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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]]>
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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.]]>
Oblique view of the front elevations of the Ludwell-Paradise House and Prentis Store, looking east down Duke of Gloucester Street, 1935.  One of the eighty-eight original eighteenth-century buildings at Colonial Williamsburg, the Ludwell-Paradise house (pictured to the left) 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.

The Prentis Store, pictured to the right, was built circa 1739-1740.  Another one of Williamsburg's eighty-eight original eighteenth-century buildings, "the Prentis Store is Williamsburg's best-surviving example of a colonial store.  The firm of Prentis and Company (named after the store's original merchant-shop keeper, William Prentis), operated a highly successful general store in this handsome original building from 1740 until the Revolution.  A classic example of store architecture, its gable end faces the street.  Through the door above, merchandise could easily be lifted into the loft. Windows along the sides were located toward the rear of the building to light the counting room and to leave long, blank walls for ample shelving in the sales area."

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 52-53).

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Garr-014B (B&W)]]> Exterior of the John Blair House, view from Duke of Gloucester Street, 1935. "The John Blair House and Kitchen on the north side of Duke of Gloucester Street was the home of a prominent family of Virginians. The Reverend James Blair (1655-1743), founder and first president of the College of William and Mary, came to Virginia in 1685....The original, easterly part of the John Blair House was built early in the eighteenth century. It is one of the oldest houses in Williamsburg. Town tradition has it that the stone steps at both doors came from the Palace Street theater. The steps were added when the house was lengthened twenty-eight feet to the west sometime during the second quarter of the eighteenth century."

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 103-104).

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Exterior of the John Blair House, viewed from Duke of Gloucester Street, 1933. "The John Blair House and Kitchen on the north side of Duke of Gloucester Street was the home of a prominent family of Virginians. The Reverend James Blair (1655-1743), founder and first president of the College of William and Mary, came to Virginia in 1685....The original, easterly part of the John Blair House was built early in the eighteenth century. It is one of the oldest houses in Williamsburg. Town tradition has it that the stone steps at both doors came from the Palace Street theater. The steps were added when the house was lengthened twenty-eight feet to the west sometime during the second quarter of the eighteenth century."

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 103-104).

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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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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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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.]]>
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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. Several grocers operated small food markets in restored or reconstructed structures.


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