Barracks, Virginia Military Institute
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The Old Barracks is a historic building on the campus of the
Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...
in Lexington, Virginia. Built in 1848 and repeatedly enlarged and redesigned by a succession of architects, it includes at its core the oldest surviving building of the campus. The building was declared a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1965 for its architecture and its association with nation's oldest state-supported military academy.


Description and history

The campus of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is located on the north side of the city of Lexington. At its center is a large
parade ground A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...
, around which a significant number of the institute's buildings are arrayed. The Old Barracks are located along the northeastern edge of the ground, forming a long arcing facade. There are three sections, each of which presents a bank of windows, with a projecting central entry. The projecting sections have polygonal towers with crenellated tops at the corners, with similar lower towers at the eastern end of the structure and at the junctions between the sections. The tower at the western end of the structure is square with angled corners, and matches the height of the entrance towers. VMI was founded in 1839, and is the first and best-known of the nation's state-funded military academies. Most of the institute's early buildings were demolished during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
, with only a portion of the barracks building surviving. This portion was designed by architect
Alexander Jackson Davis Alexander Jackson Davis, or A. J. Davis (July 24, 1803 – January 14, 1892), was an American architect, known particularly for his association with the Gothic Revival style. Education Davis was born in New York City and studied at ...
and built in 1848, and was a fine piece of early Gothic Revival architecture that influenced the other buildings present on the campus. In the 1890s the building was redesigned by Isaac Eugene Alexander Rose, and in 1916 it was enlarged to design work by Benjamin Grosvenor Goodhue, which created the first complete quadrangle. In 1948 the building was further extended by the addition of a new wing, designed by Carneal and Johnson.


See also

* List of National Historic Landmarks in Virginia *
National Register of Historic Places listings in Lexington, Virginia __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Lexington, Virginia. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in the independent city of L ...


References


External links

*
Virginia Military Institute, Barracks, Virginia Military Institute Parade Grounds, Lexington, VA: 3 photos, 23 data pages and supplemental material
at
Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Historic Landmarks in Virginia Buildings and structures in Lexington, Virginia Virginia Military Institute campus Residential buildings completed in 1848 Gothic Revival architecture in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Lexington, Virginia Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Virginia Alexander Jackson Davis buildings Barracks on the National Register of Historic Places