WILLIAMSBURG -- It's still a place where three-cornered hats are in style, and fife and drum parades are common.

But Williamsburg's longtime identity as an oasis of Colonial Virginia history has evolved in recent years with a regional explosion of recreational, commercial and cultural amenities that cater to tourists and a quickly expanding population.

The architecture and living history of Colonial Williamsburg's 300-acre historic area still are the heart of the region. They contribute to a homey ambience that persists even as shopping malls, big-box retailers, chain restaurants, tourist attractions and retirement communities sprout nearby over once-rural countryside.

"It's nice to have more here," said Katherine J. Hoving, spokeswoman for the Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance. "It still has some of that small-town feel, but I think it's nice to have access to things that are here."

In recent months, Money magazine named Williamsburg one of the country's five best places to retire.

"The things that make it a nice place to retire are the same things that make it a nice place for anyone," Hoving said.

Thanks to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in the 1920s by John D. Rockefeller Jr., the city's core has been restored to approximate the way it looked when Williamsburg was Virginia's capital in the late 1700s.

Nearly a mile long and boasting more than 500 original and reconstructed 18th-century buildings, the historic area serves as a living history museum whose public streets, gardens and alleys are a peaceful refuge for locals as well as tourists.

Adding to the ambience of the historic area is the College of William and Mary, whose picturesque campus dates to the college's foundation in 1693.

Colonial Williamsburg runs a number of for-profit businesses to support the foundation's museums and educational programs, including a resort boasting hotel accommodations from comfortable to luxurious, as well as a smorgasbord of history-themed restaurants, golf courses, recreation and leisure facilities.

If that doesn't provide enough to do, nearby Jamestown and Yorktown offer more sites and attractions linked to significant Colonial history. Fun-oriented tourist attractions in the area range from the Busch Gardens Europe and Water Country USA theme parks to golf courses and restaurants.

Shoppers are always within a few miles of such meccas as the unique and venerable Williamsburg Pottery Factory, outlet malls and new shopping districts such as the New Town development just outside the Williamsburg city line.

A great expansion of residential neighborhoods and retirement communities, especially in the past decade, has brought with it discount stores, new roads and growing pains.

Longtime residents are nostalgic for the days when Williamsburg was a small town surrounded by countryside rather than an oasis in a suburban region. While the city itself has had a fairly stable population of about 12,000, the "historic triangle" of Williamsburg, James City County and upper York County has grown significantly.

A report updated in May said population in the triangle has surged from about 55,000 in 1990 to more than 80,000 today.

"It's growing too much, too fast for me," said Michelle Harris, a Paris-born poodle breeder who has lived just outside the city in York for 22 years.

"I still love it," she added. "I love the history of it."

Contact staff writer Andrew Petkofsky at apetkofsky@timesdispatch.com or (757) 229-1512.