Renovated and Ready: Virginia Hall Welcomes New Students

For Terrie Gladney Hoelscher ’78, Virginia Hall meant Friday night singalongs at the parlor piano, cramming into the second-floor phone booth and gliding down stairs on a mattress.

“She has good bones, and so much character,” Hoelscher said of the building she and generations of undergrads have called home for more than a century. “My lifelong and closest friendships were made and developed there.”

No doubt, a new era of University of Mary Washington students will find their own brand of mattress-gliding within these walls. A $19 million renovation completed this summer (think paint, polish and preservation) left the building awash in newfangled-ness: soothing central AC, all-keyless entry, a luxurious lounge. But the makeover took care to keep classic touches – big sunny windows, extra-wide stairwells, elegant transoms – intact.

“Everything is old but now it’s new,” said Addie Sage, a sophomore psychology major who’ll live in the 168-bed building as one of several resident assistants providing support to first-year students assigned there.

The General Assembly of 1914 appropriated $37,500 for the construction of Virginia Hall. Originally known as “Dormitory No. 2,” the building was the third to be built on campus, after Willard and Russell (now Monroe). Photo courtesy of UMW Special Collections and University Archives.

Students study in Virginia Hall in 1932. The space, originally designed as a parlor for gatherings, served for a while as the college library. Feedback sessions during the planning stages for the hall’s 14-month renovation showed student interest in preserving the parlor’s essence. Photo courtesy of UMW Special Collections and University Archives.

The brick, columned structure – the third oldest on campus – is conducive to new college arrivals, with collaborative and communal spaces galore. Kitchenettes, study rooms and cozy nooks on each of three levels encourage connections and camaraderie, as do a parlor and seminar room, full-sized kitchen and game room. Plus, the building borders Ball Circle, the “elegant showplace of the University,” said Dean of Student Life Cedric Rucker. “Everyone wants to be on Ball Circle.”

Students and faculty from UMW’s Department of Historic Preservation worked with Kjellstrom + Lee Construction, including project engineer Sam Biggers ’16, and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to restore original features during the 14-month renovation.

“I would summarize it in a single word: stewardship,” said Professor of Historic Preservation Christine Henry, who points to the importance of safeguarding the past.

Historic preservation students helped create interpretive panels, like the one in the foreground, which are placed throughout Virginia Hall to commemorate the building’s rich history. The lighted sconces in the background were among original features restored in the hall, which was built in three stages beginning in 1914. Photo by Tom Rothenberg.

Glistening hall bathrooms replaced the old suite-style versions during Virginia Hall’s renovation. Floor-to-ceiling showers lend privacy for first-year students who will call the residence hall home. Photo by Tom Rothenberg.

A group walks down one of the signature open stairways in Virginia Hall. The stone stairs and hardwood banisters were revived as part of a $19 million renovation to the building, whose construction began in 1914. Photo by Tom Rothenberg.

UMW students Noell Evans (front) and Addie Sage (back) create school-spirit-promoting decorations in the basement of the newly renovated Virginia Hall. The room for resident assistants, and their projects and supplies, was freshened up during the 14-month construction period. Photo by Tom Rothenberg.

Construction of a faculty apartment was part of the Virginia Hall renovation. Once occupying this space was the president’s office with an entrance on Campus Walk that had since been closed but was restored during the renovation. Photo by Tom Rothenberg.

Built on a rise for maximum ventilation and light, the “H”-shaped Virginia Hall began to take form in 1914, in three purposeful phases determined by available funds. The north wing was followed by the center section in the mid-1920s. The south wing came a decade later.

Interpretive panels throughout commemorate the history of the refurbished hall, which once housed the president’s office, college library and living quarters of legendary Dean of Women Nina Bushnell.

The renovation salvaged more than 50 percent of the building’s structure and finishes. Sprawling stone stairways, baseboards and banisters, doorknobs and hardware were revived. Energy-efficient models replaced most of Virginia’s massive windows, but some were hauled offsite and restored, including the original chain mechanism that raises them. An ornate balustrade to match those atop the campus’s other original buildings – Monroe and Willard – will crown the structure.

UMW senior Kyra Breslow, a resident assistant in Virginia Hall, specifically chose this room in the newly renovated building. The project salvaged more than 50 percent of the hall’s structures and finishes. Photo by Tom Rothenberg.

UMW student Wilson Jackson, a junior marketing major and resident assistant, tries out a huge TV in the newly constructed basement lounge with full-size kitchen. Spaces like these allow students to connect and build friendships. Photo by Tom Rothenberg.

Sophomore psychology major Addie Sage, a resident assistant, reads in her room in Virginia Hall. The 168-bed residence hall will house first-year students. Photo by Tom Rothenberg.

“I’m thrilled by how the parlor turned out,” said Assistant Dean for Residence Life and Housing David Fleming. “So many comments from students during feedback sessions were centered around preserving the essence of that room. It’s rich, warm and inviting.”

Contemporary touches – giant TV screens, an elevator and other accessibility features, blackout window shades throughout – add a student-centric appeal. The fountain outside the building was also revamped, with new plumbing, spray mechanism, electric and LED lighting.

“Virginia is the perfect hall for first-year students,” said resident assistant Kyra Breslow, a senior English major, who’s also pursuing a master’s degree in education. “The renovations really brought it into the modern era while keeping the old-fashioned charm … right at the heart of UMW.”