Timeless Architecture is About Taking A Long View

Before I even thought about becoming an architect, I was surrounded by timeless buildings. I grew up in Williamsburg, VA.  As you may know, Williamsburg is frozen in time and preserved for a vision of life in the 18th century. Its transition into a time capsule was not intentional, but interesting nonetheless.

Williamsburg was once the capital of Virginia and a very prominent, important city - at least until 1780 when the capital was moved to Richmond. Then Williamsburg became just a normal little town - its significance deflated like a balloon. Much of the wealth and intellectual strength moved on, and over the years many buildings were literally abandoned. It was somewhat preserved, like a woolly mammoth falling into the tar pits for later discovery.

My grandmother, Maxwell Brockenbrough Houghland (GranMax as we called her), grew up on a farm near Tappahannock, and attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.  Her memory of Williamsburg was of the time when it was struggling and had reverted to just a sleepy college town and rural county seat. In fact, her description of the Duke of Gloucester Street (Main Street in any other town) sounded rather rough with whore houses (although I’m sure she used a different term) and pool halls.

Soon after she graduated from William and Mary, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. funded and led the massive reconstruction of the 18th century city. And during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1934 visit to Williamsburg, my grandmother’s familiar Duke of Gloucester Street was proclaimed “the most historic avenue in America”.

Fast forward to me as a boy and then a teenager, wearing a tricorne hat working as a shepherd, tour guide, and Fife and Drum drummer surrounded by buildings that were literally hundreds of years old.  It all had quite an effect on me. A great respect for history, preservation, city planning, architecture, (and a dislike of hot, uncomfortable clothing) was subtly introduced into my psyche. 

This is a rather literal take on “timeless” since Williamsburg is now part of a protected historic area. But it does not diminish my belief in the value of timeless architecture and believing that, when we design and build, we need to take a longer view.