Product Review
Archive Series
Since 1930, Colonial Williamsburg has documented the past in films about its eighteenth-century society and culture. Each film reflects the historical research and cultural norms of the year in which it was produced. Through the voices of the restoration, colonial life, and historic trades, the Archive Series speaks from our past to enlighten contemporary audiences.
Early Stories of the Restoration
Begun in 1928 with a shared vision by philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and rector of Bruton Parish Church, Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg s Historic Area turned the sleepy southern town into a national icon based on the mission that the future may learn from the past.
Williamsburg Restored (1951, 44 minutes) This documentary, which opens with a ten-minute period drama about the importance of Williamsburg in 1774, explains the mission of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin in the 1920s to restore Williamsburg to a colonial American icon. Through the painstaking research of curators, historians, and architects, the town s restoration plan is mapped out. Construction tradesmen from the twentieth century transform rundown exteriors into period edifices. Interiors are modified and restored to livable, sometimes elegant, period condition. This vast undertaking leads to mid-century historical interpretation about the importance of the people and ideas of Williamsburg that forged a new nation.
Extra Features
Colonial Williamsburg by the March of Time (1942, 19 minutes)
While touching on the restoration and importance of Williamsburg as a colonial capital, this color wartime film shows off Colonial Williamsburg as an attraction, from history to shopping to lodging.
City of Williamsburg Harvard Footage (1930, 28 minutes)
This silent B&W film was shot in 1930, before the restoration began on a grand scale. It shows Williamsburg as a sleepy southern town with dirt roads that is about to be transformed.
50th Anniversary of the Restoration Harvard Footage Split Screen (1976, 10 minutes)
