Manassas

Old Town Manassas is the downtown district of Manassas, anchored by its popular dining corridor with local shops and dive bars along Center Street. Locals can sip drinks on the patio while the Amtrak trains pull into the station just a block away. The shops downtown are a brief walk from Harris Pavilion, hosting seasonal concerts and activities. Most residents can take a train or drive to northern Virginia points of interest or employers in the greater D.C. area in half an hour or less from home. Along Center Street are local pubs and dine-in spots. Public House Kitchen & Brewery serves draft beers, cocktails and a menu of American classics, like fried chicken, salmon sandwiches and shrimp and grits. For barbecue, there's The Bone, offering pulled pork and smoked chicken. A few doors down is Jirani Coffeehouse, serving up tea and espresso drinks from a brick building with sidewalk seats across from the train tracks. A mile east of the neighborhood is The Shops at Signal Hill, which has a Fresh World and an Aldi for groceries. Another nearby shopping center is Manassas Junction, where locals can stop by Home Depot or beloved Asian supermarket H-Mart, then grab a hot slice from local favorite Tony's New York Pizza. South of the train tracks, the hillside green space of Baldwin Park features a playground and tot lot, as well as benches and a small garden path. Baldwin Park also hosts the Manassas Museum, which is dedicated to the history of Manassas and features numerous city artifacts. Closer to the dining variety downtown is Harris Pavilion, a popular bandstand for summer concerts and dance classes, and in the winter, it becomes a public ice-skating rink. To the west is Dean Park, featuring a skate park, playground and walking paths around a small pond. Hikers can easily access Winters Branch Trail from Dean Park as well, a paved path that snakes between residential blocks. "Lots of locals go to the battlefield to hike and explore and relax. It's also a tourist destination," says Guillermo Salmon, a Realtor with Samson Properties. Manassas National Battlefield Park is a national park that details the landmarks of the first major battle of the Civil War. Nowadays, visitors come by to learn the history, pitch a tent, explore the hiking trails or have lunch in the picnic area. Manassas locals can browse artisan goods and organic foods at the Historic Manassas Farmers Market, open from the spring to the fall, hosted at Harris Pavilion on Thursday mornings and the Prince William Street parking lot on Saturday mornings. Less than a mile south of Old Town Manassas are the grounds for the Prince William County Fair, a spring festival complete with carnival rides, games, face painting for kids and food vendors. The town also supports local businesses with First Friday festivals, where local businesses set up street stands to sell goods or connect with residents. Neighbors often come together for friendly competition in chili cook-offs, sometimes hosted by regional political parties, churches, or the creative chef next door. Home values in Old Town Manassas range from $250,000 to $825,000, varying by square footage and lot size. Much of the housing developments east of Grant Avenue are classic suburban Cape Cods, raised ranches and ramblers, with occasional brick apartment complexes scattered throughout. West of Grant Avenue are many colonial-style townhouse rows, usually coming with two to three bedrooms. Buyers can also seek out Craftsman-style custom homes built within the last twenty years. People mainly renovate homes here, but occasionally, Contemporary-style custom homes take the place of teardowns. "This older, vintage character is [present] all throughout Manassas," says Salmon. "There's a historic district where all the homes have to be maintained by certain specifications set by the city." Many of the restaurants on Center Street and homes as far south as Azure Court fall under this zoning map, which preserves homes dating back to the late 19th and early 20th century. Manassas City Public Schools serve the neighborhood's children. Students are zoned for Jennie Dean Elementary or Baldwin Elementary, both with C-minus overall ratings on Niche. Young learners can progress to Metz Middle School, which is also rated a C-minus, and finish their studies at Osbourn High, which has a C-rating. Osbourn High participates in the Governor's School at Innovation Park, a collaborative program in which Manassas City, Manassas Park City and Prince William County Public Schools send students to STEM courses hosted by George Mason University, allowing them to gain collegiate-level skills before graduating. The main road running through Old Town Manassas is Church Road, which leads to neighboring towns like Chantilly and Centreville and Dulles International Airport in less than 17 miles, or about a thirty-minute drive. Meanwhile, a commute to D.C. takes about 31 miles, or just under an hour. The Manassas train station sits in the center of the neighborhood, and locals can take an Amtrak train to major cities up and down the East Coast or a Virginia Railway Express train as far north as Union Station in D.C.