The Torpedo Factory Art Center celebrated its 50th birthday in style, hosting a weekend of celebrations commemorating the conversion of the former munitions factory into a nationally recognized arts facility on the Alexandria waterfront.

Art Center founder Marian Van Landingham was the star of the show as city officials joined past and present artists in the festivities. Van Landingham is credited with the idea to convert the dilapidated former munitions plant to an arts center while serving as president of the Art League of Northern Virginia.

In 1973, Van Landingham sought a new building to house the nonprofit. Alexandria was also preparing for its bicentennial celebrations and wanted to improve the derelict waterfront by 1974. James W. Coldsmith, editor of the Alexandria Journal, suggested Van Landingham consider the abandoned torpedo plant, solving two problems at once.

After renovations were completed, the new art center began offering studio space for rent to artists at a rate below market value, a commitment that continues today. When the Art Center opened to the public in September 1974, 142 artists had studios in the building.

 “It is my hope that the art center will continue as a place that the public enjoys and the artists find a supportive place in which to work.”

— Marian Van Landingham, Torpedo Factory Art Center founder

Susan Sanders was fresh out of college in 1974 when her mother saw a newspaper article seeking artists for the new studio spaces at the Art Center and suggested she check it out. She is now one of five remaining original artists who took on the challenge of making Van Landingham’s experiment a reality.

“It was pretty rough those early years,” said Sanders, a jewelry designer. “We had no heat, no air conditioning and only cold-water sinks. But I still knew it was the right place for me.”

The building was first erected along the Alexandria waterfront in 1918. Due to its location near Washington, D.C., Alexandria became strategically important with the opening of the U.S. Naval Torpedo Station, which manufactured torpedoes until 1923.

Munitions manufacturing was resumed during World War II. At the height of production, the complex expanded to 16 buildings with more than 5,000 workers. It was considered a desirable place of employment for women and Black workers since the workforce was not segregated, which was unusual in Virginia at the time.

After the war, the complex was used as a storage facility by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Archives, which stored military documents at the site, including records from the Nuremberg Trials. From 1950 to 1968, it was known as the Federal Records Center.

In 1969, the City of Alexandria purchased three blocks of the site from the federal government for $1.6 million, including the main torpedo manufacturing facility along the Potomac River waterfront, as part of its urban renewal plans.

Despite only living a few blocks away at the time, Van Landingham had never been to the waterfront.

“Let’s put it this way, the waterfront was not attractive,” Van Landingham said. “But still I went down to see the building. It was a big, hulking thing with fencing all around. But there was an open gate so I walked around to the docks, which were pretty rotted. But the waterfront was amazing, and I was impressed.”

The interior space was still filled with federal furniture, debris, and broken windows.

“It was a mess,” Van Landingham said. “But I was astounded by the space and felt immediately it would be great.”

Van Landingham got the Art League members on board, as well as Mayor Charles Beatley. 

“Chuck Beatley was always open to new ideas and was very supportive,” Van Landingham said. “He could see the possibilities immediately and brought City Council on board.”

City Council approved Van Landingham’s plan, which was proposed as a three-year pilot program in May 1974. The council appropriated $140,000 to fund the initial renovation. City workers used fire hoses to power-wash the building’s interior and removed forty dump trucks of debris. The Torpedo Factory Art Center officially opened in September of that year.

“We still had a lot of work to do,” Van Landingham recalled. “The city had given us a very small amount of funding, which was only enough to paint the exterior of the building and put in a few cold-water sinks. It was the sweat equity of the artists that really transformed the building.”

What began as a three-year experiment is now home to the largest number of publicly accessible working artist studios in the country. At 76,000 square feet with 165 professional artists working in a variety of media, the Torpedo Factory sees more than half a million visitors each year. It is also home to The Art League and the Alexandria Archaeological Museum.

The City of Alexandria managed the Art Center until 1996, when it was turned over to the Torpedo Factory Artists Association. The nonprofit Torpedo Factory Art Center Board managed the center from 2010 until 2016, when the city’s Office of the Arts assumed responsibility for its management.

Various commissioned studies had determined that a management change was necessary due to governance, management and financial issues.

The most controversial change was the implementation of an annual jury and re-jury process that is part of the Torpedo Factory Art Center vibrancy and sustainability plan that was adopted by City Council in 2020. It was the first time re-jurying was required for current artists in the center's fifty-year history.

“The re-jurying process is very anxiety inducing,” said Sara Bentley, a painter who was selected for a three-year studio lease in the inaugural 2022 jurying process. “I need to reapply next April and if I don’t make it back then I lose my livelihood.”

The city’s action plan is to reimagine the Art Center for the 21st century. While a redesign is planned for the entire building, particular focus will be on transforming the first-floor space as a more interactive, hands on and accessible experience for visitors. The five-to-10-year plan includes a comprehensive business plan partnered with a marketing and rebranding effort to include a new logo, signage, website and marketing campaign. 

Van Landingham, who served as the center’s first director before embarking on a 24-year career in the Virginia State Senate, just recently gave up the studio space she occupied for 50 years.

“The Torpedo Factory meets a need in the community,” Van Landingham said. “It is my hope that it will continue as a place that the public enjoys and the artists find a supportive place in which to work.”