Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum — Attraction in Alexandria

I wish this had been a five star visit. It had the potential to be very cool.

This is a one room museum with a small upstairs area. The apothecary’s history is interesting. The museum has old bottles and vials that paint a fantastic picture of what / how medicine was handles a hundred years ago. Many of the ingredients are still used today. There are typewritten letters from the pharmacy as it struggled to handle the prohibition and a few references to the city’s historical figures

Now here’s where the museum lost me. The knowledgeable staff were unorganized. They had you step out of the room if they had to go do something or check their cell phones, even though there were 3 staffers in an area the size of my living room. Very awkward.

Also, about 20mins after we purchased our tickets to visit the apothecary, they said we had to leave Bc they had a pre-planned tour and could not have both the “self-guided” and paying your in the room at the same time (less the self guided would hear the paying docent’s your). When I asked why they had sold us tickets, they said that no one usually stays more than five or tens minutes.

So, I’m not sure what to make of that. It wasn’t as if the staff were kids or volunteers. Clearly city employees who know a great deal about the apothecary but didn’t know how to handle the...

As a nurse, places like this have always fascinated me. This place, one of the city's original pharmacies, is phenomenal. Well worth the $5 to walk around the small space. Be aware that the guided tours are only available in the afternoon starting at 1:15pm, so if you get there when it opens at 11am, you're limited to just the ground floor. Still, the history behind this place is incredible and the docent was very knowledgeable. It is a fantastically preserved marvel.

The stories of who used to come there (such as Martha Washington and Robert E. Lee) really bring the history alive. Almost everything inside is preserved as it was back in the early 1800's, including what is inside the bottles. They've removed the hazardous things like chloroform and arsenic, but the bottles are still there. Some of what you see is still used today. For example, up until recently, syrup of ipecac was used in some places to induce vomiting for poisoning. There's also a book that describes the uses for each item. Doesn't take long to go through, but definitely worth a stop if you're...

It's a long running pharmacy left as it stood when it closed in the early 20th century. They have a small gift shop and do tours on 15 and 45 past the hour during their open hours for $5. The tour takes you into the shop portion of the pharmacy/apothecary and into the warehouse area where they mixed (compounded) and stored items for wholesale. The building and all of the original jars, boxes, and storage containers are neat to see. This particular apothecary is steeped in history- they supplied medicines to Congress. I think the tour is well worth the time and money. I dock it a star since a more knowledgeable tour guide could really make this a unique and interesting experience by expanding on the history or ingredients used as "medicine." If I understand correctly, all if the employees/tour-guides are volunteers, so it's probably hit or miss what a particular guide knows...