Over 40 shops and restaurants fill Merchants Square today, a 20th-century take on an 18th-century retail village in Colonial Williamsburg. Conceived in 1927 by John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Reverend W. A. R. Goodwin, Merchants Square was imagined as one of the first planned shopping districts in the United States. William G. Perry, chief architect of the Williamsburg Restoration, designed this harmonized shopping district so small shops throughout Williamsburg could move into a centrally located area using architecture that fits the restoration’s character.
Most of the stores and shops are located on Duke of Gloucester Street, right across from The College of William & Mary’s campus. To keep the look as close to historical accuracy as possible, all telephone wires were placed underground, and modern technologies like air‑conditioning ducts and garage equipment were carefully hidden with shrubs and plantings. Today you’ll find over 40 shops and restaurants here, and the square serves for seasonal concerts and a farmers’ market.
Notice the storefronts lining Duke of Gloucester Street and the college just across the way, its modern touches hidden in the plantings.