Part of the mission of Historic Vienna, Inc. is to educate the public, preserve & promote knowledge of Vienna’s heritage and create an awareness of Vienna’s past.
One way this is achieved is through a variety of talks, presentations, lectures and discussions open to the public.
Whenever these have been recorded, we will have them available here.
Time Travel Bicycle Video Tour in Vienna celebrating Liberty Amendments Month, June 2021 – July 2021
3-block Walking Tour of Church Street
It is often assumed that Maple Avenue has always been Vienna’s Main Street, however that honor belongs to Church Street, so named because at one point there were four churches along its full length. Church Street was originally lined with a variety of stores and businesses, much as it is today.
Explore Church Street with our 3-block Walking Tour of Church Street and learn about the many sites and businesses that came years before the Church Street that we enjoy today. Click here to begin the tour.
Historic Sites in Vienna Tour
Take a tour of the Historic Sites in Vienna. This map identifies historic locations in and around the Town of Vienna. The locations identified in their description with HR appear on the Town’s Register of Historic Sites. Those designated HL are other historic locations in the area. The private homes on the map are not open to the public. Click here to begin the tour.
African American Historic Sites Tour of Vienna, VA
COMPLETE RIDING TOUR of African American Historic Sites Tour of Vienna, VA.
This contains all 22 sites.
COMPLETE WALKING TOUR of African American Historic Sites Tour of Vienna, VA.
This contains all 22 sites.
The African American Historic Sites Tour of Vienna, VA, was originally created in February 2017 as one of the events held in celebration of First Baptist Church of Vienna’s 150th Anniversary. It discussed long-time families, their contributions to the community and important sites including churches, schools, cemeteries, parks, homes and landmarks.
In October 2020, Sylvia Taylor and Gloria Runyon, long time Vienna residents, members of the Historic Vienna, Inc. Board of Directors and members of the First Baptist Church of Vienna, presented a talk on the Highlights of Vienna’s African American Community. Their talk described some of the historic sites on the tour that they created to share the rich history of Vienna’s African American community. Click here to listen to it.
In February 2023, the Golden Gazette, a free monthly Fairfax County community newsletter covering topics concerning older adults, featured a story on the contributions made by Sylvia Taylor and Gloria Runyon regarding the importance of African Americans in Vienna’s history. Click here to read it.
To learn more about the contributions of Vienna’s African Americans from 1867 to 2006, please take this self-guided tour containing all of the sites on their tour. You can choose to take the tour as a riding tour (in a car or on bike) or as a walking tour.
The walking tour is divided into 4 segments with 3-8 sites per segment. You can choose to download all segments together or each segment individually.
Walking Tour Segment 1 of African American Historic Sites Tour of Vienna, VA.
This contains 8 sites.
Walking Tour Segment 2 of African American Historic Sites Tour of Vienna, VA.
This contains 5 sites.
Walking Tour Segment 3 of African American Historic Sites Tour of Vienna, VA.
This contains 6 sites.
Walking Tour Segment 4 of African American Historic Sites Tour of Vienna, VA.
This contains 3 sites.
Liberty Minute: The Vote
Liberty Minute: The Little Library Museum
Learn about the origin and history of the Little Library
A History of Vienna’s
American Vienna, an Austrian documentary by Jasmin Al-Kattib & Richard Kromp, is the story of different places with the same name. Filmed in 2014, this documentary visits 9 different communities around the country all named Vienna and features snapshots of each town. This film begins in Maine and continues to New York, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Missouri, Alabama and Georgia exploring these small, sometimes very different towns.
Getting the Vote – The Women’s Rights Movement
To honor the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, Historic Vienna, Inc. has presented a series of 5 exhibits on the Women’s Rights Movement. Annual exhibits related to the women’s rights movement continued at the Freeman Store through 2021. On August 18, 2020, to mark the 100th anniversary of adoption of the Constitutional amendment allowing women to vote, Historic Vienna released Leigh Kitcher’s presentation: Getting the Vote: The Women’s Rights Movement summarizing the information in the first three exhibits from the origins up until the right to vote was won.