This is a picture that I took of Jackson Hall which is on the Quad at JMU. The architecture of Jackson is similar to that of several of the other buildings on the Quad. It has the bluestone with white pillars. It was named after stonewall Jackson because the students could not use the name Burruss as it was taken by another building on campus. Jackson is the building in which today History classes of all levels are taught. Academics were not the original use that Jackson was designed for. Jackson hall was originally designed as a dormitory and dining hall. It was the first on campus. When you look at Spotswood and Ashby hall’s which still house students to this day. When it was a dormitory instead of having RA’s it had a dorm mother to help the students out. The dining hall that was there serviced students that lived on and off campus just like D-Hall does today. The building had some academic uses as early as 1915; however it was still primarily a dorm until it underwent a major renovation in 1971 and then became the home of the History department. This is a great example of using a space that was designed for one specific purpose and changing it to fit the needs of the school.
I cannot imagine other uses for this space than attending class as I have used this space for that exact reason for multiple semesters. What moves me about this space is the awful thought of attending an 8 am Spanish class on Tuesdays and Thursdays my second semester at JMU, as it was the earliest class I have taken and was a horrific experience. ~ Brett Baldino
It is interesting to imagine Jackson as a dorm, when JMU was much smaller. This change illustrates the shift campus's are seeing by changing and expanding the layout of campus's to keep pace with growing enrollment. In this particular case, switching Jackson to classrooms seems to have worked well (besides the small classrooms) and maintained the academic feel of the quad. Harris Lipscomb Dr. Mulrooney
I cannot imagine other uses for this space than attending class as I have used this space for that exact reason for multiple semesters. What moves me about this space is the awful thought of attending an 8 am Spanish class on Tuesdays and Thursdays my second semester at JMU, as it was the earliest class I have taken and was a horrific experience. ~ Brett Baldino
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to imagine Jackson as a dorm, when JMU was much smaller. This change illustrates the shift campus's are seeing by changing and expanding the layout of campus's to keep pace with growing enrollment. In this particular case, switching Jackson to classrooms seems to have worked well (besides the small classrooms) and maintained the academic feel of the quad.
ReplyDeleteHarris Lipscomb
Dr. Mulrooney