The Visitor’s Center at Colonial Williamsburg now offers a
second film, “The Rockefeller Family and Colonial Williamsburg” (1992, 29 min),
directed by Richard McCluney, Jr.
It follows some showings of “Williamsburg: The Story of a
Patriot” (discussed here May 8, 2008).
The film (often in just 1:33.1 aspect) starts with images of
Williamsburg as a quaint town (with deteriorating colonial buildings) in the
early 1900s, and then describes the gradual involvement of John D. Rockefeller
and especially his wife Abby Aldrich Rockefeller by the rector W.A.R. Goodwin. Economically, Williamsburg had actually
boomed during WWI. Abby enjoyed staying
in Williamsburg as much as she enjoyed the Rockefeller’s other two homes.
Later scenes show the dedication of the restored city (the
effort had started in 1926) by FDR in 1937.
This year, 2012, marks the 75th Anniversary for Colonial
Williamsburg.
Nelson, the son of John and Abby, would become a famous
governor of New York State and cement the concept of a “liberal wing” to the
Republican party; but I don’t remember hearing much about the connection of his
family to Williamsburg when I lived in New York, despite my own experience with
William and Mary, discussed elsewhere in these blogs (Oct. 23, 2011).
The ticket for both films was just $3.
No comments:
Post a Comment