View source for Alumni House (College of William & Mary)

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{{Infobox building
| name                = Alumni house
| image               = Alumni House at the College of William and Mary, 2020.jpg
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| image_caption       = Alumni House, 2020.
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| location            = [[Williamsburg, Virginia]]
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| start_date          = 1850s (original)<br>2018 (reconstruction)
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| completion_date     = 2020
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| owner               = [[College of William and Mary in Virginia]]
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{{Campus of William & Mary}}
The '''Alumni House''', formerly known as the '''Bright House''', is a 19th-century building located on the [[College of William & Mary]]'s campus in the middle of historic [[Williamsburg, Virginia]].<ref name=ALUM>[https://alumni.wm.edu/house/ Alumni House history – wm.edu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915192211/http://alumni.wm.edu/house/ |date=2008-09-15 }}. Accessed April 22, 2008.</ref> The home was originally situated on a farm called "New Hope" owned by Samuel Bright and his family and at that time on the outskirts of the town.
==History==
[[Image:Alumni House, College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, Virginia, USA - 2008-04-23).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The Alumni House prior to 2018-2020 renovations.]]
At one time original portions of the house were thought to date back to 1871, but recent research has pushed the date back some years.<ref name=ALUM/> A watercolor of the campus was discovered, however, which revealed that the Alumni House is probably an [[antebellum architecture|antebellum]] structure. "A long-lost panoramic watercolor of Williamsburg painted by a Union mapmaker, [[Robert Knox Sneden]]," was found and dates from August 1862 after the [[Battle of Williamsburg]] during the [[American Civil War]].<ref name=MAG>{{cite journal | last = Meyer | first = Terry | title = This Old House: A Civil War Watercolor Casts Light on the True Age of the Alumni House | url = http://alumni.wm.edu/magazine/wint_0708/feature_3.shtml | journal = William and Mary Alumni Magazine | date = Winter 2007–2008 | volume = 73 | issue = 2 | access-date = 2010-02-23 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111003092824/http://alumni.wm.edu/magazine/wint_0708/feature_3.shtml | archive-date = 2011-10-03 | url-status = dead }}</ref> Some of Sneden’s watercolors have proven to be inaccurate, as may be the case of this watercolor, which was drawn several years later from a sketch Sneden had prepared when on campus in 1862. The Italianate towers in his sketch of the college building are accurate, but Sneden misnamed [[Brafferton (building)|The Brafferton]] and the [[President’s House (College of William & Mary)|President's House]], also on the front campus, apparently confusing them with the front buildings at the [[Governor's Palace (Williamsburg, Virginia)|Governor's Palace]]. At the far right of the Sneden watercolor is possibly the Bright House. On the two-story building Sneden drew a cupola in the Italianate style then in vogue (as in the 1859 version of William & Mary's main college building), but the cupola might indeed have been an embellishment.<ref name=MAG/> If the home depicted is the Bright House then the building was probably built sometime in the 1850s. The Alumni House would be one of only several buildings on the College's campus to have witnessed, first-hand, a Civil War battle in Williamsburg.<ref name=MAG/>
During the house’s existence, it has been home to the William & Mary [[Kappa Alpha Order]] fraternity from 1925-1943. The College purchased the home in 1946 and until the late 1960s was the home to some faculty members. By that time the building's interior was converted into apartments.<ref name=ALUM/> The Bright House became the Alumni House in 1972 after the Society of the Alumni, (now the W&M Alumni Association) embarked on a campaign to raise funds for renovations. Despite the modifications, the house's exterior still retains a mid-19th century identity.<ref name=ALUM/> The Alumni House was expanded and renovated with celebrations marking the new facility held on Homecoming on Oct. 25, 1997.
Construction began in 2018 and concluded in 2020 on a major addition to Alumni House that added 35,000 square feet to the building's nearly 20,000 square feet. The new facility, however, retains and preserved the character of the 19th-century home. There is a new entrance and reception area, event space to accommodate up to 800 people, a lounge and business center and outdoor modifications such as a new terrace, enclosing garden area and plaza. The new construction left the original structure in place, treating the original house as the northern wing of the completed building.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://advancement.wm.edu/news/2020/construction-on-alumni-house-nears-completion.php|title=Construction on Alumni House Nears Completion|last=De Lisle|first=Claire|date=9 June 2020|publisher=[[College of William and Mary|The College of William & Mary in Virginia]]|location=[[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]], [[Virginia|VA]]|access-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512223347/https://advancement.wm.edu/news/2020/construction-on-alumni-house-nears-completion.php|archive-date=12 May 2021}}</ref>
The House is sometimes used to host meetings pertaining to public interest.<ref>[http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/williamsburg/dp-news_easternstate_0405apr05,0,5034021.story ''The Daily Press'': Public can discuss hospital's vacant land] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907051700/http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/williamsburg/dp-news_easternstate_0405apr05,0,5034021.story |date=2008-09-07 }}. "The meetings will be at the college's Alumni House on Richmond Road starting at 7 p.m. on April 21 and April 23. The April 22 session, closed to the public, will only be for certain officials to hear specific suggestions." Accessed April 23, 2008.</ref> [[James City County, Virginia|James City County]], [[York County, Virginia|York County]] and the City of Williamsburg have utilized the building.
Currently directly outside, facing [[Zable Stadium]], is the Elizabeth and T.C. Clarke Memorial Plaza, which is paved with hundreds of engraved bricks that commemorate special people, times and places in William & Mary history.<ref name=ALUM/> The Plaza can seat 250 people for catered events.
==See also==
* [[Saint Bede Catholic Church (Williamsburg, Virginia)|National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham]], adjacent [[Catholic]] shrine
* [[List of College of William & Mary alumni]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.wm.edu The College of William & Mary]
*[http://www.wmalumni.com/ W&M Alumni Association]
{{The College of William & Mary}}
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[[Category:College of William & Mary buildings]]
[[Category:Houses completed in 1862]]
[[Category:1862 establishments in Virginia]]
[[Category:Brick buildings and structures in Williamsburg, Virginia]]