
Central Grounds has changed dramatically over the past two centuries since the founding of the University of Virginia. From the Amphitheatre to the two Cabell Halls, the University approaches its 200th anniversary shockingly different and practically unrecognizable from its founding, except for parts of the Lawn and Academical Village.
Once students and faculty began to arrive in 1825, they found quite a small university, containing only the Rotunda, Lawn, and Ranges. One additional building was also constructed—one often forgotten today. The Anatomical Theater (for the showing of medical dissections) began construction in 1825 and finished in 1827. The diminutive campus required more general class and dormitory space, seeing the addition of the Annex to the northern side of the Rotunda in 1853. Three more buildings were constructed from the 1850s to 1890s, first being Varsity Hall, first opened as an infirmary in 1858 to stem a deadly typhoid outbreak. This out-of-place structure sits at the end of Hospital Drive, east of East Range and Rouss Hall. Additions made to Rouss Hall in the early 2000s saw the building moved close to 200 feet to make way for construction efforts. Brooks Hall, to the east of the Rotunda, was constructed in the 1870s with funding from a UVA-unaffiliated New York textile magnate. Both Varsity and Brooks Halls did not follow “Jeffersonian” architecture, instead reflecting the somewhat disorganized and random additions of the time. While not on Central Grounds, the Observatory was also finished in 1884, a notable achievement given the telescope’s almost record-breaking size at the time. Lastly, the University Chapel began construction in 1885, adding another building to the north side of the Rotunda.
The Annex addition to the Rotunda would prove quite critical to the growth of the University as seen today, as the fire which began in the massive compound allowed for a complete renovation of South Lawn at the end of the century. After the 1895 fire, the Rotunda was rebuilt (without the Annex), while new space was provided by the additions of Rouss, Old Cabell, and Cocke Halls. This move was controversial at the time given Jefferson’s desire to maintain an open view of the countryside from the southern end of the Lawn. With the lawn “capped,” a new era for the University began as substantially more buildings began construction across Grounds. From only three additions in 50 years, the University rapidly spread. The hospital began construction in 1901, rapidly growing in size and height and filling in the area next to East Range. The area south of West Range saw major construction at this time, with Garrett Hall built in 1908 and Minor Hall in 1911. Delayed by World War One, the Amphitheater was finished shortly thereafter in 1921 for use in celebrating events—though later becoming a parking lot for years! Honoring the many alumni who had perished in the First World War, Memorial Gym began construction in 1922 before completion in 1925. For a time, the gym also had a reflecting pool where the basketball courts now stand, though an accumulation of garbage resulted in its demolition in the 1950s. 1929 to 1931 saw another explosion of development, with dormitories constructed on Monroe Hill (now Brown College). Monroe Hall was opened the next year, just steps away and now housing the Economic program. 1931 then saw Scott Stadium open, the first dedicated stadium at the University, which had long relied on open fields instead. Of course, the opening game was a defeat for UVA. Meanwhile, Clark Hall was completed in 1934 for the Law School, long before its move to North Grounds. The massive murals (recreations of the original) which flank the entrance depict scenes from the Iliad and the Bible representing the development of legal systems. The last major construction on Central Grounds in that decade was of then-Alderman Library (now Shannon Library) in 1937, marking a reprieve for the Rotunda as a dedicated library could finally manage the University’s books.
Outside of Central Grounds, a number of projects were also beginning to reach fruition, with Thornton Hall opening in 1936, marking the beginning of the University’s expansion across Emmet Street. The Old Dorms were constructed in 1951 after requiring first years to live on-grounds, standing as the main housing area for decades and receiving a renovation and modernization in the late 2010s. Meanwhile, the suite-style dorms along Alderman Road were finished in the 1960s, as a part of UVA’s expansion westward. At that time, the University also began expanding the STEM program, constructing the Gilmer Hall in 1961 and the Chemistry Building in 1965.
UVA remained remarkably constrained for many decades, seeing only minor expansions between 1825 and 1895. Pictures from the time period show vast pastures and fields surrounding the Academical Village, seemingly an isolated island community on a hill perched above the community. However, since the turn of the century the University has sprawled out drastically, first across the area bounded by Jefferson Park Avenue (JPA), Emmet Street, and University Avenue, before spilling across Emmet in the 1960s. With new major construction efforts south of JPA now completed, the future direction of expansion for the University is yet to be seen. However, that expansion is inevitable given the constant march of growth and incoming requirements for second years to seek on-Grounds housing. Perhaps in 50 years, the University as it stands then will be mostly unrecognizable to those currently living here.
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