Travis House, Exterior
Travis House (Williamsburg, Va.)
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Domestic - Virginia - Williamsburg
Block 13. Building 23A.
Restaurants - Virginia - Williamsburg
A popular restaurant for tourists in the 1930s, the Travis House served food inspired by colonial recipes. It stood for a period of time along Duke of Gloucester Street on the site formerly occupied by the Palace Theatre (Block 13, Building 23A). The structure moved back to its original location at the northeast corner of Francis and Henry Streets in the early 1950s (Block 14, Building 4).
Colonel Edward Champion Travis built the home in 1765 and it acquired several additions as successive owners occupied the site. Travis served in the House of Burgesses and was its most prominent colonial occupant. The house became a residence for superintendents of Eastern State Hospital in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Eastern State Hospital turned the building over to the Williamsburg Restoration in 1929 and this led to its temporary move to Duke of Gloucester Street to become a restaurant.
Lincoln, F.S.
1935
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LC360P6
Travis House, Entrance Detail
Travis House (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 13. Building 23A.
Restaurants - Virginia - Williamsburg
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
A popular restaurant for tourists in the 1930s, the Travis House stood for a period of time along Duke of Gloucester Street on the site formerly occupied by the Palace Theatre. Its menu featured dishes inspired by colonial recipes. The structure moved back to its original location at the northeast corner of Francis and Henry Streets in the early 1950s.
Colonel Edward Champion Travis built the home in 1765 and it acquired several additions as successive owners occupied the site. Travis served in the House of Burgesses and was its most prominent colonial occupant. The house became a residence for superintendents of Eastern State Hospital in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Eastern State Hospital turned the building over to the Williamsburg Restoration in 1929 and this led to its temporary move to Duke of Gloucester Street to become a restaurant between 1930-1951.
Lincoln, F.S.
1935
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LC360P2
Travis House, Front Entrance
Travis House (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 13. Building 23A.
Restaurants - Virginia - Williamsburg
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
A popular restaurant for tourists in the 1930s, the Travis House stood for a period of time along Duke of Gloucester Street on the site formerly occupied by the Palace Theater. Its menu featured dishes inspired by colonial recipes. The structure moved back to its original location at the northeast corner of Francis and Henry Streets in the early 1950s.
Colonel Edward Champion Travis built the home in 1765 and it acquired several additions as successive owners occupied the site. Travis served in the House of Burgesses and was its most prominent colonial occupant. The house became a residence for superintendents of Eastern State Hospital in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Eastern State Hospital turned the building over to the Williamsburg Restoration in 1929 and this led to its temporary move to Duke of Gloucester Street to become a restaurant between 1930-1951.
Lincoln, F.S.
1935
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LC360P1
Finnie House, View From Street
William Finnie House (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 02. Building 07.
Architecture, Domestic - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Colonial - Virginia - Williamsburg
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
View from Francis Street looking towards the William Finnie House. One of the eighty-eight original buildings at Colonial Williamsburg, the Finnie House is named after William Finnie. He resided in the home in the 1770s and early 1780s and held the office of quartermaster general of the Southern Department during the American Revolution.
The Finnie House holds the distinction of retaining an appearance most closely matching its eighteenth-century form throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Restoration efforts in 1932 and 1952 mainly focused upon bringing a few elements of the entrance porch, such as the Doric columns and architrave, back to their original classical forms.
Lincoln, F.S.
1935
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LC357P1
Ayscough Shop, Exterior Detail
Ayscough Shop (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 08. Building 05.
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Stores, Retail - Virginia - Williamsburg
Entrance of the Ayscough Shop in 1935, when it housed the Forge and Wheel, a retail establishment. As noted on the sign, the shop sold decorative ironwork, pottery, and other items.
Christopher Ayscough, the namesake of the shop, tried operating a tavern on the site between 1768-1770. Other shopkeepers, including Catherine Rathell, Matthew Holt, and Jacob Bruce, briefly occupied the store and sold various goods to townspeople.
The structure survived from the eighteenth century, although it was hardly recognizable due to the enlargements and modifications made in the nineteenth century. Once restored to its eighteenth-century appearance, the building exhibited such features typical of a commercial establishment as a gable end entrance and large shop window.
Lincoln, F.S.
1935
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LC356P3
Wren Building, Front Elevation
Wren Building (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 16. Building 03.
College of William & Mary - Buildings
Public buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Front elevation of the Wren Building, College of William and Mary, taken by F.S. Lincoln in 1935. Begun in 1695, the construction of the Wren Building marked the birth of an academic center in colonial Virginia. A series of fires in 1705, 1859, and 1862 damaged parts of the structure but never completely destroyed exterior walls.
Lincoln, F.S.
1935
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LC329P17
Ayscough Shop
Ayscough Shop (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 08. Building 05.
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Stores, Retail - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Colonial - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Domestic - Virginia - Williamsburg
<p>View of Ayscough Shop from Francis Street, 1933. The Ayscough Shop once housed the Forge and Wheel, a retail establishment, which sold decorative ironwork, pottery, and other items.</p>
<p>Christopher Ayscough, the namesake of the shop, tried operating a tavern on the site between 1768-1770. Other shopkeepers, including Catherine Rathell, Matthew Holt, and Jacob Bruce, briefly occupied the store and sold various goods to townspeople.</p>
<p>The structure survived from the eighteenth century, although it was hardly recognizable due to the enlargements and modifications made in the nineteenth century. Once restored to its eighteenth-century appearance, the building exhibited such features typical of a commercial establishment as a gable end entrance and large shop window.</p>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
Shaw, Thomas Mott
1933
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D2008-COPY-1014-1001
John Blair House
John Blair House (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 22. Building 05.
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Colonial - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Domestic - Virginia - Williamsburg
<p>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."</p>
<p>(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, <em>Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg</em> [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 103-104).</p>
Shaw, Thomas Mott
1933
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D2008-COPY-1014-1003
Governor's Palace and Gardens, View Looking Southeast
Governor's Palace (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 20. Building 03.
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Public buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Gardens - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Colonial - Virginia - Williamsburg
Exterior view of the north and west facades of the Governor's Palace and formal gardens, looking southeast from the pleached hornbeam arbor behind the Palace, 1933. In the background stands the ballroom wing, an addition constructed during the 1750s, and the royal arms are featured in its pedimented gable. The Palace's gardens, designed by Arthur Shurcliff, include boxwood parterres and one dozen large cylindrical shrubs known as the Twelve Apostles, a feature often appearing in eighteenth-century English gardens.
Shaw, Thomas Mott
1933
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D2008-COPY-1014-1028
Governor's Palace North Facade Through Clairvoyee
Governor's Palace (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 20. Building 03.
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Public buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Gardens - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Colonial - Virginia - Williamsburg
Exterior view of the Governor's Palace Ballroom Wing and formal gardens, north facade, as seen through an elaborate clairvoyée (wrought-iron gate) behind the Palace, 1933. The Ballroom Wing of the Palace, featured in the background, was built as an addition during the 1750s by Governor Robert Dinwiddie. Above its rear doors, a painted carving of the royal coat of arms is mounted within a pedimented gable. The Palace's gardens, designed by Arthur Shurcliff, include boxwood parterres and one dozen large cylindrical shrubs known as the Twelve Apostles, a feature which often appeared in eighteenth-century English gardens.
Shaw, Thomas Mott
1933
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D2008-COPY-1014-1033
Ewing House and Josias Moody House
Moody House (Williamsburg, Va.)
Ewing House (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 02. Building 28.
Block 02. Building 31.
Architecture, Colonial - Virginia - Williamsburg
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Domestic - Virginia - Williamsburg
<p>Exterior of the Ewing House and Josias Moody House, viewed to the south on Francis Street, 1933. The Ewing House (on the left) "...is named for Ebenezer Ewing, a Scottish merchant. When he died in 1795, Ewing left the house to Elizabeth Ashton, the mother of his illegitimate son Thomas, with the proviso that 'the moment she marries...it becomes the property of my son.' Elizabeth remained single until her death four years later, when young Thomas inherited the dwelling. In 1805, the Williamsburg Hustings Court ordered the boy's legal guardian 'to bond out Thomas Ewing for three years to learn the art of seaman or mariner'; Thomas disappeared before completing his apprenticeship. The Ewing House and Shop are now hotel accommodations.</p>
<p>Josias Moody, a blacksmith, owned the unpretentious house next door [to the right of the Ewing House] from 1794 until he died about 1810. Architectural evidence suggests that the Moody House dates from 1725 to 1750. The house was altered several times before reaching its present size and appearance by 1782. The long lean-to roof on the back indicates that additions were made to an earlier structure. The kitchen behind the house is now a hotel facility."</p>
<p>(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, <em>Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg</em> [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 130-131).</p>
Shaw, Thomas Mott
1933
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D2008-COPY-1014-1048
Raleigh Tavern Entrance
Raleigh Tavern (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 17. Building 06.
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Colonial - Virginia - Williamsburg
Taverns (Inns) - Virginia - Williamsburg
<p>Exterior of the Raleigh Tavern, view of the front entrance looking north from across Duke of Gloucester Street, 1933. The tavern's signboard stands in the foreground to the left, while in the background, a gowned female costumed interpreter (once referred to as a "hostess") is shown standing to the right of the building's entrance. A lead bust of Sir Walter Raleigh, the noted navigator-explorer, is featured in the broken pediment above the tavern's front doors.</p>
<p>The Raleigh Tavern was the frequent scene of both jollity and consequence, and was "....the foremost of Williamsburg's taverns in the eighteenth century. Established about 1717, the Raleigh Tavern grew in size and reputation through the years. Letters, diaries, newspaper advertisements, and other records indicate that the Raleigh was one of the most important taverns in colonial Virginia. It served as a center for social, commercial, and political gatherings; small private and large public dinners; lectures and exhibitions; and auctions of merchandise, land, and the enslaved." Burned to the ground in 1859, the tavern was reconstructed from published illustrations, insurance policies, and archaeology that uncovered most of the original foundations.</p>
<p>(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, <em>Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg</em> [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 60).</p>
Shaw, Thomas Mott
1933
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D2008-COPY-1014-1054
St. George Tucker House, South Facade
St. George Tucker House (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 29. Building 2.
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Domestic - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Colonial - Virginia - Williamsburg
Exterior of the St. George Tucker House, viewed from behind the fence of the Roscow-Cole Stable yard across Nicholson Street, 1933. This view of the St. George Tucker property shows the front elevation of one of the Historic Area's original eighteenth-century houses, when it was still occupied by descendants of the original builder. 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, and a 1798 paint agreement specifies the color scheme used on the house. Later additions and outbuildings have since been removed, with new modifications made.
At the time this sketch was made, Tucker family descendants still lived in the home, as they were granted life tenancy after its restoration. The building now serves as a donor hospitality center.
Shaw, Thomas Mott
1933
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D2008-COPY-1014-1059
Proposed Addition to the Williamsburg Inn, View from the South East, 1938
Williamsburg Inn (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 02. Building 65.
Architecture, Colonial - Virginia - Williamsburg
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Hotels - Virginia - Williamsburg
<p>Proposed addition to the Williamsburg Inn, view from the southeast looking northwest, 1938. This proposed addition was never built. "Abby and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. were involved in every aspect of the design, construction, and furnishing of the Williamsburg Inn. They created one of the finest luxury hotels in North America. When the famed philanthropist first built the Inn in 1937, he insisted that 'the most possible has been made of each room as regards comfort, convenience and charm.' In 2001, Colonial Williamsburg continued to fulfill Rockefeller's original vision through the most extensive interior renovation in the Inn's history spanning the landmark's public spaces and guest rooms, reducing the number from 100 to 62. ...The Williamsburg Inn has welcomed hundreds of VIPs, including Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, President and Mrs. Jiang Zemin of China, and countless American presidents" and world dignitaries.</p>
<p>(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman,<em> Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg</em> [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 164-165).</p>
Shaw, Thomas Mott
1938
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D2008-COPY-1014-1063
Wren Building, Exterior Entrance to Great Hall
Wren Building (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 16. Building 3.
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Public buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Colonial - Virginia - Williamsburg
Exterior view of the entrance to the Great Hall of the Wren Building at the College of William and Mary, 1933. Professors and students gathered in the Great Hall at long tables and benches to dine and converse during the colonial era. The room also served as a place to hold meetings, and members of the colonial House of Burgesses also occasionally met in this room when the Capitol building underwent renovations.
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.
Shaw, Thomas Mott
1933
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D2008-COPY-1014-1067
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
Ayscough's Shop on York Road
Ayscough House (Williamsburg, Va.)
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Stores, Retail - Virginia - Williamsburg
Block 08. Building 05.
Lantern slide featuring a photo of the exterior of Ayscough Shop taken by F.S. Lincoln. It is the twelfth 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.
This slide shows the entrance of the Ayscough Shop in 1935, when it housed the Forge and Wheel, a retail establishment. As noted on the sign, the shop sold decorative ironwork, pottery, and other items.
Christopher Ayscough, the namesake of the shop, tried operating a tavern on the site between 1768-1770. Other shopkeepers, including Catherine Rathell, Matthew Holt, and Jacob Bruce, briefly occupied the store and sold various goods to townspeople.
The structure survived from the eighteenth century, although it was hardly recognizable due to the enlargements and modifications made in the nineteenth century. Once restored to its eighteenth-century appearance, the building exhibited such features typical of a commercial establishment as a gable end entrance and large shop window.
Lincoln, F.S.
Pacific Stereopticon Co.
1935
jpeg
Image
PSC-012
Ludwell-Paradise House Entrance
Ludwell-Paradise House (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 18-1. Building 07.
Architecture, Domestic - Virginia - Williamsburg
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Hand-colored lantern slide featuring a photo of the entrance of the Ludwell-Paradise House taken by F.S. Lincoln in 1935. It is the fourteenth 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.
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.
Lincoln, F.S.
Pacific Stereopticon Co.
1935
jpeg
Image
PSC-014
Paradise House
Ludwell-Paradise House (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 18-1. Building 07.
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Domestic - Virginia - Williamsburg
Lantern Slides - Hand colored - 1930-1940
View of the front elevation of the Ludwell-Paradise House as featured on a lantern slide produced by A.D. Handy Co. 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.
A.D. Handy Co.
jpeg
Image
HLS-54
Nightingale House, Williamsburg, Virginia
Lantern slides - Hand-colored - 1930-1940
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Domestic - Virginia - Williamsburg
William Lightfoot House (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 11. Building 14.
Post-restoration view of the William Lightfoot House, once known as the Nightingale House. Yorktown merchant William Lightfoot constructed the dwelling to serve as a town home during visits to Williamsburg to participate in the Governor's Council. Later occupants enlarged the house to include an east wing and front porch, both of which were removed during the building's restoration in 1931.
A.D. Handy Co.
Circa 1930s
jpeg
Image
HLS-49