Colonial National Historical Park

Colonial Parkway is a 21.44-mile scenic road running between the Yorktown Visitor Center and the Jamestown Visitor Center on Virginia's James-York peninsula. Built between 1931 and 1958 by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Public Roads, it connects Yorktown, Williamsburg and Jamestown within Colonial National Historical Park. The road follows a curving route with wide views over the York and James Rivers. It passes through open river terrain, enclosed forest, brick-arched underpasses and low concrete bridges across tidal marsh. Colonial-style brickwork marks its bridges and culverts, and the pavement used marl exposed by hand sweeping to give a historic look. The parkway was the National Park Service's first attempt to bring its western park road-building methods to an eastern, more developed area. Its emphasis on scenery and detailed landscaping made it a leading example of 1930s parkway design. It keeps its original width, alignment and most views, and is still used as a park road and recreation route.