Defining Alexandria
Alexandria is a suburb outside DC, west of the Potomac River to just beyond South Van Dorn Street, and north of the Capital Beltway (495). The north of the City of Alexandria is bordered by King Street, Quaker Lane, and Four Mile Run, a small tributary of the Potomac River alongside Four Mile Run Drive and South Glebe Road.
However. Much of the area south of the City of Alexandria, including Kingstowne, Rose Hill, and parts of Route 1 (Richmond Highway), possess addresses in "Alexandria." This area not included in Alexandria city limits that nevertheless calls itself "Alexandria" is equally as large as Alexandria proper.
I'm told the change in the city limits involved desegregation (begun 1959 in Alexandria) and school zoning, but not much more definitive than that. I'll ask at my community meeting next week. There's a few people who attend who have been here since the fifties or earlier.
Old Town Alexandria, also known as "Historic Old Town" or simply as "Old Town," is a small part of Alexandria proper, not to be confused with Alexandria itself. It's the grid of streets on your map next to King Street Metro (Blue Line).
