Official Guide To Colonial Williamsburg

This extensive guide to Colonial Williamsburg contains more than one hundred color photographs of the activities and attractions available in Virginia's restored colonial capital. Color-coded maps identify things to see and do and locate places to shop and dine. Building-by-building drawings help people tour easily. Short biographies about eighteenth-century inhabitants bring colonial society alive. Information about the museums and modern lodging and dining opportunities is included.

From 1607 to 1783, Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown played an important role in our nation's development by serving as the stage for key ideas and events that shaped American history. Here the first permanent English settlement was established, ideas of independence took root, and the American Revolution was won. As our nation celebrates its 400th anniversary, what better time to visit America's birthplace? This lively and lavishly illustrated guide will help you make the most of your visit. More than 250 color illustrations and maps feature the area's must-see historic sites and attractions as well as hotels, restaurants, recreation, and more.

George Yetter's informative text describes why Williamsburg was founded and flourished during the colonial period. He traces the deterioration that followed when the capital moved to Richmond in 1780, and concludes with the exciting story of how Williamsburg's past was saved. Old photographs, daguerreotypes, watercolors, sketches, and maps capture "pre-restoration" Williamsburg. Lovely color "after" photographs show that the vision and dream have been fulfilled.

The first all-new edition of the official guide since 1985, Colonial Williamsburg is the first guide to focus on the Revolutionary City. It includes a comprehensive history of Williamsburg's role in the Revolution, followed by site-by-site descriptions of what happened here and why it mattered and still matters. Also featured are: Photo essays highlighting key scenes from the Revolution, Biographies of Revolutionary figures, Architectural histories, Treasures of the Art Museums, Hotels, Taverns and Restaurants, Recreation, and Shopping. More than 500 color photos.

For more than thirty years, the architectural research department at Colonial Williamsburg has engaged in comprehensive study of early buildings, landscapes, and social history in the Chesapeake region. Its painstaking work has transformed our understanding of building practices in the colonial and early national periods and thereby greatly enriched the experience of visiting historic sites. In this beautifully illustrated volume, a team of historians, curators, and conservators draw on their far-reaching knowledge of historic structures in Virginia and Maryland to illuminate the formation, development, and spread of one of the hallmark building traditions in American architecture. The essays describe how building design, hardware, wall coverings, furniture, and even paint colors telegraphed social signals about the status of builders and owners and choreographed social interactions among everyone who lived or worked in gentry houses, modest farmsteads, and slave quarters. The analyses of materials, finishes, and carpentry work will fascinate old-house buffs, preservationists, and historians alike. The lavish color photography is a delight to behold, and the detailed catalogues of architectural elements provide a reliable guide to the form, style, and chronology of the region's distinctive historic architecture.

This up-to-date and comprehensive look at the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg illuminates the important role it has played in our understanding of 18th-century America.