Williamsburg Inn Turns 75 In Style

By Desiree Parker Saturday, February 11, 2012

 

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller and her husband, John D. Rockefeller, weren’t pleased with how the furniture was arranged in the lobby when they first set foot in the newly constructed Williamsburg Inn in 1937.

 

Mrs. Rockefeller quickly set about rearranging the Regency period furniture around the large oval rug into intimate groups to facilitate comfortable conversation.

This year the Inn is celebrating its 75th anniversary, and guests who walk through the doors will be greeted by a view of the same carpet and the same comfortable furniture arrangement, and they’ll be treated to the comfort of a gracious country residence just as Mr. Rockefeller envisioned. They will also get a chance to participate in some fun programs planned over the course of the year.

At the time when John D. Rockefeller and Reverend W.A.R. Goodwin strolled along the streets of Williamsburg in the late 1920s discussing the restoration of the colonial capital’s historic buildings, the Williamsburg Inn wasn’t yet a glimmer in either man’s eye.

As visitors began to arrive, though – among them many of Rockefeller’s friends – it became clear to the men that a hotel of some kind was needed.

Goodwin noted that “Many visitors, having heard that the colonial city was being restored, assumed that within twelve months it would surely be finished,” according to the book Welcome to the Williamsburg Inn by Hugh DeSampler. “They began to arrive. No suitable place had yet been provided for accommodation.”

Construction started on the Francis Street location in the spring of 1936, and one year and $750,000 later, the 63-room luxury hotel opened for business. Roses and Regency colors of blue, red, green and gold graced the rooms and hallways of the building, with sumptuous silk draperies covering all the windows, sparkling chandeliers and period furniture of Honduras mahogany.

The Inn was the first hotel in the country to have air conditioning, a water-cooled system that used water pumped from a reflecting pool in the rear courtyard.

In a letter of Rockefeller’s from the time when the Inn was being built, he said, “I shall not be happy to go forward with the Williamsburg Inn until I feel that the most possible has been made of each room as regards to comfort, convenience and charm.”

 

Rockefeller went so far as to have a sample guest room from the Inn built and furnished at Rockefeller Center in New York so he and his wife could visualize the décor, some of which they purchased while traveling through Europe.

In the 1950s, an addition was built that increased the number of rooms to 105. The Regency Room was added in 1972 and the Restoration Bar was added in 2001, following an extensive renovation of the Inn that reduced the number of rooms back to 62, close to the original number, though it allowed for rooms to become larger.

During the renovation, historians worked hard to replicate everything from historic paint and wallpaper to the correct period window treatments and floor finishes.

The Inn has hosted royalty, dignitaries and famous folk since its earliest days. In 1938, child actress Shirley Temple was one of the first famous guests hosted by the Inn; others include Walt Disney, Winston Churchill, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Queen Elizabeth II, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and John Travolta, to name a few.

The most recent glitterati to stay at the Inn was Joan Rivers, who gushed about her visit to WYDaily in December.

Colonial Williamsburg is planning to have a year-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Inn, kicking off April 14 with a champagne reception in the East Lounge and an anniversary dinner in the Regency Room featuring iconic dishes from the past 75 years and entertainment highlights from the Inn’s history.

Executive Chef Travis Brust says the menu will be “a walk through the history of the Inn,” with seven-and-a-half courses, one representing each decade. He plans to offer a similar 7.5 course menu through the year, changing items with the seasons but still staying with the celebratory theme. He hopes to offer the meal for $75, with a collectible menu guests can take home.

“You only have this one chance to knock it out of the park,” Brust says. He is still in the process of planning the dessert, but promises it will be a delight.

Other commemorative events include an April garden party at Bassett Hall, a tastemaker culinary celebration with New York restaurateur Danny Meyer at the Inn in September and a special Grand Illumination event with exclusive dining at the Inn and a 75th anniversary fireworks display over the Inn Terrace in addition to the fireworks over the Historic Area.