King Street: The Name That Survived a Revolution

The short answer: King Street is the mile-long spine of Old Town Alexandria, running from the Potomac up the hill. It was named for a British king in 1749, and here is the fun part: the city fought a revolution against that king and then kept the name anyway. Our King Street candle is the street after rain. Rose, lily of the valley, fresh foliage, and sandalwood.

A street named for the wrong side

When Alexandria was laid out in 1749, the surveyors did what colonial surveyors did: they named the streets after the royal family. King. Prince. Duke. Queen. Princess. It was flattery in grid form.

Then came the 1770s, and the flattery aged badly.

Plenty of American towns quietly renamed things after the war. Alexandria mostly did not. King Street is still King Street, still running from the waterfront up the hill, still the main commercial artery of the city two hundred and seventy-odd years after somebody decided a monarch deserved the good one.

We find that funny and a little bit lovely. The street outlasted the argument.

What it is actually like

A mile from the Potomac to the top, and the walk changes character about three times on the way. Down at the bottom it is boats and open water and tourists eating things out of paper. In the middle it is brick, shopfronts, restaurants with their doors propped open. Toward the top it gets residential and quiet and the sidewalks go uneven.

The best time to walk it is right after a rain, in the evening, when the streets are still wet and the lamps have come on and everything reflects twice. Someone once called Alexandria beyond all comparison the handsomest town in Virginia. On that particular walk, at that particular hour, it is hard to argue.

That is the walk this candle is.

The scent

King Street is our softest floral, and it is deliberately not a rose candle in the way people fear rose candles.

Rose and lily of the valley sit up top, clean rather than sweet, more like a garden after rain than a bouquet in a shop. Fresh foliage runs underneath, green and wet. Sandalwood at the base keeps the whole thing from floating away.

Airy, clean, softly floral. It reads like a passing shower rather than a perfume counter.

Best in: living rooms, entryways, and bedrooms. It is the most universally liked scent we make, which is why it is our most-given gift.

Two ways to bring it home

• King Street Signature Candle, $24. Glass vessel, the easiest introduction.
• King Street Heirloom Candle, $56. Eighteen ounces in our blue and white bowl, made to be kept.

Browse the full Signature Collection, the Heirloom Collection, or shop all scents.

Frequently asked questions

Why is King Street called King Street? It was named when Alexandria was laid out in 1749, along with Prince, Duke, Queen, and Princess Streets, after the British royal family. The name survived the Revolution.

How long is King Street? Roughly a mile from the Potomac waterfront to the top of the hill.

What does the King Street candle smell like? Rose and lily of the valley over fresh foliage and sandalwood. Clean and green rather than sweet.

Is it a good gift? It is our safest one. Softly floral scents tend to land well with people whose taste you do not know.

Keep reading

More stories: Candles of Old Town Alexandria, What Did Colonial Alexandria Actually Smell Like?, and The Blue and White Bowl.