Washington and Lee University colonnade cabinet card photo, snapshot and copy print photos, and post card, 1884/1936

Containers:

Box 12, Folder 5

Scope and content:

The photos in this folder are as follows:

A cabinet card photo circa 1884 of the colonnade showing Newcomb Hall. A copy print photo of the colonnade showing Newcomb Hall and the Chapel, circa 1884. A circa 1920 snapshot photo of a Payne Hall front door. Two snapshot photos and four copy print photos circa 1920 of the colonnade showing the Old Tucker Hall Law school building. A color post card circa 1936 of the colonnade. Two copy print photos circa 1936 of the colonnade showing the new Tucker Hall Law school building and the Cyrus Hall McCormick statue.

Biographical / historical:

The Colonnade is the architectural and historic heart of Washington and Lee University. Running along a ridge overlooking Lexington, Virginia, this symmetrical row of five Greek Revival buildings evolved over nearly a century. The Construction Era was from 1822–1843, and the core structures were designed to establish a permanent and unified visual footprint for what was then Washington College. Washington Hall was built first in 1824 by master builders John Jordan and Samuel Darst, called the "Center Building" establishing the campus's Classical style. Its design was heavily influenced by Thomas Jefferson's Roman and Greek Revival aesthetics. The center building of the colonnade was named Washington Hall to honor George Washington, whose crucial 1796 financial endowment of $20,000 in James River Canal stock rescued the struggling academy from bankruptcy. A historic wooden statue of George Washington, affectionately nicknamed "Old George," was placed atop the building's cupola in 1844. To protect it from weathering and to preserve it, the original wooden statue was retired from the rooftop and is now safely displayed inside the building's lobby. Payne Hall built in 1830 directly to the south, originally served as the college "Lyceum," housing classrooms and the school's early library collections. Chavis Hall was erected in 1841 to the north to mirror Payne Hall, creating a perfectly balanced central trio. Originally called Robinson Hall, it was later renamed to honor John Chavis, the university's first African American student. The name "The Colonnade" emerged as the individual wooden porches and white columns of each separate building were stylistically unified and connected by a shared walkway. As the university grew, Newcomb Hall, originally a Late Victorian style building was built in 1882 south of the colonnade. Newcomb Hall was significantly modified in 1909 to match the uniform Greek Revival brick and column appearance of Washington Hall. In the 1890s the Old Tucker Hall Law school building was built north of the colonnade. It burned early in the morning of December 16, 1934. The building of the new Tucker Hall Law school building was begun in 1935. A durable replica now stands in its place on top of the cupola. Due to the colonnade's preservation and architectural harmony, the front campus alignment was officially designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1972.

The Cyrus Hall McCormick statue was placed and unveiled on the front lawn of the Washington and Lee University campus on September 25, 1931. The monument was erected as part of the Centennial of the Reaper celebration, drawing thousands of spectators to the campus. Cyrus McCormick, a Rockbridge County native, invented the mechanical reaper and became one of the university's most influential financial benefactors during the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.

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