Williamsburg, Tried But True

CW opened its doors in 1934 and has been thriving ever since. It differs from other living history museums in several key respects. Prime among these is the sheer scope of the place. Situated on over 300 acres, the Restored Area is so large it requires buses to take you around and comes with a full complement of Colonial craft shops: an apothecary, a blacksmith, a wigmaker, gun- and silversmiths, a printer, a cabinet maker, a milliner, shoe- and saddlemakers, and on and on. The original town, though, was much more than its shops. Williamsburg was the capital of Colonial Virginia. As such, its structures included a Capitol building where the Colonial legislature met and a palace to house the royal governor. It also had a courthouse, a powder magazine, and a jail - or gaol, as they spelled it back then.

Also, partly because of its size, CW is not gated, which means the public is free to enjoy the Colonial part at will, at least from the outside. (CW tried to change this situation a few years back by lobbying to put up barriers so that only paying guests could come in - a plan which fortunately went nowhere.)

You'll want to get a ticket, though, in order to see the Colonial craftsmen at work and tour the various museums. There are several ticket packages available. If you want the whole enchilada and get inside all the buildings, at a minimum you'll need a Governor's Key-to-the-City Pass.

Whichever plan you choose, you'll want to begin at the Visitors' Center, just a few miles from the Restored Area. Conveniently, the Visitors' Center not only introduces you to the town; it's also a means of getting all those nasty horseless carriages away from CW's cobblestone streets. Among the highlights here is the introductory film, Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot, which still gives as nice an overview of the town as it did when it was made nearly fifty years ago. The patriot of the title is fictional burgess John Fry, who bears a striking resemblance to Steve McGarrett on Hawaii Five-O. (Jack Lord made the film in the late 50s, a decade before he began the TV series.)

After that, it's on to the buses, which will take you to the edge of the Restored Area, where you can start to wander around. You'll want to take your time. Williamsburg is not a

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