Magazine, View Looking Southwest

Dublin Core

Title

Magazine, View Looking Southwest

Subject

Powder Magazine (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 12. Building 09.
Powder Magazines - Virginia - Williamsburg
Historic Buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Public Buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Colonial - Virginia - Williamsburg

Description

Exterior of the Powder Magazine, looking southwest toward the building's entrance, 1933. Among Williamsburg's original eighteenth-century buildings, the octagonal Powder Magazine has taken on many different functions over time. Constructed in 1715 under the orders of Governor Spotswood, the Magazine was used as a secure storage site for arms, ammunition, and military equipment sent by Queen Anne for protection of the colony. The surrounding wall was added during the French and Indian War for added security.

The Magazine reprised its role during the Civil War, when Confederate soldiers again stored gunpowder inside. In the late nineteenth century, town residents repurposed the building for use as a market house, Baptist church, dancing school, and livery stable. Efforts by the A.P.V.A. to protect the historic structure led to its preservation as an early tourist attraction in Williamsburg prior to the birth of Colonial Williamsburg.

Creator

Shaw, Thomas Mott

Date

1933

Date Created

1933

Rights

This material is protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). For reproduction queries: Rights and reproductions

Format

jpeg

Type

Image

Identifier

D2008-COPY-1014-1044

Rights Holder

Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Graphite on paper

Physical Dimensions

43.5 x 29 cm

Citation

Shaw, Thomas Mott, “Magazine, View Looking Southwest,” John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, accessed March 29, 2024, https://rocklib.omeka.net/items/show/405.