The Berg Alexandria Homes for Sale

On the northern limits of Old Town is the remnants of a historic, predominantly African American community known by its inhabitants as "The Berg." Built in 1945, the 260-unit public housing complex covers several blocks in what is now Old Town Alexandria. Today the Berg’s most prominent landmarks are the James Bland Homes (built in 1954) named after an African American musician and songwriter, and the Samuel Madden Homes, named after the first African-American pastor of the Alfred Street Baptist Church.[citation needed]

Over the years the historic roots of the Berg’s name were lost, and many assumed it referred to the monolithic, iceberg-like buildings of this apartment complex. It was mentioned in the movie Remember the Titans, which dramatizes the integration of city public schools in the 1970s through the creation of T.C. Williams High School. Some remnants of the Berg remain today, but the majority of Old Town has been long since gentrified.