Photos courtesy Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Casey’s Department Store occupied the northeast corner of Duke of Gloucester and N. Henry Streets before the new Casey’s was built. This picture shows the old Casey’s.
Chappell said. “It didn’t have the name Merchants Square until the 1960s. The insides of the buildings have changed more than the outside,” he noted. During construction, the buildings were set back farther from the street offering easy pedestrian access. Power and telephone lines were buried and trees and plants were planted to conceal heating ducts and garage equipment. The street eventually was closed to vehicular traffic and parking. Over the years there have been several businesses that have come and gone. Merchants Square was the site of a Howard Johnson restaurant, now Binns, and an A&P Grocery Store, now the Craft House. “The post office was initially where the Christmas Shop and Trellis are,” Chappell recalled. “Then it moved a block to the north and then in the 1960s moved to where Seasons is. Then it moved to Lafayette Street.” Williamsburg United Methodist Church on Jamestown Road was once located in location where Talbots is located. The newly opened DoG Street Pub was originally built as Peninsula National Bank. That building stayed a bank until a couple of years ago. Williamsburg Drug, which were longtime tenants was located where Williams & Sonoma is located. The drugstore has moved to McLaws Circle. The Kimball Theatre was originally called the Williamsburg Theater and it opened in the early 1930s. The WILLIAMSBURG MAGAZINE, JUNE 2013
Circa 1930, a house where Binns now stands. Just to the right is the “new” building where R. Bryant and Bella are now housed.
theater was restored and renovated in 2000 to allow for live performances in addition to movies. A 35-seat screening room was added upstairs. Locals remember Casey’s Department Store which anchored the square for seven decades. It closed in 1999 and was renovated to become the College of William & Mary Bookstore. “The idea of putting the college bookstore a block east of the college was part of an effort to keep Merchants Square vital and to integrate the college to draw students and townspeople to the east side of Merchants Square,” Chappell said. “For many years it was Casey’s Department Store so the space worked really well as a bookstore.” The yearlong celebration of Merchants Square includes a trivia contest that runs through May 13. The ever-popular Summer Breeze concert series will start earlier on June 19. The hope is more area residents and visitors will visit the square/ “I think the point it was it was always intended for visitors and Williamsburg citizens and still is,” Chappell said. “I think there is still a lot of draw for the local population.” More – Visit www.merchantssquare.org. –Ann Efimetz
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