CNU Architectural Ages: Age Two (1976 – 1996)

Aerial View of Christopher Newport's campus mid-90's
Courtesy of the CNU Archives

Service Building (1979)

Smith Library [Addition] (1979)

Administration Building (1980)

Campus Center [Addition] (1983)

Campus Center [Renovation (of older sections)] (1984)

Science Building (1984)

McMurran, Gosnold, & Wingfield [Additions (elevator)] (1989)

Carol and Anthony Santoro Hall (1994)

Harbor Lights Dining Hall (1994)

Smith Library [Addition] (1994)

Cazares Greenhouse [Addition] (1995)

Science Building [Renovation] (1996)

Age Two was marked by many high points -- the college's independence from William & Mary in 1977, becoming a university in 1992, and the creation of the campus’ first residence hall. It is a time marked by the growth of programs and enrollment, leading to a growth of facilities. It’s also marked by some low points -- CNC regularly receiving the lowest amount of money per student from the state budget, and later on a strained relationship with the Virginia General Assembly.[22]

The Second Age of Christopher Newport College’s architecture stayed pretty similar to its first in that building projects during this period were either expansions of already-existing buildings or one-off projects. Every project stayed contextual to what had already been built. However, there were differing degrees and approaches. Most of the differences came from the tastes of whomever the current president was, or whatever architectural trends were currently in vogue when the project was designed.

Campus Center Addition under construction
Courtesy of the CNU Archives

Due to their similarity in style, where Age One ended and Age Two started is not easily defined. There was a lull in campus construction between 1973 and 1979. I chose 1976 as the point as that was the year Forrest Coile, Jr. died.[23] Forrest Coile & Associates would continue to design the next few projects for CNC, but they would not strictly adhere to the design style set out by Coile, Jr.

CNC's Service Building
(The Freeman Center now occupies the land where this building once stood) 
Courtesy of CNU Department of Alumni Relations

Some select projects from this period:

The Administration Building (1980), while using the same building materials as those in Age One, had more in common with office parks than pagodas. It featured four stories of brick, lines of windows along the front and back elevations, and a flat roof. Slanted metal roofs added mid-level interest to the otherwise bare façade. The four stories of windowless brick and slate walls rose above the side entryways, creating an imposing feeling akin to brutalist buildings.

Front view of the Administration Building, 2011

Side and back view of the Administration Building, 1990
Courtesy of the CNU Archives

Stairs in the Admin Building, 2013

Anderson Auditorium in the Admin Building, 2013

The Science Building (1984) was a rectangular, flat-roofed building with two levels of outdoor wraparound walkways around its indoor rooms. While very utilitarian, it featured some eccentric design choices. It featured nonstructural brick panels, metal shades and rails, circular brick and concrete columns, and outdoor staircases housed between pairs of brick wall sheets. On the balconies, there were openings in the railing similar to the vent openings found on Gosnold and Newport Halls. The outdoor walkways became an issue during the wintertime, when paths would become slippery from ice. The Science Building would eventually be enclosed in the mid 90’s. Much of its eccentricities were removed. The outside became brick, windows, and unadorned concrete pediments.

Science Building c. 1985-1994
Courtesy of the CNU Archives

In 1994, CNU opened both the Carol K. and Anthony R. Santoro Residence Hall & Harbor Lights Dining Hall. Santoro Hall was a four-story U-shaped brick building. Harbor Lights was a one-story brick dining hall shaped like two connected offset squares. While the complex was fairly plain and monochromatic, it did borrow and allude to many of the features used in the Age One buildings. Harbor Lights was a modern take on Age One’s attached blockhouses, with a covered walkway connection to Santoro, a concrete border along the top of its walls, and featured cantilevered diamond hipped roofs (Santoro also had one decorative diamond hipped roof that was dismantled in 2011). It also had study room windows that resembled the window pattern on Age One buildings. Inside, Santoro continued its utilitarian setup with cinder blocks, linoleum tile, and brick. Harbor Lights was much the same but received some light décor in the way of tiled wave patterns on the walls.

Santoro Hall and Harbor Lights (right), in the later stages of construction
Courtesy of the CNU Archives

LANDSCAPE

"Christopher Newport College Quad is a favorite spot for students
and Hampton Roads community alike. Located in the center of Newport News,
the college's peaceful landscape offers a park-like setting in the city's hub."
Looking from the Admin Building towards the Ellipse.
Smith Hall is to the left, Newport Hall is to the right.
Courtesy of the CNU Archives

In 1980, a schematic landscape plan was developed by CNC’s Buildings and Grounds Committee. It would design around the existing landscaping already in place, with focus on major campus vistas, plazas, and gateways. The aim, much like Age One, was for a “naturalistic” look.[24] Large-scale projects, designed by the Buildings and Grounds Committee, organized the grounds around large outdoor congregating spaces. Smaller projects, perennial gardens, and flowerbeds around campus were designed by faculty and students in the horticulture program. Landscaping maintenance was handled by a small staff. Due to budget cuts in the 1990’s, the staff was let go. Outside contractors were hired to continue maintenance, but there was a noted overall decline in quality.[25]

CNC Schematic Landscape Plan, 1980
From the November 13, 1980 edition of The Captain's Log

Tree-filled area
Courtesy of the CNU Archives

A path
Courtesy of the CNU Archives

The Cazares Greenhouse continued to get plenty of use throughout this Age. The fiberglass panels were replaced with glass ones in 1985, and in 1995 the building was expanded. Biology students used it to grow a wide variety of plants to test their adaptability to the tidewater region. The plants that successfully adapted were then planted around campus.[26]

Greenhouse, date unknown (possibly during Age Three)
Courtesy of the CNU Archives

The reoccurring Polis Pond and Windsor Lake were finally dealt with. When the Administration Building was constructed, drainage on campus was reconfigured so that it would properly work. Parts of campus still had the potential to create bodies of water (and did), but it happened with much less regularity.[27]

Tree in the middle of a path
Courtesy of the CNU Archives

Some special landscaping projects of note:

- Dolly Sherman, a cataloguer in the Smith Library, initiated the creation of a Japanese garden. It was completed in a small courtyard behind the library in 1983.[28]

- In memory of Forrest Coile, Jr., his architectural firm gifted the college three abstract steel sculptures collectively entitled The Ships. The sculptures were placed on campus in the early 1980’s surrounded in a courtyard by many of the buildings Coile, Jr. designed: Newport Hall, Wingfield Hall, and Smith Library. The sculptures represented the three ships chartered to establish the Jamestown Colony: Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery. This was the first permanent outdoor art on campus. It was met with many perplexed and mixed reactions.[29]

The Ships sculptures in front of Wingfield Hall
Courtesy of the CNU Archives

- For a 1988 National Gallery of Art Japanese exhibit, a reproduction 17th century teahouse was built in Washington, DC. After the exhibit ended, it was given to the Commonwealth of Virginia, which in turn gave it to CNC. CNC was chosen because it had recently started a Japanese Studies Program. The teahouse was rebuilt on campus in 1989, set in a wooded area west of the main entrance (present day Parking Lot M). The sōan-style teahouse was regularly open and held tea ceremonies for students and the Newport News community.[30]

Japanese Teahouse and Garden at CNC
Courtesy of the CNU Archives 

- In 1990, the Biology department sought to protect a section of woods close to the center of campus, directly behind Wingfield Hall. These woods featured short, wandering pathways and a group meeting space amid the trees. The department wished to have it declared “an outdoor extension of the Biology classroom building, to be used for teaching and research purposes,” the CNC Chronicle reported. “This area still bears the remnants of the plow furrows that were left when the field was abandoned and, therefore, represents a classic example of old field succession, a very important concept in teaching ecology and a very rare find on a college campus. The large pine tree, an old boundry [sic] tree with its different growth form, provides evidence of the importance of the environment in plant growth.”[31] In honor of longtime Biology Professor Dr. Edward Spencer Wise, the woods were christened the Wise Woods on Earth Day 1990. A permanent moratorium on cutting trees was placed on the woods by the Board of Visitors, so that they would always remain.[32]

The Wise Woods, Fall 2010

- The lawn bordered by Gosnold, the Campus Center, McMurran, and the Science Building became known as the Great Lawn in the late 1980’s/early 1990’s. This was where outdoor commencement and other large events took place.[33]



NAMES

Building names during this period were mostly named for their purpose. The Science Building dealt with scientific matters. The Administration Building housed the school’s administration offices. Only two buildings were named after individuals, to honor their above-and-beyond service to the college. Lewis Archer McMurran, Jr. was seen as the father figure for the school, so the Board of Visitors renamed Christopher Newport Hall to McMurran Hall in 1986. This was not without controversy, as some students and faculty wished one of the utilitarian-named buildings had been given this name, instead of choosing an already-named building. The other building was Santoro Hall, named after Carol and Anthony Santoro, the fourth president of the school and his first lady.[34]

Harbor Lights continued the trend of nautical-themed dining establishment names on campus (i.e. Christopher’s, The Wheelhouse Pub (later renamed The Terrace), and the Admiralty Room).[35]



EXTRAS

Before the Administration Building was built, CNC was facing a space crunch. To ease needs, 12 temporary trailers were rented. Most sat between Newport Hall and the Cazares Greenhouse. The remaining ones surrounded Ratcliffe. They were as attractive as trailers could be. The grouping was nicknamed “Windsor Village” and “The Windsor Trailer Park” after then-President James Windsor.[36]

Windsor Trailer Park
From the August 22, 1978 edition of The Captain's Log

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 became the first accessibility civil rights law in the United States, which required federally-funded institutions to start improving their facilities to be more accessible for all individuals. Christopher Newport College had limited accessibility for most of its buildings. Throughout this Age, improvements were made to increase access. Campus pathways were redone with exposed aggregate concrete. All new buildings built in this age were built with elevators. Older buildings were renovated with ramps, elevators, and other infrastructure changes. The library received its first elevator with its 1979 expansion, while the academic buildings had theirs installed in 1989.[37]

Backside of the Gosnold elevator and elevated walkway addition

The McMurran breezeway was converted into office space – campus seemed to never have enough office or parking space.[38]

Quoting this 1995 Denbigh Gazette article verbatim because it’s great just the way it is: “No story about the CNU campus landscape would be complete without an update on the banana trees. ‘The banana trees will be out shortly,’ said the horticulture professor [Dr. David Bankes] who stores them in the greenhouse for safe keeping during the winter. Have they ever born any fruit? ‘They have produced fruit that matured only after harvesting,’ said Bankes. Somewhat unusual to this area’s vegetation, the broad leafed trees have become an important visual memory in the college’s collage of memories that many students, graduates and faculty hold dear.”[39]

I’ve previously written about the Administration Building.

The Science Building was the most troubled building ever built at Christopher Newport College, so much so that this fun fact grew too long and warranted its own post!

Science Building, c. 1985-1994
Courtesy of the CNU Archives

Next: CNU Architectural Ages: Age Three (1996 – 2001) 

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[22] Hamilton, Phillip, Serving the Old Dominion: A History of Christopher Newport University 1958-2011, First ed., University Press, 2011; Mazzarella, Mario D. “Opinion: Trible inherited a school in better shape than portrayed,” Daily Press, 16 June 2022, https://www.dailypress.com/opinion/vp-ed-column-mazzarella-0617-20220616-ftnkh6pdc5byhfj7xyo4sck3de-story.html
[23] Robertson, Marianne “Coile Is Shot To Death, Estranged Wife Charged,” Daily Press, 13 July 1976.
[24] Nuckols, Patricia A “College develops Schematic Landscape Plan for future,” The Captain’s Log, 13 November 1980.
[25] Hamilton, Phillip, Serving the Old Dominion: A History of Christopher Newport University 1958-2011, First ed., University Press, 2011; Seabrook, Suellen “CNU greenhouse ‘grows’,” Denbigh Gazette, 4-10 May 1995; Loepp, Donald “Professor tends garden for all seasons,” Daily Press, 6 November 1986
[26] Seabrook, Suellen “CNU greenhouse ‘grows’,” Denbigh Gazette, 4-10 May 1995; Chambers, A. Jane “Memories of CNC’s Super Superintendent: Mike Cazares,” CNC First Decaders, 7 March 2014, http://www.cncfirstdecaders6171.com/websitearchives/firstdecadehistory.html
[27] Bauer, F. Samuel “Remembering Lake Windsor and Polis Pond,” CNC First Decaders, http://www.cncfirstdecaders6171.com/websitearchives/seconddecadehistory.html
[28] Ward, Rose M “Landscape Class Turns Japanese Garden Dream Into Reality,” The Captain’s Log, 8 September 1983.
[29] CNC Admissions Office, 2.1 C Admissions Viewbook 1990-1991, SAIL – Smart Archiving for Institutional Learning, https://sail.cnu.edu/omeka/files/original/572e7b4cf0e299654077a669f56fdac5.pdf; CNC Yearbook Club, The Captain 1989, Herff Jones; Heuvel, Sean M., The Campus History Series: Christopher Newport University, Arcadia Publishing, 2009; Chambers, A. Jane, “CNC’s First Shoe Lane Building: Christopher Newport Hall,” CNC First Decaders, 27 April 2018, http://www.cncfirstdecaders6171.com/websitearchives/firstdecadehistory.html; N.a. “The three what!?!?,” The Captain’s Log, 13 November 1980.
[30] Sister Cities of Newport News “Swallow’s Rest – The Ennan Teahouse,” 3 March 2020, www.sistercities-nn.com/ennan-teahouse.html; Goodhart, R. Robert “University Seeks Assistance with Relocation of Kitayama Teahouse,” JGarden: the Japanese garden database, http://www.jgarden.org/features.asp?ID=90.
[31] Cones, Harold “To the Buildings and Grounds Committee,” CNC Chronicle, 12 March 1990, https://chris.cnu.edu/item/1531
[32] Cones, Harold “Dr. E. Spencer Wise: Colleague, Mentor, Close Friend,” CNC First Decaders, 29 March 2013, http://www.cncfirstdecaders6171.com/websitearchives/yourmemories.html; College Press Service “CNC adds to list of Earth Day Projects,” The Captain’s Log, 12 April 1990; Fellowes, Robert “4.3 E-1 Memorandum – Petition of the Biology Department,” SAIL – Smart Archiving for Institutional Learning, 26 February 1990, https://sail.cnu.edu/omeka/items/show/15308.
[33] Tape-A-Quarter Classifieds, The Captain’s Log, 12 April 1990.
[34] Hamilton, Phillip, Serving the Old Dominion: A History of Christopher Newport University 1958-2011, First ed., University Press, 2011; Letters to the Editor, The Captain’s Log, 20 February 1986; Dely, Diana “Students don’t agree with name change,” The Captain’s Log, 30 January 1986.
[35] N.a. “Taste of the Past: Dining,” Christopher Newport University Alumni Magazine, Spring 2004.
[36] N.a. “BREAKING GROUND…” The Captain’s Log, 22 August 1978; Ritzenthaler, Tanner, Bacher, Prow, “Christopher Newport College” GEO Department, [Map], 1978.
[37] Coppelman, Peter “A Layperson’s Guide to Section 504,” Summer 1977, https://dredf.org/504-sit-in-20th-anniversary/a-laypersons-guide-to-section-504/; Kent, Nancy “Handicapped limits examined at CNC,” The Captain’s Log, 22 November 1977; Earis, Patricia “Library is expanding and providing for handicapped students,” The Captain’s Log, 4 October 1979; Willett, Darlene “New sidewalks are “exposed aggregate”,” The Captain’s Log, 2 October 1980; van Rijn, Rick “Construction almost complete,” The Captain’s Log, 26 January 1989.
[38] Van Rijn, Rick “Construction almost complete,” The Captain’s Log, 26 January 1989.
[39] Seabrook, Suellen “CNU greenhouse ‘grows’,” Denbigh Gazette, 4-10 May 1995.