Mary Washington Revisited

The University of Mary Washington should really be on anyone’s “most beautiful campus” list, and we always enjoy walking around the grounds. Yesterday on a walk through campus, we noticed the “Welcome to the New Lee Hall” sign above the door of the building, so decided to stop in and check it out.



My first job when I moved to Fredericksburg after college graduation (over 30 years ago) was as a clerk at Mary Washington (so much for the art degree), back in the days when Lee Hall housed the C-Shop, and where we used to go to play pinball (the old mechanical kind, before the digital age) and drink beer. The building has been through several incarnations since then, but the latest renovation is particularly nice. The building continues to house a variety of student services, like the new student accounts center.



On the floor above (I have no idea how they number the floors) is the new bookstore, where we stopped in and took a look around...



and upstairs from that, the large ballroom has been renovated into 3 smaller venues, but the architectural features, like the decorative wooden beams, have been preserved. The Underground student pub is getting a nice facelift, too, although it won’t be open for awhile.

The campus trees are starting to bloom and the campus looked particularly scenic, so we just strolled around, soaking up the atmosphere and taking pictures.



I ran into a friend who is the director of landscaping and grounds at the school, and she told me the color of this weeping willow was special, so I took a photo. Not that I know anything about trees.



The trees were in bloom on Ball Circle, and white Adirondack chairs were scattered around for lounging or reading or soaking up the sun.



This is the fountain in front of the Jepson Science Center. I love fountains. I think they improve any public space, as long as they're not turned off. Which is just a sad sight to see.



Across Rt. 1 from the college at the Park & Shop shopping center, work is underway on Eagle Village, a new college-owned development that will include student apartments, plus shopping, restaurants, and offices. So far, they've gotten as far as tearing down Roses, which now looks like this:



For more Mary Washington exteriors, click here.