Alexandria, Virginia: Parking Lot Mausoleum

A lavish burial chamber for Hubert "Dutch" Hoffman and his sister stands in the parking lot next to a large hotel along the loop south of DC. Surprisingly, it was only built there in 2001.

Parking Lot Mausoleum

Hubert Dutch Hoffman was orphaned at an early age. His sister, Mildred, took care of him until her death. At age 16, Mildreds widower gave Hubert $20 and sent him off to seek his fortune. After dabbling in dry cleaning and a bakery, Hoffman became a top salesman for New York Life.

In 1958, Hoffman bought 71 acres of swampland outside of Washington, D.C. for $200,000. It contained a trailer park and a landfill at the time, but the Eisenhower Valley in Alexandria, Virginia has since become the home to -- among other things -- a federal courthouse, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, an Imax-equipped multiplex theater, water park, hubs for UPS and FedEx, residential housing and two Metro stops. Hoffman received special permission from the city of Alexandria in 2001 to build a mausoleum in the valley for Mildred. He joined her there in 2002.

The mausoleum used to be hidden among a grove of trees in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Eisenhower, but recent improvements to the I-495 Washington Beltway has made it a more prominent part of the Alexandria cityscape.

[David Almasi, 04/09/2011]