Welcome
A Letter from the Co-Chairs
Welcome to the 83rd Annual Historic Alexandria Homes Tour! We are so pleased to have you join us for this treasured tradition that celebrates the beauty, history, and community spirit of Old Town Alexandria. For more than eight decades, this event has invited guests to step inside some of our city’s most remarkable homes, each one offering a unique glimpse into Alexandria’s storied past and vibrant present.
This year’s tour features a thoughtfully selected collection of private residences, along with a special stop at the historic Friendship Firehouse Museum, a true Alexandria landmark that honors our city’s legacy of civic service and volunteerism. Together, these properties reflect the character, charm, and rich architectural diversity that make Old Town so distinctive.
We are proud that proceeds from today’s tour benefit Inova Alexandria Hospital, supporting vital healthcare services that touch the lives of so many in our community. Your participation helps sustain both our historic and our human heritage, ensuring the well-being of our city in every sense.
We extend our deepest gratitude to the generous homeowners, the dedicated docents and volunteers, and our many supporters who help bring this event to life. It is because of your commitment that this tradition continues to flourish year after year.
Thank you for joining us in celebrating the homes, history, and heart of Alexandria. We hope you enjoy every moment of the tour!
Amy Fernandez and Lillian Siegel
Co-Chairs, 2025 Historic Alexandria Homes Tour
A Letter from the President
On behalf of The Twig, it is my honor to welcome you to the 83rd Historic Alexandria Homes Tour. This year’s tour features five amazing homes. We hope you will enjoy exploring the unique history, architecture, art and design that these homes offer. Each has a story and treasures to share. We appreciate the homeowners for opening their doors and inviting us to enjoy their cherished properties. The Tour also includes entrance to the Friendship Firehouse Museum, where you can learn about the volunteer 19th-century fire companies that served Alexandria.
We also give thanks to our generous sponsors, ticket purchasers, and tireless volunteers who make this event possible. Each year, the business community, friends, and local organizations show their dedication to our city’s preservation and growth through support of this event, and The Twig is ever grateful.
As The Junior Auxiliary of the Inova Alexandria Hospital, The Twig raises funds primarily through the Homes Tour and our Thrift Shop at 106 North Columbus Street in Old Town, to fulfill our mission to support the Hospital and the well-being of our community. Along with our sponsors, your purchase of a ticket to the Homes Tour will help us complete our current $500,000 pledge to the Hospital. This pledge not only supports the new Inova Oakville Health Center in north Alexandria but also funds the IAH Level I trauma designation. We are thrilled to make this contribution to ensure the availability of accessible, quality health care in our city.
We welcome your continued support of our mission by visiting the Twig Thrift Shop today or in the future, where you can find great bargains and fun trinkets. All proceeds support the Inova Alexandria Hospital.
Our Twig docents look forward to making today’s tour special. Please enjoy!
With appreciation,
Lori Ring
Twig President 2025-2026
Twig 2025-2026
Twig Board of Directors
Lori Ring – President
Maureen McGuire-Kuletz – President-Elect/Membership
Kate Walker – Recording Secretary
Jane Matthias – Corresponding Secretary
Susan Lipcaman – Treasurer
Lynne Rhoades – Assistant Treasurer
2025 Homes Tour Committee
Lillian Siegel – Co-Chair
Amy Fernandez – Co-Chair
Scoti Albrecht
Patti Casey
Sue Curda
Liz Dreazen
Kate Eltzroth
Cindy Golubin
Kathy Hirsch
Judy Joyce
Monica Mulvihill
Anne O’Brien
Rosalind Resnick
Patty Sheetz
Cynthia Summers
History of The Twig
For the City’s first hundred years, doctors cared for patients in their homes. After the Civil War, the need for a facility became clear when an outbreak of typhoid fever occurred on a boat in the harbor. Many sailors were stricken and brought to the home of a local doctor.
Miss Julia Johns, daughter of the Episcopal Bishop of Alexandria, called together a group of concerned women to “form a society to establish and control a hospital for the sick.” After this small group of charitably disposed friends met in 1872, the Alexandria Infirmary opened its doors in a converted house at the southwest corner of Duke and Fairfax streets. Miss Johns and the Board of Lady Managers oversaw the operation of the hospital, establishing a Nurse’s Training School, a dispensary, and a horse-drawn ambulance service. These first volunteers set the precedent for Alexandrians accepting responsibility for the support and operation of a community hospital.
In 1933, “The Twig” was born when a group of two dozen young women met at the home of Mrs. Julian T. Burke to form the Junior Auxiliary of Alexandria Hospital. Mrs. Nellie Sommers Blackwell suggested the name “The Twig;” this described the new organization as a small branch of the “tree” which supported the hospital. The Twig has worked since that time to help INOVA Alexandria Hospital provide the highest quality medical service.
To date, The Twig has raised more than $5 million in support of the hospital, primarily through the operations of its Thrift Shop located at 106 North Columbus Street and by sponsoring the Historic Alexandria Homes Tour.
