THE OUT OF TOWNERS; Williamsburg FINAL Edition

• Published in: The Washington post
• Main Author: Fox, Larry
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, D.C WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post 27.08.1999
• Subjects: Tourism; Travel; Williamsburg Virginia
• ISSN: 0190-8286

The irony for Williamsburg is that the very revolution it nurtured in its government halls and taverns proved its undoing: In 1780, the government was moved to Richmond for safety from British attacks, never to return. And for 150 years, Williamsburg withered. The resurrection of Williamsburg began in 1926, when John D. Rockefeller Jr. became a convert to the vision of a minister named W.A.R. Goodwin, who dreamed of a Williamsburg whose historic buildings, Colonial homes and gardens would be restored to their original majesty. Rockefeller and his family made the dream reality. The first stop must be the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center (between Route 132 and Colonial Parkway, watch for signs; 800/447- 8679). Here you will find maps and program schedules and here is where you can buy your pass. There are three levels of one-day admission passes. The basic ticket ($27 adults, $16 children 6 through 12, younger free) includes an orientation walk, the trade sites, homes, shops and exhibition buildings, plus the DeWitt Wallace Gallery and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center. The Colonist's Pass ($31, $18 children, 5 and younger free) includes all of the above plus Bassett Hall, the former Williamsburg home of John D. Rockefeller Jr., and Carter's Grove, a plantation outside of Williamsburg. The top pass is the Patriot's Pass ($35, $20 children), which includes everything, plus parking and a 20 percent discount on evening programs (except in holiday season). And what will you see in the historic area, which is one mile long and a half-mile wide? Some of the major sites include the Governor's Palace (for information on any of these specific sites, call 800/447- 8679), where the 18th-century Colonial governors lived and ruled. Don't miss the formal gardens behind the palace or the dependencies, particularly the kitchen, where demonstrations of Colonial cooking are held, and the coach house, where a wheelwright demonstrates his trade. The Capitol, where the House of Burgesses and the courts met, was the political center of Colonial Williamsburg, and reenactments today focus on the major events of those turbulent times, including Patrick Henry thundering his defiance of the King in 1765 and Richard Henry Lee's move for independence on June 7, 1776. And more historic buildings and shops line the streets, including a public gaol (jail), a lodging house and an octagon brick magazine that was used to store arms and ammunition as far back as 1715. Here also you can see tradesmen's shops and workplaces, where skilled artisans use 18th- century tools to forge iron and steel, make bricks, work with leather, weave clothing, cobble shoes and build the furniture of the day.