Students Rally for 1931 Dining Hall
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Nov. 15, 2010
Last week students at the University of Mary Washington gathered in front of the 1931 dining hall to express objections to a tentative plan to tear down the building.
The brick structure with Corinthian-style columns, called Seacobeck Hall, is among the oldest buildings on the Fredericksburg, Va., campus.
Seacobeck is slated for demolition to make way for a four-story dining hall and student center, according to a draft master plan released in July to the university’s board of directors.
In response to the Nov. 9 rally, University President Rick Hurley told the local newspaper that the board would progress carefully with the master plan.
"We are rethinking what we could do and where," Hurley told the Fredericksburg Freelance-Star last week. "We decided we needed to slow the process down given these reactions."
So far, the university has held five public meetings on the draft master plan, prepared by Burt Hill Architects. The board of visitors is scheduled to vote on it in February.
While students and faculty welcome some suggestions put forth in the master plan, some have objected to the projected demolition of seven buildings, most notably Seacobeck and Framar Hall, a three-story brick house.
"That's what a lot of students love about our campus: the old buildings and the atmosphere," says Kathy Jones, a senior majoring in historic preservation and member of a new coalition, Save Our School. "With all the buildings that are coming down, it’s not going to look like Mary Washington anymore."
Historic preservation professor Carter Hudgins says the building slated to replace Seacobeck won't fit with the Jeffersonian-style buildings on the campus, which was modeled on the University of Virginia.
"The proposed dining facility/student center will be the largest structure on campus, so large that it will have a dramatic and negative impact on the campus and our environs," Hudgins wrote in a public memo to Rick Pearce, the university's acting vice president for administration and finance, on Nov. 8. "Constructed next to a Wal-Mart or a Wegmans, this structure might look at home."
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Comments
Submitted by Carolyn Eldred at: January 8, 2011
I am a heritage/legacy donor to both Mary Washington & the National Trust (MW class of '66). I'm convinced there is a creative way to save this building that harbors so many memories while expanding capabilities to nourish students.
Submitted by Kathy at: December 19, 2010
Please do not tear down or build new buildings that alter the atmoshpere of my beloved campus. I know that change and updating is necessary but not the drastic measures you are considering especailly to Seacobeck.
Submitted by AllyCat at: December 3, 2010
I can't believe I'm just finding out about this...what shocking and horrible news! I'm sure I'm not the only person who picked Mary Washington because of that wonderful first walk around the campus. Be smart Mary Washington...grow with care. Or you're going to lose a lot of support from your alumni base.
Submitted by LeeAnn Farmer at: December 1, 2010
Mary Wash has one of the best historic preservation programs in the country, and they are going to DEMOLISH a beautiful HISTORIC building. Shame on you president Hurley. Don't be a Nimbyist.
Submitted by Pearl at: December 1, 2010
Seacobeck is not just another building, it is filled with the shared memories of thousands. It's one of the beautiful buildings that makes Mary Washington one of the lovliest campuses in the United States. To destroy it would be to destroy a huge part of the Tradition of Mary Washington. Please help to preserve this structure with its four dining halls, huge windows and high ceilings. Just writing this I remember my first meal there! Curving stairs led me to impressive rooms full of linen covered tables each seating 8 students. The food may not have been 4-star, but the friendships and fun created within those rooms have lasted over 30 years.
Submitted by Sue at: November 30, 2010
I attended MWC 1946-47...the best and most memorable item about the school was the architecture which set the tone for our learning, our fun, our creative exploration, our general performances in all areas. We were proud of that campus. Please don't start tearing it apart. That is the most foolish thing I've heard of in a long long time.
Submitted by Virginia Dore Marshall at: November 30, 2010
This building...w/all the nicknames it had, is part of the campus history/legacy. You have a great Historic Preservation Department...why can't someone plan a rehab of the building. Please don't tear it down.
Submitted by roustabout at: November 30, 2010
I hope the students win that the fine old building is saved. A campus has a feel why destroy it. Arizona when underground and the new capital museum in D.C. went underground.
Submitted by Brian at: November 18, 2010
Interesting dillema. I can see both points of view. Maybe the answer is to build underground. Arizona State University, for example, has a large building built underground. You could figure out a way to leave the surface looking historic and uncluttered. Instead of elevators going up they are going down. Strategic skylights can reduce the feeling that you are underground.