Ummm... no. Colonial Williamsburg has nothing to do with Busch Gardens and Universal Studios besides being in the same county.
The restoration of colonial (small c) Williamsburg was the brainchild of a College of William and Mary professor, who was distressed to see the last 18th century buildings in the center of town disappearing. The restoration involved pulling down a number of 19th C buildings, to make way for reconstructed 18th C ones. The restored and reconstructed buildings are mostly where they were, and how they appeared, circa 1740. Yes, the Colonial Williamsburg shopkeepers drive their cars back to their 20th-21st C houses at the end of the day. What would you expect? That they'd be riding horses and using privies? Rick http://photo.net/photos/RickW ----- Original Message ----- From: John Sessoms <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Cc: Sent: Wednesday, July 4, 2012 7:10 PM Subject: Re: PESO - Waiting From: Rick Womer > Thanks, Chris! > > Williamsburg was Virginia's capital during the colonial period, and > until 1780 (when it moved to Richmond).? Colonial Williamsburg is a > nonprofit organization that began restoring the colonial capital > beginning in the 1930s, with Rockefeller support.? They describe > themselves as a "living museum" of life in pre-revolution > Williamsburg, including most of the colonial-era crafts.? There are > also a number of historical and archeological researches going on.? > It's a marvelous place to spend a few days. > > Rick It's a "history" theme park that predates Disneyland. The amusement park aspect is kept outside the boundaries & line of sight of the colonial "Main Street USA", but it's there. The driving purpose behind Colonial Williamsburg is strictly commercial. Many of the "restored" buildings did not actually exist back colonial times. Colonial Williamsburg demolished something like 700 buildings from the 19th century to make way for what is essentially a gigantic showroom for "Colonial Revival" style merchandising. Supposedly 88 of the 500 buildings in Colonial Williamsburg are "original", whatever that actually means. Any resemblance to the real life of colonial America is purely coincidental. I like Colonial Williamsburg, but I don't mistake it for historical fact. When it closes for the night, the "residents" get in their 21st century cars and drive home to their 20th century houses. If the tourists ever stop coming there to spend their money, it will be replaced by a super-Walmart so fast it will make your tricorne hat spin! -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
