Powder Magazine
Dublin Core
Title
Powder Magazine
Subject
Block 12. Building 09.
Powder Magazine (Williamsburg, Va.)
Armories - Virginia - Williamsburg
Description
Pre-restoration view of the Powder Magazine after its first restoration by the APVA, Duke of Gloucester Street, Williamsburg, Virginia.
The octagonal Powder Magazine is an original eighteenth-century structure and has taken on many different functions over time. Constructed in 1715 under the orders of Governor Spotswood, the Magazine first served as a secure storage site for arms, ammunition, and military equipment. It reprised this role during the Civil War, when Confederate soldiers again stored gunpowder inside. In the late nineteenth century, town residents re-purposed the building for use as a Baptist meetinghouse, dancing school, market, and 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.
The octagonal Powder Magazine is an original eighteenth-century structure and has taken on many different functions over time. Constructed in 1715 under the orders of Governor Spotswood, the Magazine first served as a secure storage site for arms, ammunition, and military equipment. It reprised this role during the Civil War, when Confederate soldiers again stored gunpowder inside. In the late nineteenth century, town residents re-purposed the building for use as a Baptist meetinghouse, dancing school, market, and 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
Dementi, Frank
Is Part Of
Frank Dementi Photograph Collection
Format
jpeg
Type
image
Identifier
1965-D-1550
Rights Holder
Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Gelatin silver print
Physical Dimensions
8 x 10 inches
Collection
Citation
Dementi, Frank, “Powder Magazine,” John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, accessed April 23, 2024, https://rocklib.omeka.net/items/show/4240.