My William and Mary Tour – Directions
Before I could recommend this tour, I decided I needed to walk it myself to make sure that my directions make sense. I enjoyed my walk. The students aren’t back for the fall semester yet – except some athletes, who were walking across campus going to or coming from practice. The freshmen move in on Sunday, and the upperclassmen come back in the middle of next week. The feeling on campus during the summer is always one of rest mixed with anticipation. The landscapers and the road pavers were working today to make sure things were welcoming and tidy for the students.
Here are the tour directions (I’ll fill in the page numbers when I publish this as a stand-alone volume.):
Stop 1, Jefferson Hall. This is where I lived my freshman year and where it all begin. Go to page to find out about Jefferson Hall.
Stop 2, The Wren Yard is about 2/10 of a mile to the northwest. As you make this walk, you’ll go past a new sculpture – a memorial to the enslaved persons who for centuries labored to build and maintain the campus. The memorial features 94 names of people enslaved at the college and acknowledges an additional 105 people who are cited in the records but not named. Other markers recognizing the college’s debt to enslaved persons are nearby. It is not possible to walk from Jefferson to the Wren Yard without passing this monument. The college did not admit African-American students until 1968 – my senior year.
In the Wren Yard, take some time to look at the three buildings as well as the statue of Lord Botetourt in the middle of the yard. Then look east, one mile down Duke of Gloucester Street, to the distant Capitol Building. You’ll be able to see it through the trees. Think about this mile and everything that has happened there over almost four centuries. Go to page to find out about the buildings in the Wren Yard.
Stop 3: Tucker Hall. To get to Tucker Hall, walk through the central hall of the Wren Building. It’s open to the public most days. Stop for a moment to enjoy the view to the west, over the Sunken Garden.
This is what the college website says about the Sunken Garden:
Its design follows the spirit of eighteenth-century English landscape gardens, which abandoned the geometric parterres of Europe in favor of sweeping lawns intended to uplift the spirit by leading the eye toward a distant, natural setting. In our case that setting is Crim Dell, a campus jewel preserved so that, in the purported words of Thomas Jefferson, "the College shall forever look upon the country."
Initial design of the Sunken Garden was by College Architect Charles M. Robinson, in the early 1920s, and reportedly was based on Sir Christopher Wren's plans for the Chelsea Hospital. Budget concerns caused the idea to be shelved until 1933, when President Chandler reported to the Board of Visitors that a Civilian Conservation Corps camp had been assigned to the College for the purpose of beautifying and improving the grounds. Charles Gillette, a Richmond landscape architect, was appointed to supervise the work, which took place 1935-36.
One of our family members was not overly impressed with the Sunken Garden. When we showed it to him, his response was “Why do they call this a garden? It’s just a field.”
Take a right on the sidewalk in front of the Sunken Garden. Tucker Hall is in front of you. Stop for a minute to look at the statue of James Monroe and read the plaque. Immediately to your left, you’ll see concrete markers embedded in the sidewalk. These note the successive graduating classes that have walked from the Wren Yard through the campus, across Crim Dell, and to William and Mary Hall at graduation. Go to page to find out about Tucker Hall.
Stop 4: Washington Hall. To get to Washington Hall, follow the concrete markers to the first sidewalk that crosses the Sunken Garden. Go down the short flight of stairs and walk across the Sunken Garden.
Tim and I used to sit on the Sunken Garden steps just to enjoy some time together. Sometimes we sat on the steps and read. Other times we just talked and talked. I remember two specific events (of many): one night, as Tim was walking me back to my dorm after a date, we sat on the steps for a while. We were watching the night sky, and suddenly we saw a UFO – we were sure of it. We described what we were seeing, even the “windows” along the side of the UFO. Then our field of vision shifted and we realized we were watching a firefly that was about five feet above our heads.
Another time, I was sitting with some friends on the steps, probably wasting some time before a class or whatever. Several older folks came up to me (I identified them as tourists) and asked me if me and my friends were really students, or if we were paid to sit there and pretend to be students. When we told them we were actually students, one woman waved excitedly at her husband (I’m assuming) and shouted something like, “Carl! Carl! They’re real students! Come take their picture!” Weird.
When the weather is even halfway decent, there are always students playing some sort of pickup game in the Sunken Garden. Football, soccer, rugby, lacrosse, frisbee – whatever. It’s fun to just watch them be kids.
After you cross the Sunken Garden, Washington Hall will be in front of you to the right. If you have some time, sit on a bench along the way and enjoy yourself. Go to page to find out about Washington Hall.
When you pass Washington Hall, take a left. You’ll see a statue of Thomas Jefferson among the trees in front of you.
This statue was given to the college by the University of Virginia in 1992, in recognition of Jefferson’s connection to both institutions. As governor of the colony of Virginia during the American Revolution, Jefferson had ambitious plans to broaden the scope and footprint of the college. He was not able to accomplish his goals, so when he retired from public life and returned to his home at Monticello, he founded the University of Virginia, where he could create the ”academical village” he had wanted for William and Mary.
Tim and I were walking around the campus one day a few years ago, near this statue, when suddenly a golf ball soared over the brick wall behind the statue and came to rest a few feet from the statue’s base. Soon a second ball arrived, and we could hear the cheers from people hidden from us on the other side of the wall. Soon several college-age kids with golf clubs jogged up the stairs behind the statue and began to plan their next shots. They were playing a made-up game of campus golf, in which they drove golf balls to various locations around the campus, keeping score and arguing loudly but unseriously about how the evolving rules of their game applied to their current situations. We waved to them and they waved back before moving on their way, driving their golf balls from the Jefferson statue toward their next target.
Stop 5: Barrett Hall Walk past the Jefferson statue and down the (rather steep) steps; Barrett Hall will be in front of you to the right. Go to page to find out about Barrett Hall.
You’ll see two more dorms to the right past Barrett Hall – Chandler and Landrum. I never lived in them, and I only remember being in them maybe once or twice to visit friends who lived there. The dorms along that side of the campus are linked by a colonnade. Walk down the sidewalk past Chandler and Landrum Halls.
Look to your right and you’ll see an area with some trees. The entrance to the wooded area isn’t real obvious – you need to look for an unmarked but graded path. Go that way and follow the path to the bridge over Crim Dell. It’s one of the loveliest places on campus. Here’s what it looks like.
Follow the path around Crim Dell until you get to a paved road. The road is called Gooch Drive but there’s not a sign.
Turn left and walk past the pond until you’re on Landrum Drive. You’ll pass this path on your right.
The plaque reads: “From the old to the new. May this entrance, like the phoenix, symbolize a look to the future made promising by a challenging heritage.”
Fun fact: Tim’s father, who attended William and Mary for one year in the 1930s before college became unaffordable for his family, roomed with Dr. Paschal for his one year at the college.
Another fun fact: those are my feet.
This is the building you’ll see ahead of you – the Integrated Science Center (ISC). It was built in several stages over the last 15 years, and I have only walked through it once, so I’m not going to talk about it.
Cross the road and walk to the right about ½ block; take the sidewalk that goes up a long stairway away from the road. You’ll reach an open area in front of Swem Library.
Stop 6: Swem Library. Go in the front door of the library and look around. Grab a coffee, cold drink, or snack from the coffee shop just to your left inside the front door. The main level and basement level house a museum and some art exhibits. If you are a local resident, you have borrowing privileges at this library – go to the circulation desk and inquire. Go to page to find out about Swem Library
Stop 7: Small Hall. When you come out of Swem, turn to your right down the sidewalk (and a small flight of stairs). Small Hall will be right in front of you. Walk around to the front of Small Hall, and take a look inside if you want. Go to page to find out about Small Hall.
After you’re through with Small Hall, walk down the hill toward Landrum Drive (the library will be on your right). Cross Landrum Drive and go across a short bridge on Ukrop Way. A very industrial-looking power plan will be on your left. After you cross the bridge, DuPont Hall is on the hill on your left.
Stop 8: Dupont Hall. Go to page to find out about DuPont Hall. If you walk past DuPont Hall and go behind it on Wake Drive, you’ll see dorms on your right and some paths that lead to Lake Matoaka. The Department of Environmental Science and Policy is back here as well. Some nice hiking trails encircle the Lake.
Stop 9: The Lambda Chi Alpha House. When you’ve finished your exploration of the Lake Matoaka area, come back to Landrum Drive and go to your left. The Commons (a dining hall) and William and Mary Hall will be on your left, and a bunch of new fraternity houses will be on your right.
Go past the last fraternity house on the right and make a right turn into a driveway before an open field. It’ll look something like this.
The Lambda Chi House will be behind the trees past the new fraternity house. Go to page to find out about the Lambda Chi House.
When you pass the old fraternity houses (now marked with the sign “Green and Gold Village”), keep walking down a curved road (Harrison Avenue). In la couple of minutes, you’ll be at College Terrace. Turn right and walk a block. You’ll see the Alumni House on your left. Turn left at the fork onto Stadium Drive.
Stop 10: The Alumni House
A patio with memorial bricks is on this side of the building. You can go up some stairs to the patio, or walk past it and double back. Wander through the patio and read some bricks — some of them are very touching. Then go to the front of the building and go in the main entrance. It is open to the public.
Stop 11: The Sadler Center and Zable Stadium at Cary Field
When you come back out of the Alumni House, Zable Stadium will be just ahead of you. Take a look at the stadium through the brick colonnade, and then turn right to walk down the parking lot. The stadium will still be on your right and some college dorms will be on your left.
As you’re passing the stadium, you’ll see the Griffin statue. You’re probably asking, “Why a Griffin?”
Here’s the condensed version of the Griffin story. Because of the Indian School (the Brafferton) that was established on the William and Mary campus in the early 18th century, the school’s mascot became the Indian. When we were in school here, our friend Doug had the honor of dressing up like an Indian — “war paint” and all — and riding a horse along the sidelines whenever William and Mary scored and sometimes when they didn’t. The image used on promotional materials was a cartoon-style Indian. Think the Cleveland Indians. Over time, the word “Tribe” came to be used in place of “Indians” in most merchandise and advertising, but by 2009 or so the college concluded that it was time for a new mascot.
This was a contentious process. Some alumni proclaimed that they would never give up the right to wear feathers to the football games, and so forth. At any rate, a formal competition ensued.
Five finalists were chosen, with the Griffin ranked #1. Here was the stated rationale for choosing the Griffin:
This concept is the griffin, a mythical creature merging the Bald Eagle (representing the new America and the Eagle of the Chesapeake Bay) and the English Lion representing the English Monarchy (Coat of Arms). William & Mary is surely a national treasure and griffins have been known throughout history as the guardians of treasure.
There were other nominees — the King and Queen, the Phoenix, the Pug, and the Wren (I think the “Fighting Wrens” sounds particularly menacing).
The Griffin won the competition, and the statue was funded through alumni contributions. I found a 2018 article in The Flat Hat (the student newspaper) that criticized the (ahem) anatomical accuracy of the statue. In short, the Griffin has large and prominent “pelvic region” features. You know what I’m talking about. Because the Griffin's rear end faces the stadium, the article stated that “the size and detail of the Griffin’s pelvic region is shocking.” The shocking features of this “pelvic region” are often shiny, as a tradition arose that rubbing the Griffin’s “pelvic region” would bring good luck.
After you have recovered from your Griffin experience, walk on down the parking lot past the stadium. When you reach a brick plaza, the Sadler Center will be on your right. Go in and look around. During the school year, I enjoy reading the notices on the various bulletin boards and learning about what’s going on at the college. One of the dining areas on the main floor is open to the public, so you can stop there and get a sandwich or something to drink. Go to page to find out about the Sadler Center.
Stop12: James Blair Hall
When you leave the Sadler Center, cross the brick plaza and continue up a slight rise on James Blair Drive. James Blair Hall is the first large building on your right. Pass the building and take the first sidewalk to your right, toward to the Sunken Garden and past a small courtyard area containing a statue of Rev. James Blair, the first president of the College. It also has some nice benches for you to just sit and enjoy your surroundings. Go to page to find out about James Blair Hall.
Stop 13: The Kappa House.
To get to the Kappa Kappa Gamma House, continue walking along James Blair Drive toward Richmond Road. You’ll pass two more classroom buildings – Chancellors Hall and Tucker Hall (this building was Stop 3) – before you get to Richmond Road. Cross Richmond Road at the crosswalk and turn right. You’ll be walking past Sorority Court on the left side of the street. Eight sororities have houses in sorority court. Take some time to walk around the courtyard, but then come back out to Richmond Road and keep walking toward Duke of Gloucester Street. The Kappa Kappa Gamma House is the last house on the left before you cross Boundary Street. Go to page to find out about the Kappa Kappa Gamma House.
Once you’ve visited the Kappa House, you will be at Merchants Square, where there are lots of places to sit and rest or to have a snack. You’ll need a snack if you did this entire tour. None of the eateries on Merchant Square were there when we were at school here, but there are some interesting places anyway. Walk down Duke of Gloucester Street and you’ll find Illy Caffee, the Williamsburg Winery Tasting Room, La Piazza (Italian restaurant), and Dog Street Pub on your left in the first block. Behind these shops, on Prince George Street, you’ll find Retros (fast food), Aromas Café, Baskin Robbins, and the Blue Talon Bistro. On the right side of Duke of Gloucester Street you’ll see The Cheese Shop (sandwiches and more) and the Fat Canary (upscale). Behind this row of shops, you’ll find Berret’s Seafood Restaurant, Mellow Mushroom, and Precarious Beer.
If you follow this tour around the campus and read what I’ve written about each location, you’ll know more about me than any memorial or tombstone could convey.
Is there a place that you care about? Maybe it’s a school, or maybe it’s a neighborhood – or a place where you vacationed or worked. Is this something you could do for your descendants? Think how much you would have loved to have this from your parents or grandparents. And then just do it.
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