6/12/2023 0 Comments Earman properties williamsburg![]() ![]() Tenants are always on the lookout for any problems, and are asked to report them immediately to help keep larger repairs at bay. “Renters are our eyes and ears on maintenance issues,” says Keith Johnson, director of property management, who oversees the rental program. While the maintenance on Colonial Williamsburg’s buildings is carried out by a team of technicians, tenants serve an important function. Since he arrived, Barker has always been conscious of being the caretaker of the building. Two years later, he moved into Edinburgh Castle. In 1993, Barker was hired to portray Jefferson in a summer program series at Colonial Williamsburg commemorating the 250th anniversary of the former president’s birth. “I happen to enjoy Jeffersonian taste in furniture,” he says. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think that, nor had anyone else ever said it!” But he portrayed Jefferson at a photo shoot at Independence Hall, and the calls started coming in.īarker’s antiques-like this family dining room set-are well-suited to the building’s Colonial-era formality. ![]() You look like Thomas Jefferson.” Barker was astounded. After college, Barker became a professional actor, working on stage and as producer and director in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., until an actor friend who role-played as William Penn told him, “You should do this. My family was devoted to history and fascinated by Jefferson.” A history major at Villanova, Barker’s professional persona as Jefferson has turned him into a scholar on the life of the man who was educated down the street at The College of William & Mary and lived in Williamsburg as Virginia’s second elected governor until he moved the capitol to Richmond in 1780. “We often visited Mount Vernon, Monticello, Williamsburg, and Jamestown. He grew up as the eldest of three boys and traveled with his family on road trips from their home in Philadelphia to historic sites. The nooks and crannies and benches and uses of space are just brilliant.”īarker seems destined to be here. “When you step inside these buildings, they are twice as big as they appear. I had never lived in a house with a fireplace in every room.” Barker also notes that looks can be deceiving in these well-thought-out old houses. You can close off spaces for specific uses and, of course, in cold weather for efficient heating. I really admire its efficiency and intimacy. “The beauty of Colonial architecture is the utilization of space. “It’s an incredible privilege to live here,” says Barker, lounging comfortably on an antique settee. Like many of Williamsburg’s reconstructed buildings, a number of the pieces used were salvaged from derelict buildings across the Chesapeake region dating to the same timeframe.Ĭolonial Williamsburg rebuilt the tavern-turned-home where Bill Barker lives to its exact 18th-century details and proportions on its original foundation, which dates to the early 1700s. This surviving document made accurate reconstruction possible. Thanks to a property-line dispute between John Burdett, the tavern’s original owner, and his neighbor, a detailed sketch of the building-including its unusual projecting front porch chamber-remained in Colonial Williamsburg’s possession. The tavern was rebuilt on its original foundation in 1941. Located only yards away from the capitol building, its ten beds probably were in full use in April and October, when the legislature and courts met, bringing people of every stripe to Williamsburg. Additionally, she said, future Spotswood development homeowners’ association documents will require guidelines and a design review committee - safeguards that will allow standards to be enforced after the developer leaves.Barker’s home is literally a castle, according to the swinging sign out front, which reads “Edinburgh Castle.” As an 18th-century common tavern, the building offered its patrons gambling, drinking, food, and lodging. Frye is also actively working with the city to incorporate the entire development into the Corridor Protection District. Gorman said all the homes will also comply with the development’s pattern book, which is under review by the Architectural Review Board and the company’s own design review committee. Instead, plans call for the use of 10- to 14-foot, pedestrian-scaled light posts that direct light down and out instead of up. He said he is among many people who like to stroll Colonial Williamsburg’s historic area in the evening and asked board members to consider the light pollution the new homes would bring.įrye officials said that they are sensitive to light pollution issues and that as a residential development, there will be no tall or bright light fixtures. So many new homes, Fraser said, would have intense effects on the environment. Williamsburg resident Fraser Hudgins, who spoke at Monday night’s meeting, reminded members of the board that numerous people visit Williamsburg for its distinctive character.
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