In honor of the Coffeehouse opening, we wanted to repost links to all of the Coffeehouse Conversations videos. As you may recall, these short videos document a broad-range of parts of the project, and feature many of our staff members who have worked on the project. Many thanks to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Division of Productions, Publications, and Learning Ventures, who produced all of these videos.

All of the videos require Adobe Flash® to view. If you don't have Adobe Flash installed, you can download a free version from Adobe's website.

Episode 1 - Archaeology

This episode escribes the archaeological work that has gone on at the site, as well as some of the artifacts that have been found.

Episode 2, Brick & Mortar, describes the masonry work involved in the project, including the dismantling of the 19th century foundations, and the firing of new bricks.

Episode 3, The Raising, shows the raising of the Coffeehouse south wall.

Episode 4, Carpentry, focus on the work of the Historic Trades Carpenters, including pit sawing and the raising of the frame.

Episode 5, Mastering the Brew, shows the research, experimentation, and overall process that goes into making historically accurate coffee.

Episode 6, Iron Works, shows the variety of work done by our Historic blacksmiths for the Coffeehouse project.

Episode 7,Stimulating Brews, describes the consumption of coffee, tea, and chocolate in the Colonies.

Episode 8, Plaster Works, covers the process that went in to creating and then applying plaster.

Episode 9, A Historic Interior, talks about the work that goes into furnishing a historic Coffeehouse.

Episode 10, A Particular Charm, gives a summary of the project, and our goal of creating as authentic an experience as possible.

Click on the image to open the video.

We've posted the tenth video in our Coffeehouse Conversations series; this episode is entitled A Particular Charm, and features Jim Horn, Vice President for Research and Historical Interpretation.

In this episode, Jim gives a summary of the project and its results. He describes the project's attempts to create as accurate an 18th century Coffeehouse as possible, inside and out. Jim also discusses the role of a Coffeehouse in Colonial society, as well as the role of Charlton's in the environment and experience of Colonial Williamsburg. Coffeehouse Conversations is produced by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's division of Productions, Publications, and Learning Ventures.

The video is 4 minutes and 37 seconds in length, and requires Adobe Flash® to view. If you don't have Adobe Flash installed, you can download a free version from Adobe's website.

This is just a quick note to mention an article about the Coffeehouse reconstruction in today's Washington Post. The article discusses the history of the Coffeehouse and the reconstruction process, as well as the challenges that face museums in the twenty-first century. It includes quotes from Vice President for Research and Historical Interpretation Jim Horn, and Vice President and Chief Curator of Collections, Conservation, and Museums Ron Hurst.

Here's the link:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/18/AR2009111804000.html

The Charlton's Coffeehouse sign.

Update - We received a bit more detail on the opening schedule, so we've added/changed the appropriate information.

Greetings. We wanted to share some last minute information about the Opening Program and Ceremony for the Coffeehouse.

Here's the schedule:

• Historic Trades will provide demonstrations from 2 to 4 p.m. in front of the Secretary's Office.
• Beginning at 3 p.m., we'll have a variety of entertainment throughout the area, including musicians, actors, and interpreters.
• There will be free samples of Charlton's Blend coffee, cider, and American Heritage Chocolate served between Shields and Palmer House.
• At 3:45 p.m., the Fife & Drums will play, to let the public know that the Opening Program is about to begin.
• At 4 p.m., we'll have a preview of the new Revolutionary City scene based on the Stamp Act Riot of 1765, when Chief Distributor of Stamps George Mercer was pulled from ane angry crowd by Lieutenant-Governor Francis Fauquier.
• After the end of the Stamp Act scene, there will be the Opening Cermony itself, including the welcome and remarks by Richard Tilghman, Jeanne Zeidler, Colin Campbell, and Forrest Mars.
• Later in the evening, we'll open up the Coffeehouse to public tours. The community open house will continue throughout Saturday and Sunday, featuring free tours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There will be no Revolutionary City programming this Friday, and access to the area will be open to everyone with or without a ticket.

Click on the image to open the video.

We've just posted the ninth video in our Coffeehouse Conversations series. This episode is entitled A Historic Interior, and features Ronald Hurst, who is Vice President and Chief Curator of Collections, Conservation, and Museums.

In the video, Ron discusses the research and other work that goes in to furnishing a historic interior, as well as going into a bit more detail about the differences between rooms of the Coffeehouse and the manner in which the building would have operated. Coffeehouse Conversations is produced by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's division of Productions, Publications, and Learning Ventures.

The video is 4 minutes and 39 seconds in length, and requires Adobe Flash® to view. If you don't have Adobe Flash installed, you can download a free version from Adobe's website.

Click on the image to open the video.

We've just posted the eighth video in our Coffeehouse Conversations series. This episode is entitled Plaster Works, and it features Conservator of Architecture Matthew Webster; it also shows members of the Historic Masonry Trades Staff, bricklayers from the Maintenance Department, and members of the Conservation team.

In the video, Matt describes the process of acquiring lime from oyster shells, and then goes on to explain the composition and application of plaster in the Coffeehouse. Coffeehouse Conversations is produced by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's division of Productions, Publications, and Learning Ventures.

The video is 6 minutes and 13 seconds in length, and requires Adobe Flash® to view. If you don't have Adobe Flash installed, you can download a free version from Adobe's website.

The coffee room is readied for the broadcast later today.

For those who have noticed today's activity on the Coffeehouse webcam, we wanted to explain the cause; today, WHRV's radio show “HearSay with Cathy Lewis” will be broadcast live from the Coffeehouse, from noon until one p.m. Cathy's guests include a number of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation staff involved in the reconstruction, including Foundation President Colin Campbell and Vice President of Research & Historical Interpretation Jim Horn; Jeanne Zeidler, the Mayor of the City of Williamsburg, will also be featured.

If you're local, the show can be heard on 89.5 FM; if not, you can listen through live streaming here - http://www.whro.org/home/html/liveradio/895.html

For more information, try WHRV's home page, or the HearSay website, where you should be able to listen to the recorded broadcast when it is posted in a few days.

We'd like to thank everyone involved with Hearsay for joining us today, to start off this very exciting week at the Coffeehouse.

The first wallpaper pattern for the Coffeehouse.

Greetings. We wanted to take this opportunity to share some Coffeehouse-related information and links that have come up recently.

First off, if you haven’t noticed, we’ve been moving the webcam around lately. After a stint watching furnishings being put in place in the coffee (southwest) room, and watching wallpaper be installed in the dining (southeast) room, the webcam is now located in the kitchen (in the basement). You can see some of the recent furnishing additions to the room on the shelves and around the fireplace.

Secondly, one of our frequent blog commenters was looking for a bit more information on the staining of the bricks mentioned in the October 26th Update. The substance that Ray Cannetti is using is called Dyebrick, which is essentially a mineral-based stain. It uses minerals, primarily iron oxide, as the pigment, and potassium silicate as the binder. The potassium silicate binds with elements in the brick, allowing it to stain rather than simply coat the brick.

Though they date from the same period, the reused bricks (those original Coffeehouse bricks that had been reused in the Armistead House foundations, and in turn reused in our foundations) received more cleaning than those in the still standing original foundations - thus requiring the staining to match them appropriately. Previously, Colonial Williamsburg has used coffee grounds, tea, and a mixture of lime putty and brick dust to mask repairs in the past. (Thanks to Clyde Kestner and Matt Webster for the information)

Third, we wanted to share a few more interesting links from History.org that relate to the Coffeehouse:

• A bit more information about the Opening Program and Ceremony
• A fun flash-based game called Coffee Bean Solitaire
• A very nice slideshow of photos of Charlton’s Coffeehouse has been added to the list of Holiday-themed slideshows

Lastly, we are including two images of the wallpaper that will be going up in the Coffeehouse, in the Dining (southeast) and Back (north) rooms on the first floor.

Our second wallpaper pattern.

Mason Ray Cannetti stains the reused bricks to better match the original foundations.

Here's a list of work both recent and soon-to-occur at the Coffeehouse. This time, we’ve posted even more photos, including a few from earlier in October.

Last two weeks of work

• Completed hanging doors
• Continued installing hardware
• Installed stone steps at porch and cellar kitchen door
• Continued interior painting
• Installed two additional shelves in west passage
• Installed five leaded glass casement windows and four interior shutters in cellar
• Repaired plaster and then whitewashed porch ceiling
• Hand scraped floors
• Completed paving at front porch and repairs to main sidewalk
• Installed stainless steel shelving in servery
• Installed dishwasher in servery
• Closed-in dumbwaiter shaft in cellar
• Completed fabrication and installed three benches for front porch
• Fabricated dresser (offsite) for kitchen and installed

Next two weeks of scheduled work

• Install handrails at front step and ADA ramp
• Install handrails at interior stair winders
• Complete hand scraping floors and stair treads
• Repair plaster and re-whitewash where additional shelves installed at west passage
• Complete installation of all door locks and hardware
• Install grab bars and mirror in restroom
• Complete painting and touchup interior and exterior
• Install sign post
• Install audio system and put into operation
• Fabricate and install pales and gate on east yard fence and apply finish
• Install post light
• Install telephones
• Install carpet and wall paper
• Begin installing furnishings
• Replace glass in lanterns with blown glass
• Remove portion of gravel and install crushed shells on path to cellar doors
• Remove post and rail fence along west side of path and relocate portions as directed
• Repair path to Revolutionary City seating area

Photos by Clyde Kestner and Joshua Muse

Staff members paint the southwest room.

Staff members work to resurface the front sidewalk.

Leveling and replacement of the bricks on the front sidewalk.

This plastic sheeting was placed to allow work to continue during heavy rain; these staff members are placing the bricks in front of the porch.

Staff members work underneath the plastic sheeting.

The stone step newly placed in front of the porch.

Liner paper (with a yellow tinge) is being installed in the southeast room; it will serve as an under-layer for the wallpaper.

Another view of the bar in the southwest room.

This photo shows the top of east stairway at the second floor.

The fireplace in the north room.

The eastern side of the Coffeehouse.

The view west from the second floor.

The view down the east stairway between the second and first floors.

A view of the doorway from the first floor to the basement; notice the lock and key.

The stairway as it leads into the basement, including the recently installed railing.

One shutter is drawn over a window in the southwest room.

The Coffeehouse shutters are installed while the yard fence to the east is built.

A recent view of the work in front of the Coffeehouse.

To all Coffeehouse enthusiasts, we just wanted to share a bit more information about the opening of the Coffeehouse. The Opening Program and Ceremony is going to take place on Friday, November 20th, at 4 p.m., though the building will be opening to the public the next morning. We'll have more details on the Program as they become available. Here’s a link to the official announcement.

Photo by Peter Inker.