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Market House Field Work

November 26, 2014 by Guest Blogger Leave a Comment

Market House, Market Drayton, Shropshire, England, 1824. This gabled, open-sided market house illustrates a relatively refined but small market structure, treated as a temple. Note how the center pair of columns in the gable end are more widely spaced than the others, suggesting that the principal axis of circulation for shoppers was down the center of the building, with market stalls on either side. This is the arrangement adopted for the Williamsburg Market House (photo: Photograph by Jeffrey E. Klee, CWF).

Market House, Market Drayton, Shropshire, England, 1824. This gabled, open-sided market house illustrates a relatively refined but small market structure, treated as a temple. Note how the center pair of columns in the gable end are more widely spaced than the others, suggesting that the principal axis of circulation for shoppers was down the center of the building, with market stalls on either side. This is the arrangement adopted for the Williamsburg Market House (photo: Photograph by Jeffrey E. Klee, CWF).

In two early Reconstruction Blog posts, architectural historian Carl Lounsbury described the market day scene: what you might see, hear, and smell, and how markets functioned in 18th century towns. Architectural conservator Matt Webster then walked us through the process of calculating quantities, and producing (by hand) the materials needed to reconstruct Williamsburg’s Market House. But how did we get from “there” to “here”? In this post, architectural historian Jeff Klee describes the architectural field work that informed working drawings for Williamsburg’s 18th century Market House. 

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Filed Under: Historic Preservation

Preserving the Link to Jamestown Island’s Earliest Days

November 12, 2014 by Ben Swenson Leave a Comment

Restoration mason Kevin Nieto works in a tight space between tower and church.

Restoration mason Kevin Nieto works in a tight space between tower and church.

Historic buildings are often resplendent against the backdrop of a picture-perfect day. They let us leave the 21st-century for a momentary glimpse of life long ago. Yet the hard work required to create those snapshots isn’t always blue skies and sunshine. One case in point now stands at Historic Jamestowne, cradle of modern American culture.

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Filed Under: Historic Preservation

Throwback Thursday: The Courthouse

October 2, 2014 by What's New Team Leave a Comment

throwback_courthouseThe Courthouse was built in 1770 and 1771 on Market Square. It was here that Williamsburg’s citizens assembled at 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 1, 1783, to celebrate the end of the war with England – just as they had gathered seven years earlier to hear lawyer Benjamin Waller proclaim from its steps the Declaration of Independence. The Courthouse served the Williamsburg community for more than 160 years. Confederates used it as a hospital after the Civil War Battle of Williamsburg, and by the time they carried off their wounded, the doors and windows were gone as well – used perhaps for firewood….

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Filed Under: Historic Preservation, History

Throwback Thursday: The Tayloe House

September 25, 2014 by What's New Team Leave a Comment

throwback_tayloeThe Tayloe House was constructed between 1752 and 1759. Col. John Tayloe, one of the wealthiest men in 18th-century Virginia, purchased the property in 1759 for 600 pounds, a very high price for a frame house at that time. Tayloe probably used it as a town house during the years he served on the Governor’s Council….

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Filed Under: Historic Preservation, History

Throwback Thursday: The William Lightfoot House

August 21, 2014 by What's New Team Leave a Comment

throwback_WmLightfootThe William Lightfoot House stands on the south side of Duke of Gloucester Street, across the street from the Ludwell-Paradise House. This part of the Duke of Gloucester Street was less commercially attractive in the 18th century than the east end since it was farther away from the Capitol. The lots were not subdivided, so this area appears to have more open space. The William Lightfoot House is one of the 88 original buildings in the Revolutionary City. It  belonged to a Yorktown merchant whose business brought him to Williamsburg frequently enough that he built a home to use during his visits. Today the house serves as a private residence….

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Filed Under: Historic Preservation, History

Pipes are Straightened

August 7, 2014 by John Watson Leave a Comment

Bent pipe.

Before treatment, the pipes were bent, torn, and twisted.

By John Watson

The badly twisted, torn and mangled pipes are among the more daunting problems to be solved in the treatment of the “Tucker” organized upright grand piano. A conventional approach to restoration would probably involve replacing them with new ones. Some restorers have even melted down original pipes to make new ones, copying the old dimensions as a method of preserving them. But as we will see, dimensions and even the metal alloy itself are not the only, or even the main things we are here to preserve.…

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Filed Under: Historic Preservation

A house of a different color

August 7, 2014 by Guest Blogger 10 Comments

The shade on the Capitol before it was painted (left) and then after.

The shade on the Capitol before it was painted (left) and then after.

By Dawn Chase

In today’s world, the color you paint your house is a matter of aesthetics and not much else.

But in 18th-century Colonial Williamsburg, paint color reveals much more. It advertises the status of a building’s owner. And it shows that early Virginians, from the beginning, created their own vibrant style that set them apart from the British motherland….

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Filed Under: Behind the Scenes, Historic Preservation

The Pipe Treatment Begins

July 15, 2014 by John Watson Leave a Comment

Lou Dolive inventories the pipes

By John Watson

The first step: Inventory the pipes and determine what is missing. For this, we turned to veteran organ-pipe maker Louis Dolive….

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Filed Under: Historic Preservation

A Conservation Pipeline

June 22, 2014 by John Watson Leave a Comment

Keys, Hammers, and Pipes 2014-06-25-02By John Watson

Restorative conservation of the Tucker instrument will begin with one of our more daunting challenges: to straighten the severely damaged metal pipes. While the wood pipes survived in relatively good condition, the metal ones were hardly recognizable as organ pipes. All were crushed and folded so even the longest pipe could fit in a 24-inch long cardboard box.

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Filed Under: Historic Preservation

Bunker Hill and the Colonial Williamsburg Connection

June 17, 2014 by Bill Sullivan Leave a Comment

Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick cover

June 17 is the anniversary of the first major military engagement of the American Revolution, the Battle of Bunker Hill. On a clear day in Boston in 1775, British forces made a third and successful attempt to dislodge Patriot militia holding Breed’s Hill.

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Filed Under: Historic Preservation, History

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