Williamsburg was the capital of the British colony Virginia in the eighteenth century, and thus political and cultural center of the British colonies in America. In the mid 1920s, the restoration of the historical core of the city was begun. Three decades later, Colonial Williamsburg had become a popular tourist destination that needed a new visitors center to sell tickets and to inform guests about the place and its history. The commission awarded to the Nelson office included planning the visitors center, including an exhibition, furnishings, and signage. Originally plans were developed to use an electric train for visitor transportation, but these plans were not realized. For interior and exterior signage, Nelson hired his colleague Don Ervin, who then developed his own font, based on the eighteenth century font Bulmer. Large maps in the exhibition were designed by Herbert Bayer. The budget ran into twelve million dollars.
