Old Town Manassas, Virginia

“The past itself, as historical change continues to accelerate, has become the most surreal of subjects – making it possible...to see a new beauty in what is vanishing.”

Susan Sontag

On our jaunt to Virginia, we stopped by to visit friends in Manassas. While visiting, Steve and Erin suggested we go to historic Old Town Manassas to get a drink before dinner. Twenty-three years ago, Joe and I used to live in Woodbridge, Virginia, located about 30 miles from Manassas, and the only thing we knew about Manassas was the Manassas National Battlefield and the Humane Society where we had adopted a dog. It has been years since we went to Manassas and we had never been in the Old Town section.

We were to meet up with some other friends at Marachis Tequileria and Restaurant but arrived a little early. Erin and Steve said “Let’s walk around and see some of the town.” We walked down a quaint store lined street when we came up to the Loy E. Harris Pavilion. It was lit up with bright lights and she explained that during the holiday season, they make the pavilion into an ice skating ring. There was music playing and it was fun watching the families and couples out on a beautiful night skating. It looked so old timey and brought back memories of skating when I was a child. The skating ring is only open till the middle of February before it closes for the season. It is open Wednesday – Thursday 3 – 8 pm, Friday 3 – 10 pm, Saturday 12 – 10, and Sundays 12 – 7. They are closed on Monday and Tuesdays. There is a charge for skating and renting your skates but you can skate free on Wednesdays and just pay for your skate rental.

Every Thursday, when it warms up a bit, they have a farmers market at the Pavilion and during the summer they have many events like dances, concerts, shows, and ice cream socials. The pavilion is also available to be rented out for special occasions. It is a lovely spot in the heart of Old Town Manassas.

Behind the Pavilion, Erin pointed out the LOVEwork sign. There were people climbing up to get their pictures taken with the sign. The concept began when a Richmond, Virginia advertising agency named The Martin Agency, formerly known as Martin and Woltz Inc, displayed the LOVEwork sign in “Bride Magazine” in 1969. Since the concept began, there are now over 200 LOVEwork signs spread across the state of Virginia. They used the word Love because Virginia’s motto is “Virginia is for lovers.” What they hoped to accomplish with the LOVEwork signs is to get people to check out the state of Virginia, take pictures by the LOVE sign, and share on Facebook and other media. This particular LOVE sign is seven feet tall and 16 feet long. Each sign is different making it fun to go out and find them while traveling through Virginia.

Then we walked by the historic Manassas Train Station/depot which is a lovely, old fashioned looking brick building. This is a historic train station where multiple rail lines meet. It serves Amtrak and the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) and is still in use. It is a major railroad line between Manassas and Washington, DC used by commuters to get to the city every day. This has been an important railroad station since before the Civil War. Both the Battle of Bull Run and The Battle of Manassas were fought here because of the importance of controlling these railroad lines.

This is the third depot that was built at on this sight. The first Manassas Junction rail depot was a log frame depot built in 1880 by Richmond and Danville RR Company which was later replaced by a brick depot in 1904. A fire burnt the depot in 1914 and a new depot was built on the same foundation. It was expanded at that time to include two waiting rooms – one for African Americans and one for whites. It was recently restored in 1997 by the City of Manassas and currently houses a historic visitors center and James and Marion Payne Railroad Heritage Gallery which exhibits 150 years of railroad history.

Charming Old Town Manassas has 206 buildings making up the main historic section of this town. The narrow streets are lined with many Federal style brick buildings from the turn of the century. As we strolled through the streets, I felt as if I had stepped back in time. It is such a lovely town. It is hard to imagine that back in 1862, the Confederate Army patrolled the same streets we were walking on and burnt down this town and supplies that were stored near the railroad station so they wouldn’t fall into Union Hands.

Mariachis Tequileria and Restaurant

Erin

Heather, Erin, Steve, Lauar, Jack, Brien, and Joe

After our stroll, we headed to Mariachis Tequileria and Restaurant, a family owned restaurant owned by Antonio Escamilla, that opened its doors in 2016. As soon as we walked in we were greeted warmly. Most of the wait staff knew Erin, Steve, and Brien and they chatted it up on the way in. They really made us feel at home. The inside of this restaurant was very nice, eclectic atmosphere. We were guided back to our table and met up with our friends, Laura and Jack who had just arrived. We ordered a drink and hor d'oeuvres. What we ordered was great. We enjoyed our time there. They have a live Mariachi band every Friday night and we heard they have a great Mexican brunch on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

After visiting Old Town Manassas, we came to realize why so many people love this town so much. The town has blossomed with all the unique shops and special places to eat throughout the quaint town. Many of the places we passed had live music and the town seemed to be a very happening place. We were there just after Christmas and the town was gaily decorated with white lights strung in all the trees lighting up the streets. There were many outside cafes to enjoy on a nice day and many historic sites to see for you to enjoy in this town. We love this town and will return.

Till next time. Bye for now.