia Queer married couple session, we had a lovely little walk through the warf area, I took the amtrak train up and it was about an hour from #richmondvirginia — I can’t wait to travel again.

[caitsith810]

WMATA Metrobus 2014-2015 NABI 42-BRT Hybrid 8084 on the NH2. #virginia #Alexandria #alexandriava #alexandriavirginia #wmata #wmatametrobus #metrobus #nabi #northamericanbusindustries #bus #transit #transportation #ig_va #ig_virginia #dmv #dmvarea #dcmarylandvirginia #masstransit #publictransit #virginiaisbeautiful #virginiacities #transit #transportation #oldtownalexandria #oldtownalexandriava #oldtown #kingstreet #kingstreetalexandria #virginialife #buses #busesofinstagram (at Alexandria, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTMTtqeL9GL/?utm_medium=tumblr

[nvphotography]

From #pittsburghpennsylvania onto #alexandriavirginia! #virginia #virginia_igers #alexandriava #the703 #virginiaisforlovers #sheetz (at Alexandria, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwiZvxPAonW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=6fu76dtltnlb

[rockactivo]

#CumbiaTime w/ @thebirchmere Flex Stage!! get your tickets at @ticketmaster #livemusic #concerts #alexandriavirginia #dmv #latinmusic #cumbia (at Northwest Washington, Washington, District of Columbia) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwW57Uthszp/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=17vc7fgm941d4

[conexaoamerica]

Captains Row / Alexandria, VA . . . . Credit 👉🏆📸 @adam_brockett . . . Follow 👉 🇺🇸@conexao.america for more photos and movies about United States 🇺🇸 . . . Alliance @america_states @enjoy_la_ @latinbrazil . . . . ✈ Mark your photo with tag #conexaoamerica or @conexao.america and we'll post it! . . . #alexandriava #loveva #virginia #oldtownalexandria #alexandriavirginia #oldtown #alexandria #dmv #dcchasers #washmagphoto #washingtondc #popville #igdc #mydccool #dctography #exposeddc #fall #foliage #leaves #naturephotography #nature #landscape #historic #architecture #cobblestone #southernliving #usaprimeshot #tlpicks #nikonnofilter (em Alexandria, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CjifaV5r_eA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cmacorol]

Happy Saturday! Please join me tomorrow at 10:30 am at Solid State Books! I will be reading and signing, and maybe some craft :) I am looking forward to meeting you! #solidstatebooks #solidstatedc #bookreading #booksigning #alexandriava #localartist #localauthor #alexandriavirginia #kidlit #kidlitart #kidlitillustration #kidlitauthor #artistsoninstagram #axolotl #animalalphabet #unusualanimalfriends #animals #animalsofinstagram (at Solid State Books) https://www.instagram.com/p/CiDV9ZQO1ek/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[goodhandyman4you]

We can service, upgrade, Install or convert your Water Heater We R a Company U Can Trust Call on us 2 help, Regular & Instant #WaterHeater Service & new installation https://buff.ly/30bF4OG #n1shs #Electronics #applianceinstallation #arlingtonva #Alexandriava #Dc #Plumbing #plumber #waterheater #instantwaterheater #OnDemandWaterHeater #tanklesswaterheater #InstantwaterHeater #N1SHS #Arlington #ArlingtonVirginia #ArlingtonVA #Alexandria #AlexandriaVirginia #AlexandriaVA (at Arlington, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUISyp1F3m0/?utm_medium=tumblr

[gcmyers]

"On the Sunny Side"-- A small painting that is part of the Small Work snow at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria. #gcmyersart #gcmyers #redtreetimes #redroofs #principlegallery #principlegalleryalexandria #art #principlegalleryalex #alexandriavirginia #alexarts #kingstreetgallery #artgallery #smallworks #smallpaintings #fineart #island #landscapepainting #symbolism #symboliclandscape #redroofs #colorado (at Principle Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmsD6deP0au/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[andrewgarick]

Visiting old 7-elevens from days gone by. #andyworldtour #alexandriavirginia #virginia (at 7-Eleven) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRmZ2vRr-v3/?utm_medium=tumblr

[adventuremonkey1]

About to try a new burger place on this rainy day. #boardwalkburgers #alexandriavirginia (at Boardwalk Fries Burgers Shakes) https://www.instagram.com/p/CPeaRrnLir0/?utm_medium=tumblr

[mmmgoodies]

#Repost @blueroomstudioart ・・・ Get started on your holiday shopping at @mmmgoodies THIS SUNDAY, December 4, noon-3:00pm. Local Alexandria makers: * Holiday Cards and Art by Laurel Prucha Moran (@BlueRoomStudioart and @DMVMatchbooks) * Handmade Leathergoods by @SophisticateSupply * Local Landmarks Photographic Prints by Daniel Horowitz @dclensman * Gorgeous Statement Jewelry including Pressed Flower Pendants by @inti_phaxsi_gems Shop early. Shop Small. Shop local. #alexandriaartist #alexandriava #alexandriavirginia #extraordinaryALX #shopsmallalexandria #shopalexandriava #shoplocal #shopalx #shopsmall #ALXholidays #visitALX #blueroomstudioart #dvmmatchbooks #mmmgoodies #frozencustard #GODisCEO (at Goodies Frozen Custard & Treats) https://www.instagram.com/p/CllnwEluscJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[weemsbotts]

Rest in Pieces: The Messages Left in Exploding Glass Bottles

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

The Weems-Botts Museum has a cool collection of glass bottles. Charter members and gracious supporters Gary and Nancy West recently donated a bottle marked “Triangle Quantico Bottling Works” with a triangle in the middle and “Registered” on the bottom. Mr. West recalled that Dumfries residents tossed the bottles underneath The Weems-Botts Museum’s kitchen among other objects. Besides for these bottles once containing root beer, ginger ale, and other sodas (aka pop!), does the bottle contain any messages?

(Triangle, Virginia. Prince William County’s Historic Preservation Division dates this photo to the 1930s)

Early Americans enjoyed similar tastes but in different forms and for different purposes. Containing anywhere from 2-12% alcohol, small beers were popular and appealed to a wide variety of consumers. By the 19th century, pharmacists experimented with different herbs, berries, and barks in hopes of delivering marketable remedies for common ailments. Notably, Charles Hires developed a recipe (he did not “invent” root beer), he sold as “Hires Root Tea” named for the sassafras root. By the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876, he changed the named to “beer” hoping to make the beverage more appealable to the middle class but also emphasized it as an alternative to alcohol to appeal to followers of the Temperance movement. Now offered as a liquid concentrate, he even sold root beer kits for people at home to enjoy. Although advertised and promoted as a healthier drink containing no alcohol, carbonated soda does contain very trace amounts of alcohol, and sassafras root had to be replaced with an artificial flavoring in 1960 after the FDA determined safrole, contained in the oil of sassafras root, was a carcinogen. It can be safely removed, some companies use safrole-free sassafras extract, and as of 2021, health concerns focus on the sugar.

Back to our bottle collection. According to our records, George C. Oleyar operated the wholesale bottling company at the corner of Amidon and Post Street in Triangle, Virginia in the 1920s (possibly from 1920-1929). Old Dominion Glassworks in Alexandria manufactured the bottles and Triangle Bottling bottled the beverages on site and marketed them in Prince William and Stafford county along with the City of Fredericksburg. Old Dominion Glassworks represented one of four glassworks in Alexandria and the company employed black and white men, women, and children. Photographs from the early 1900s exposed child labor violations leading to fines. Equipment failures, a decline in business due to Prohibition, and frequent fires led to the company’s closure in 1925. The Weems-Botts Museum records indicate the bottles also exploded. While both of ours are intact, I have never experimented with carbonation or fermentation…

(Triangle Quantico Bottling Works Glass bottle, donated by Charter Members Gary and Nancy West)

The people throwing the bottles did not leave us written messages. Did they toss them or just drop them when visiting the Merchants or their boarders? Or did people toss them during the transitory period from personal home to museum? Did any of the Merchants like root beer? What other hidden gems can we discover from people’s casual attitudes towards trash and recycling? It is neat to consider how one glass bottle traveled across our local region and emerged once again, rescued as a reminder of local history, labor, and soda (aka pop!).

Note: We are celebrating Black History Month at our Children’s Day at the Museum Sponsored by Walmart program by discussing and reading African American folktales! Click here for your free tickets to this monthly program!

(Sources: HDVI Archival Files: Oleyar; Today I Found Out: Feed Your Brain: Upton, Emily. Why Root Beer is Called That, 07/16/2013; Virginia Humanities, “Old Dominion Glass Company,” AfroVirginia, accessed February 3, 2021, http://places.afrovirginia.org/items/show/319.; The Connection to your Community. Bah, Char McCargo. The Oher Alexandria: Working in the City’s Glass Factories, 02/2019; Office of Historic Alexandria: Alexandria Times: Out of the Attic: Old Dominion Glass Company, 06/2010)