Virginia
Del Ray

Back in the 1890s, what is now the Del Ray neighborhood was the site of St. Asaph Racetrack, a popular attraction for Washington gamblers, until the track shut down in the early 1900s. Around that time, developers also built two subdivisions in the area, which originally formed a town called Potomac, before it eventually was absorbed into the city of Alexandria. Del Ray was one of the Washington area’s earliest railroad and streetcar commuter suburbs, growing rapidly during World War II and in the years after. Today it’s a family-oriented community with a lively business district of small shops and restaurants that gives it the feel of a small town. There’s also the Dogs of Del Ray mural, an homage to local canines at Pat Miller Square. The housing stock includes bungalows, American Foursquare, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, modified Queen Anne and Mediterranean Revival styles, mostly dating to the period before 1941.