Exterior of the Margaret Hunter Shop, once known as Pender's Grocery, as viewed from Duke of Gloucester Street, 1935.  When Colonial Williamsburg first opened as a museum in the 1930s, Duke of Gloucester Street consisted of a combination of exhibition buildings and commercial establishments, and several grocers operated small food markets in restored or reconstructed structures.  Pender's Grocery offered a place for town residents and tourists to pick up refreshments.

This building, "...an original structure, occupies a favorable spot on the busy 'downtown' end of the main street. Typical of commercial buildings, it has a gable-end facade, and its interior is divided between a large unheated storefront and a smaller counting office with a fireplace in the rear.  Like many buildings, this one served as both workplace and home for its occupants."  The first occupant (and later owner) of the building was Margaret Hunter, a milliner, who both "...imported and...made diverse and stylish accessories for men, women and children."

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 57).

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Rights and reproductions]]> Exterior of Governor's Palace, looking to the northeast from the Robert Carter house, 1933. “The Governor’s Palace was an important element in [Williamsburg’s] great civic design. Sited at the end of a broad, imposing green, the governor’s residence terminated in the primary north-south axis of the town. The high visibility and symmetrical formality of this complex did much to reinforce the importance of the governorship in the eyes of Virginians.” Construction began on the Governor’s Palace in 1706 under Governor Edward Nott, and finished in 1722 under Governor Alexander Spotswood. In the early 1750s, Governor Robert Dinwiddie commissioned the construction of a Ballroom Wing addition behind the Palace.

The Robert Carter House (out of view, but whose front yard is pictured here) is one of the original eighty-eight buildings at Colonial Williamsburg. It served as the gentry-class townhouse residence of various members of the Carter family throughout the eighteenth century, beginning with Charles Carter, the son of Robert "King" Carter, and ending with Robert Carter III of Nomini Hall. Governor Dinwiddie also briefly resided in the house during the renovations of the Governor's Palace between 1751 and 1752. 

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 88-89).

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Exterior of the Governor's Palace, looking out through the front gate at the arrival of a carriage and costumed interpreters, 1933. “The Governor’s Palace was an important element in [Williamsburg’s] great civic design. Sited at the end of a broad, imposing green, the governor’s residence terminated in the primary north-south axis of the town. The high visibility and symmetrical formality of this complex did much to reinforce the importance of the governorship in the eyes of Virginians.” Construction began on the Governor’s Palace in 1706 under Governor Edward Nott, and finished in 1722 under Governor Alexander Spotswood. In the early 1750s, Governor Robert Dinwiddie commissioned the construction of a Ballroom Wing addition behind the Palace.

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 88-89).

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Exterior of the western Advance Building of the Governor's Palace, 1933.  Reconstructed between March 1932 and April 1934, the western Advance Building likely served varying functions over time.  According to architectural historian Ed Chappel (the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's Shirley and Richard Roberts Director of Architectural and Archaeological  Research), the structure probably served originally as a kitchen in the Palace's early years. Based on archaeological evidence found in the western Advance Building's original eighteenth-century foundations, the hearth was found to be of a larger size, which would correspond to the functional needs of a kitchen.  Today, the location of the present-day Palace Kitchen correlates closely with the site of what may have been a later eighteenth-century kitchen outbuilding within the Palace complex.

Historical documentation also suggests, however, that the building may have been repurposed later as a guardhouse.  “In July 1730 the Governor’s House was reported as being ‘very inconvenient for want of a covered way from the offices into the House’ and ‘a Sum not exceeding one Hundred Pounds’ was appropriated ‘for Building a Covered Way from the Offices belonging to the Governor’s House into the said House.”  In 1745, historian Henry Howe apparently referred to the Palace’s Advance Buildings as “’…two small brick structures, the remains of the Palace…that on the right was the office, and the one on the left the guard house.’”   

(Sources: A. Lawrence Kocher and Thomas T. Waterman, “Governor’s Palace Advance Outbuildings: Block 20, Buildings 3B & 3C Architectural Report,” [Williamsburg, Va.: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1952], 6-7; Ed Chappel, in-person communication in Special Collections Dept., John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, 11 April 2014, Williamsburg, Va.).

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Interior furnishings and decor reflect curators' views in the 1930s as to how Williamsburg's historic interiors may have looked in the eighteenth century. Nevertheless, with new research advancements over the years, the interior furnishings of the Governor’s Palace Kitchen have changed to reflect a more authentic and accurate view of the building’s likely contents and room arrangements.]]>
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Exterior of the Grissell Hay Kitchen, viewed from North England Street, 1933. The one and a half story structure with a large chimney is a typical form for a colonial kitchen, and provided a freestanding building for cooks to work in. This allowed the home to stay cooler during summer months and helped to prevent fires from spreading beyond the outbuilding.  The Grissell Hay Kitchen stands behind the Grissell Hay Lodging House (not pictured here), which "…may be one of the first houses on Market Square."

The Grissell Hay Lodging House, Kitchen, and other outbuildings are located on the corner of Nicholson and North England Street, and are original structures dating to the eighteenth century. “The core of the house may date from around 1720, when it belonged to Dr. Archibald Blair, a Scottish physician and a partner in Williamsburg’s leading mercantile business, the Prentis Store. The present exterior probably dates from the second half of the eighteenth century. Apothecary Peter Hay, whose shop on Duke of Gloucester Street burned in 1756, lived here in the 1760s. After Hay’s death, his widow, Grissell, operated the dwelling as a lodging house. Widows who needed to support themselves and their children often kept lodging houses (the equivalent of today’s bed-and-breakfasts).”

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 48).

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Exterior of the Masonic Lodge, viewed from Francis Street, 1933. "The...Masonic Lodge on the north side of Francis Street stands where 'the ancient and loyal society of free and accepted Masons' met in the late eighteenth century. The Williamsburg chapter, which had been meeting at local taverns since mid-century, received a new charter in 1773. Its members included Peyton Randolph, Peter Pelham, Bishop James Madison, St. George Tucker, and James Monroe. In the 1770s, the lodge held its regular meetings at Market Square Tavern and patronized Christiana Campbell's Tavern for balls and special entertainments. The Masons leased a portion of this lot and met in a building on this property from the 1780s onward."

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 133).

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Begun in 1695, the construction of the Wren Building marked the birth of an academic center in colonial Virginia. One of the oldest academic structures in the United States, the Wren Building was damaged by several fires in 1705, 1859, and 1862, but still retains a large portion of its original outside walls. The building's features are thought to be based upon an adaptation of a Sir Christopher Wren design. ]]>
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This slide offers a close-up view of the arched brick colonnade on the new courthouse built to relocate municipal activities outside of the restored area of Williamsburg in the 1930s. The brick headers and stretchers of the walls are arranged in a Flemish bond pattern. ]]>

This image of the Williamsburg Post Office, in what is known as the Arcade Building, shows the evolution of uses on Merchant's Square. Among the earliest in the shopping mall genre, the area has had a variety of tenants. Initially the town's post office, this building now also houses a portion of today's Trellis Restaurant.]]>

A costumed interpreter stands at the front entrance of Ludwell-Paradise House soon after it opened as one of the early exhibition buildings at Colonial Williamsburg. One of the eighty-eight original eighteenth-century buildings at Colonial Williamsburg, the house played an important role in the museum's founding as the first property purchased by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Members of the Ludwell family resided here in the eighteenth century and Lucy Ludwell Paradise, one of their more eccentric offspring, became a well-known socialite in both London and Virginia. She also became a namesake for this home that is a cornerstone of Williamsburg's restoration.]]>


View looking from the boxwood garden towards the eastern end of the St. George Tucker House. St. George Tucker, a law professor at the College of William and Mary, purchased and moved the central portion of the house from Palace Green to Market Square in 1788. He added wings to enlarge the size.

This formal garden composed of boxwood hedges is situated on the east side of the Tucker House Kitchen.]]>

A smaller seventeenth-century structure stood on the site from 1683 until 1715, when the larger and more elaborate cruciform-style church replaced it. Located at the edge of Palace Green on the corner of Duke of Gloucester Street and Palace Street, the church was originally designed by colonial Governor Alexander Spotswood.

A series of restoration efforts began under Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin's direction between 1903-1907 and continued periodically until completed in 1940. In this 1935 photo of the north facade of Bruton Parish Church, the building retains the Colonial Revival window shutters installed by architect J. Stewart Barney during his 1906 renovation of the exterior, according to how be believed the church appeared in the eighteenth century. The shutters were later removed during final restoration efforts in 1939, given the availability of further research information.

Bruton Parish continues to serve an active Episcopal congregation and has functioned as a site of worship for the community since the parish was first founded in 1674.
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One of the eighty-eight original structures at Colonial Williamsburg, the Courthouse stood on this site from 1770 onwards but underwent a number of minor modifications in the nineteenth century. It was restored to its colonial appearance and opened as an exhibition building in the early 1930s. The Restoration Archaeological Exhibit housed inside offered early museum visitors an opportunity to learn about eighteenth-century artifacts uncovered by archaeologists working in tandem with architectural historians.]]>

The slide shows the Capitol's north facade, from the north gate entrance looking toward the building. The clock and cupola are visible on the clock tower above the entrance to the building. "The H-shaped plan of the Capitol reflects the division of the government between the lower and upper houses of the legislature....As the General Assembly evolved, it comprised the Council [meeting in the west wing, to the right] and the House of Burgesses [in the east wing, to the left], each of which met separately."

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 68).
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This image of the Governor's Palace, shown as it was first reconstructed, includes features and details that changed with later research and investigation. Wrought-iron gates and the over-door balcony are now painted white, and louvered exterior doors have been removed as efforts towards authenticity are refined.]]>

The slide shows the exterior of the Governor's Palace, north facade, featuring the rear entrance and ballroom wing of the building. The ballroom wing was built as an addition during the 1750s. Above its doors, a painted carving of the royal coat of arms is mounted within a pedimented gable. ]]>

The caption reads: "Built in 1710. Where Washington worshipped in 1781. The Parish dates back from 1632. Four presidents of the United States have worshipped within its walls. The bell which hangs in the tower was made in England and presented to the church in 1761 and summoned the patriots together in Revolutionary Times."]]>
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