College of William and Mary - Colonial Echo Yearbook (Williamsburg, VA)

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A colonial classroom greets visitors as they tour the Wren Building. f Malfeingintfje f ne of the first things a stu- KP dent or tourist learned o- bout William and Mary was that it was the proud possessor of the oldest academic building in the nation. Con- struction of the building began in 1695 and by 1697, two wings of the proposed rectangle were finished. By 1700, the Wren Building had be- come the seat of Virginia ' s govern- ment, and was to remain in this position until the completion of the Capitol in 1704. Ten years from the beginning of construction, the building, then known as The College , was almost completely destroyed by fire. Un- fortunately for the school, funds were short and the building was not completely refinished until 1723. In 1732, the Chapel was added to the design of the building forming the present south wing. The fourth side of the quadrangle was never finished, leaving the bock of the Wren Building open to the Sunken Gardens. One of the more unique aspects of the Wren Building was the pre- sence of crypts underneath the structure. At various points during the history of the college, leading 4 INTRODUCTION

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Ar iR GYMNASIUM 3 7 5t hall WILLIAM AND MARY COMMONS J0Hf rtflL4lNGT0N HALL EARL (?REtG SWEM LIBRARY WILLIAM SNfLAUL PHYSICAL LABOR- HUGH JONES HALL RICHARD LEE MORTON BOTETOURT RE; ALUMNI HOUSE rrblNG (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

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w ? « hallotajcti rooms! Colonial Virginians such as Peyton Randolph and Lord Botetourt have been buried there. Except for its brief period as the assennbly place for the ruling leaders of Colonial Virginia, the Wren Building served as the edu- cational center of the college, until the Revolutionary War. For a short time in 1781, the French Arnny used the building as a hospital. During this time, the Wren Building was again partially destroyed by fire. This was not to be the last of the disasters to strike the college, as in 1859, fire again caused great damage. The building had been destroy- ed by a fire caused by Federal sol- diers in 1862. During the war years prior to this, it was used in such varied capacities as a Confederate barracks and a Union hospital. The building was restored in 1928 and soon thereafter was given the name the Sir Christopher Wren Building . Located at the entrance to the campus, the Wren Building ser- ved during the ' 76 celebration as both a building for classes and as a stop for tourists on their visits to Williamsburg. The Wren Courtyard serves as the background for the Yule Log reading by President Groves INTRODUCTION 5