The Colonnade

The Colonnade has been the primary site for teaching and learning at Washington and Lee since 1824. Now the need is great for preserving and restoring these beautiful buildings and equipping them to serve the needs of future students. Following renovation, the Colonnade will look the same as it does today, but its buildings will be better suited to serve the needs of the University and its students for years to come.

The entire Colonnade project will cost $50 million, including long-term maintenance endowments for each building. W&L is staging the restoration and renovation of the Colonnade in phases. Phase 1, the restoration of Newcomb Hall, costs $12 million and is well underway, thanks to the generous support of many alumni, parents and friends. The restored Newcomb Hall will be reopened in time for the start of classes in the fall of 2010.

Phase 2 is currently in the planning and fundraising stage and involves work on Payne Hall.

What will not change about the Colonnade:

• The beautiful and historic architecture of the Colonnade
• The intimate scale of the buildings
• Architectural "quirks" and unique features of the buildings will not change; for example, the stone stoops leading into the buildings that are worn with use will be retained and put back in the same place.
• Although some spaces will be changed to acommodate added restrooms, storage space and elevators, the floor plans will change very little.

Some of the benefits of the renovations will be:

• Upgrade of heating, cooling, mechanical, electrical and communications systems
• Removal of window air conditioning units
• Preservation of masonry and lime stucco to stabilize buildings
• Needed attention and repairs to wood windows, doors and other elements
• Measures to ensure that roof systems are weather tight
• Installation of elevators to make the buildings more accessible to disabled persons
• Additional restroom facilities
• Appropriate technology capability (few classrooms currently have high speed internet capability or even proper outlets to support computers, modern projectors and other technology)
• Recovery of some original features of the buildings which have been hidden by renovations over the years

To speak to someone about the University's plans for renovating the Colonnade please contact Dennis Cross, Vice President for University Advancement at (540) 458-8232 or dcross@wlu.edu.