The caption reads: "The Colonial Capitol of Virginia, Williamsburg, Virginia. This is an authentic reconstruction of the Capitol of the Virginia Colony which was erected in 1705. Here many of the acts and resolutions were adopted which brough about the American Revolution. Here Patrick Henry made his Caesar-Brutus speech. The building has been rebuilt upon its original foundations and is open to the public."]]>
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The Albertype Co. of Brooklyn, NY produced some of the earliest official postcards for Colonial Williamsburg. This one promoted the newly reconstructed Governor's Palace after it opened as an exhibition building on April 22, 1934.]]>
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]]> AVPC-600-V]]> Description reads: "A Visit in Pictures to Virginia's Colonial Capital. This is Williamsburg, the restored capital of the eighteenth century colony of Virginia. Here is the little city as it was for nearly a century when Williamsburg was the home of the Royal Governor and the center of a proud society.
Today the twentieth-century visitor walks the same shaded streets where men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and George Mason began their march into history. And here once more is the Capitol, where Patrick Henry roared his defiance of the Stamp Tax, and where Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights become law. Here are the stately town houses, the modest dwellings of the townspeople, the taverns, shops, and public buildings.
Here craftsmen help to re-create the everyday life of the past. You can see the smiths, wigmaker, weaver, printer, bookbinder, baker, cabinetmaker, cobbler, apotheary, and silversmith making articles which for beauty and utility can take their place with the finest of the present day.
Here carriages drawn by spirited steeds still draw up before the gate of the Palace of the Royal Governors of Virginia, once the social center and symbol of royal authority in the colony. Formal gardens reflecting the influence of English taste upon the colonists still surround the Palace - gardens of boxwood, clipped hedges, pleached arbors, tulips, marigolds, hollyhocks, daylilies, crape myrtle, and magnolias.
Here in the evening by flickering candlelight one may tour the Capitol - visit the General Courtroom, the Governor's Council Chamber, and the Hall of the House of Burgesses - or sit in graceful surroundings at the Governor's Palace to enjoy a concert of eighteenth-century music played on instruments of the period.
Here is the College of William and Mary, founded in 1693, and Bruton Parish Church, where Washington and other patriots worshipped. Here is Williamsburg - seat of culture, center of learning, birthplace of freedom."

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The caption reads: "Bruton Parish Church. Oldest Episcopal Church in America in continuous use, Court church of Colonial Virginia. Worship began 1632. First brick church completed 1683. Present building 1710-15. Transepts built by and for House of Burgesses. Colonial Governor's Canopied Pew. Three sets communion silver, viz.: Jamestown, 1661; William and Mary, 1686; King George III, 1766. Jamestown Font, "Liberty Bell of Virginia," first in America to proclaim civil Independence, May 15th, 1776. George Washington's name on parish register eleven times. Lectern presented by President Theodore Roosevelt. Holy Bible by King Edward VII. Pews Memorial to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, John Tyler, John Marshall, Patrick Henry and many other distinguished worshippers."]]>
Rights and reproductions]]> Rights and reproductions]]> Rights and reproductions]]> Overhead view of the Palace Green, looking south from the Governor's Palace, 1935. Palace Street rings the Green. Formal gardens are visible in the forecourt of the Palace, while a carriage drawn by two horses stands outside the front gate. Two male costumed interpreters, representing enslaved coachmen, wait with the carriage.

The long, broad expanse of the Green, lined on either side by catalpa trees (also known as catawba trees), creates an impressive vista and impression of grandeur upon approach to the Palace. "Palace Green was intended to focus the eye as well as the mind on the source of executive authority in Virginia and to provide the stately official residence at its head with an unimpeded vista to the heart of the community and beyond."

(Source: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation website, "See the Places: Historic Sites and buildings: Palace Green," http://www.history.org/almanack/places/hb/hbpalgr.cfm)

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