The independent city of Alexandria is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia and has a current population of roughly 140,000 residents. Alexandria is located roughly 6 miles or 9.6 km south of downtown Washington, D.C. and is situated on Potomac River's western bank.
Alexandria is similar to a lot of Northern Virginia, as it is modeled by its close proximity to capital of the country. Many of the people there are professionals working for the federal civil service, the US military or one of the various private companies which contract to provide services to the federal government. Locally, the latter are called "beltway bandits," named after the Capital Beltway which is an interstate highway which circles Washington, D.C.
The United States Department of Defense is among Alexandria's biggest businesses in the area. Several other popular businesses are the Institute for Defense Analyses and the Center for naval Analyses. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office moved 7100 workers from 18 separate buildings in nearby City of Crystal into a new headquarters in Alexandria during the year 2005.
Old Town is the historic center of the city of Alexandria. There is a big concentration of antique shops, theatres, restaurants and boutiques in this area making it a major tourist destination. A lot of neighborhoods in Alexandria City are walk-able, compact, high-income suburbs of Washington, D.C. Within Virginia, Alexandria is the 7th largest and highest income independent city.
The first settlement in the Alexandria region was established in the year 1695, and was known as the British Colony of Virginia. The region supported the 1730 comprehensive Tobacco Inspection Law, that helped to mandate all the tobacco grown within the colony. All tobacco was to be taken to designated public warehouses for inspection prior to sale. One of these local sites that were designated for a warehouse was situated on the upper Potomac River at the mouth of Hunting Creek. Since the ground at this particular place was unsuitable, the warehouse itself was established a half mile up river. Here the water ran deeper near the shore.
The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report during 2009 stated that the top public companies in the city were: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, had 9000 workers; the United States Department of Defense with 7500 staff; Alexandria employed 2500 employees; Alexandria City Public Schools with 1900 employees; the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority employed 1400 staff and the Northern Virginia Community College employed 800 workers.
The top private employers within the city comprise: Inova Alexandria Hospital 1800; ABM Industries 1000 staff; Institute for Defense Analyses has 900 staff; the Center for Naval Analyses has 700 employees; Gali Services Industries 750; Grant Thornton LLP 750; the United Parcel Service 750 workers and Oblon Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt 750 employees. The Pentagon Federal Credit Union and VSE are other companies also located within Alexandria.
In Alexandria, there are several trade associations, non-profit organizations and charities. The most visible groups consist of: United Way, the American Diabetes Association, Gifts In Kind International, Catholic Charities, Islamic Relief USA, the Salvation Army, Volunteers of America and Global Impact. The Society for Human Resources management, the American Coalition for Clean Electricity and the National Beer Wholesalers Association are amongst the other organizations within the city.