Site of the Raleigh Tavern Before Restoration

Dublin Core

Title

Site of the Raleigh Tavern Before Restoration

Subject

Raleigh Tavern (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 17. Building 06A.
Taverns (Inns) - Virginia - Williamsburg
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg

Description

Lantern slide featuring a pre-restoration scene looking down Duke of Gloucester Street towards the site of the Raleigh Tavern. It is the tenth 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.

Located on the site of the Raleigh Tavern, the L.W. Lane Store offered a variety of goods ranging from groceries to clothing. A small building housing Pender’s Grocery Store stood to the left. Both businesses stood on the portion of Duke of Gloucester Street known by residents as “uptown,” or towards the Capitol site. They served residents who lived on the west side of Williamsburg.

After the Raleigh Tavern burned in 1859, this large brick store was erected by William W. Vest, who lived in what is today known as the Palmer House. Like his residence, which became a headquarters for Union soldiers after the Battle of Williamsburg in 1862, the shop building played an important role in the Civil War. It was converted into a hospital where town residents cared for wounded Confederate soldiers.

Mr. Levin Winder Lane, Jr., the proprietor of the mercantile store, held positions with both the College of William & Mary and the state government. His large 19th-century brick building became one of the one hundred buildings slated for destruction or relocation because their architecture dated to a later time period. The Merchant’s Square area was envisioned as a way to move businesses to a localized commercial district apart from the historic area.

Publisher

Pacific Stereopticon Co.

Date

ca. 1920s

Is Part Of

Pacific Stereopticon Company Lantern Slide Collection

Format

jpeg

Type

Image

Identifier

PSC-010

Rights Holder

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

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Lantern slide

Physical Dimensions

2 x 3 inches

Citation

“Site of the Raleigh Tavern Before Restoration,” John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, accessed April 20, 2024, https://rocklib.omeka.net/items/show/556.