Great Hall, Wren Building
Wren Building (Williamsburg, Va.)
College of William and Mary
Block 16. Building 03.
Public buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Lantern slide featuring a photo of the interior of the Great Hall of the Wren Building, College of William & Mary, taken by F.S. Lincoln in 1935. It is the eighth slide in a set produced by the Pacific Stereopticon Co. of Los Angeles, California, now defunct, to illustrate the story of Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin's dream to restore a portion of Williamsburg, Virginia to its 18th-century appearance as a shrine to early American ideals.
The slide offers a view looking towards the fireplace in the Great Hall. During the colonial era, the room served as a dining area for professors and students to gather for common meals. Members of the House of Burgesses also occasionally met in this room when the Capitol underwent renovations.
Lincoln, F.S.
Pacific Stereopticon Co.
1935
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PSC-008
The Children's Stairway in the Richard Bland Tavern, Williamsburg, Va.
Wetherburn's Tavern (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 09. Building 31.
Taverns - Virginia - Williamsburg
Postcards - Virginia - Williamsburg
Recto and verso of postcard depicting a narrow set of stairs in the Richard Bland Tavern (now called Wethburn's Tavern.) What is referred to as the children’s stairway on the postcard is a flight of service stairs located in the rear hall of the first floor of the tavern.
At the time the postcard was produced in the 1930s, a ghost story surrounded this particular feature of the tavern. According to a caption on the card: “In this historical house, before the Revolution, there were thirty-two children born to one mother and father, eleven single births and the other in twins and triplets. It is said a beautiful lady with long flowing hair that reached below her waist, wearing a soft blue gown that touched the floor, had been seen to come to this stairway when little children played on it. She is known as the lady in blue or the fairy godmother of little boys and girls.”
Early visitors to Colonial Williamsburg could dine, lodge, and purchase souvenirs and antiques at the Richard Bland Tavern. This postcard of the children’s stairway formed part of a set that visitors most likely could find in the tavern gift shop.
The Collotype Co.
ca. 1930s
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AV2001-09-06-R