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20-844: Alumni House may refer to: Alumni House (College of William & Mary) Alumni House (University of Southern Mississippi) , a Mississippi Landmark; see List of Mississippi Landmarks Alumni House (United States Naval Academy) Widney Alumni House , original building of the University of Southern California See also [ edit ] [REDACTED] Search for "Alumni House" on Misplaced Pages. All pages with titles beginning with Alumni House All pages with titles containing Alumni House Alumni Arena (disambiguation) Alumni Field (disambiguation) Alumni Gym (disambiguation) Alumni Hall (disambiguation) Alumni Stadium (disambiguation) Topics referred to by

40-459: 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. The House is sometimes used to host meetings pertaining to public interest. James City County , York County and the City of Williamsburg have utilized the building. Currently directly outside, facing Zable Stadium ,

60-580: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Alumni House (College of William %26 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 . The home was originally situated on a farm called "New Hope" owned by Samuel Bright and his family and at that time on

80-553: Is more modest in size and style, and is called the Governor's Mansion . On December 22, 1781, the main building was destroyed by a fire. At the time, it was being used as a hospital for wounded American soldiers following the nearby Siege of Yorktown . Some brick outbuildings survived the fire, but were demolished during the American Civil War so they could be salvaged for building materials by occupying forces. In

100-645: 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. 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

120-568: 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. The Plaza can seat 250 people for catered events. 37°16′27″N 76°42′51″W  /  37.27427°N 76.71428°W  / 37.27427; -76.71428 Governor%27s Palace (Williamsburg, Virginia) The Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, Virginia ,

140-510: The Battle of Williamsburg during the American Civil War . 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 The Brafferton and the President's House , also on

160-663: The 1880s, as the C&;O Railroad was building the Peninsula Extension east to Newport News , due to difficulties in acquiring right of way along the preferred route, temporary tracks were laid along Main Street/Duke of Gloucester Street in Williamsburg, passing through the area of the former Palace. Through the efforts of Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin , rector of Bruton Parish Church and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. , whose family provided major funding,

180-632: The 1930s on its original site. It is one of the two largest buildings at Colonial Williamsburg , the other being the Capitol . Williamsburg was established as the new capital of the Virginia colony in 1699, and served in that capacity until 1780. During most of that period, the Governor's Palace was the official residence of the royal governor. The palace was funded by the House of Burgesses in 1706 at

200-470: The behest of Lt. Governor Edward Nott . It was built from 1706 onward. In 1710, its first official resident was Lt. Governor Alexander Spotswood who served as acting governor; the governor proper, George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney , was absentee and is not known to have visited Virginia. Spotswood continued to improve on it until ca. 1720–1722, adding the forecourt, gardens, and various decorations. Under Lt. Gov. Robert Dinwiddie , from 1751 to 52, it

220-399: The elaborate and ornate palace was carefully recreated in the early 20th century. The reconstruction was based on numerous surviving pieces of evidence. Archaeological excavations of the site revealed the original foundations and cellar, together with architectural remnants that had fallen in during the fire. Jefferson's drawings and plans from his proposed renovation have survived, conveying

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240-515: The front campus, apparently confusing them with the front buildings at the 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. If the home depicted

260-657: The interior plan. In 1929, while the project was already in planning, a copperplate engraving nicknamed the Bodleian Plate was discovered in England's Bodleian Library . The plate included renderings c. 1740 of the exterior of the palace, along with the Capitol and the Wren Building . Additional evidence included original artifacts and Virginia General Assembly records. The house, outbuildings, and gardens opened as an exhibition on April 23, 1934. In early 1981,

280-456: 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

300-498: The outskirts of the town. 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. A watercolor of the campus was discovered, however, which revealed that the Alumni House is probably an 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

320-586: The remodeling of the Palace in manner in keeping with his neoclassical ideals . The proposal would have added a temple-like portico to the front and back. However, in 1780, Jefferson urged that the capital of Virginia be relocated to Richmond for security reasons during the American Revolution . The new lodging for the governor adjacent to the current Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond

340-421: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Alumni House . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alumni_House&oldid=1165428751 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

360-507: Was repaired and renovated, including the addition of a large rear addition featuring a ballroom . The exterior of the Governor's Palace inspired the design of the Sigma Nu Theta Chapter fraternity house at the University of Alabama. The seven governors who lived in the original palace included: Home to a colonial mayor: It was also home to the post-colonial governors: Around 1779, Governor Thomas Jefferson proposed

380-465: Was the official residence of the royal governors of the Colony of Virginia . It was also a home for two of Virginia's post-colonial governors, Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson , until the capital was moved to Richmond in 1780, and with it the governor's residence. The main house burned down in 1781, though the outbuildings survived for some time after. The Governor's Palace was reconstructed in

400-602: Was the home to some faculty members. By that time the building's interior was converted into apartments. 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. The Alumni House was expanded and renovated with celebrations marking

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