Fairfax Hall, also known as Hotel Brunswick, Brandon Hotel, or Fairfax Hall School, is a historic building located at

Waynesboro, Virginia Waynesboro (formerly Flack) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a principal city of the Staunton-Waynesboro Metropolitan Statistical Area. Waynesboro is located in the Shenandoah Valley and is surrounded by Augusta Cou ...

. It was built in 1890, and is a -story, very long and rambling resort hotel building in the shingled mode of the Queen Anne style. It has an irregular symmetry with towers at either end of the facade, a one-story

porte cochere Porte may refer to: *Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire *Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy *John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator *Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...

, a distinctive octagonal belvedere and cupola, and glassed in first story porches. Also on the property is a contributing

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...

nasium, built in 1926 in the

European Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

style. It was originally occupied by the Brandon Hotel resort. The Brandon closed in 1913 but the building reopened as a school. In 1920 the school became Fairfax Hall, a junior college and preparatory school for girls. After the school closed in 1975, it was leased by the

Virginia Department of Corrections The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) is the government agency responsible for community corrections and operating prisons and correctional facilities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The agency is fully accredited by ...

as a training academy but then purchased and reopened as a retirement home. an
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/ref> It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1982. Former students of the college and preparatory school for girls include film star

Martha Hyer Martha Hyer (August 10, 1924 – May 31, 2014) was an American actress who played Gwen French in ''Some Came Running'' (1958), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her autobiography, ''Finding My Way ...

, musician

Nikki Hornsby Nikki Hornsby is an American musician. She has been active in the pop, Americana, country, and blues genres as a songwriter, singer, and guitarist. She is a Broadcast Music, Inc. associated songwriter and has written over 1000 songs. Early yea ...

and politician

Julia Brownley Julia Andrews Brownley (born August 28, 1952) is an American businesswoman and politician who has been the United States representative for California's 26th congressional district since 2013. A Democrat, she served in the California State Assem ...

References

External links

Fairfax Hall
Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Queen Anne architecture in Virginia Renaissance Revival architecture in Virginia Hotel buildings completed in 1890 Buildings and structures in Waynesboro, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Waynesboro, Virginia {{WaynesboroVA-NRHP-stub