Rachel E.H. Photography
Alexandria will be getting its own tall ship. The Providence will make her new home port in Old Town Alexandria, with arrival expected in the early summer of 2019.
The Providence is a 12-gun, 110-foot “Sloop of War” — a full-scale, 1976 replica of the Continental Navy's first warship built in the 1700s and acquired by the Tall Ship Providence Foundation.
The Tall Ship Providence Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization established with the mission “to promote for posterity the rich maritime, naval, and American Revolutionary War history in Alexandria, Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay region,” according to the organization’s website.
This year, the non-profit is focusing on fundraising with the goal of restoring the ship. Once the Providence is home in Old Town Alexandria, the Tall Ship Providence Foundation plans to host tours, chartered cruises and historical education events.
The original Providence was built in the late 1700s by the Brown family (which also founded Brown University in the 1760s). She became the U.S. Navy’s first warship and was deliberately sunk in 1779 in an effort to prevent her from being captured by the British. The Brown family (founders of Brown University) commissioned an exact replica in 1976 for the United States Bicentennial Celebration.
