The main campus of Virginia Tech is located in Blacksburg, Virginia ; the central campus is roughly bordered by Prices Fork Road to the northwest, Plantation Road to the west, Main Street to the east, and U.S. Route 460 bypass to the south, although it also has several thousand acres beyond the central campus. The Virginia Tech campus consists of 130 buildings on approximately 2,600 acres (11 km). It was the site of the Draper's Meadow massacre in 1755 during the French and Indian War .
150-653: Virginia Tech's presence in the National Capital Region is continually expanding. Current locations include Alexandria , Arlington , Fairfax , Falls Church , Leesburg , Manassas , and Middleburg . The university also has several commonwealth branch campus centers: Hampton Roads ( Virginia Beach ), Richmond , Roanoke , and the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon . The university also owns
300-480: A grade point average of 3.50 and it is customary that they live in the building for the duration of their undergraduate education. The Honors Residential College in East Ambler Johnston is the only other residence hall which has the same requirements. In addition to being a residence hall on the second and third floors, Hillcrest houses Virginia Tech's University Honors offices on the first floor and
450-843: A humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cfa ). Summers are humid with warm to hot temperatures, although the area sees significantly cooler temperatures than places of lower elevation at the same latitude, with only 5 days of 90 °F (32 °C)+ highs annually. Winters are generally cool to cold, with occasional intervening warm periods and an average of 0.9 nights of sub-0 °F (−18 °C) lows. Monthly mean temperatures range from 31.9 °F (−0.1 °C) in January to 71.7 °F (22.1 °C) in July. Snowfall averages 24.7 inches (63 cm) per season and generally occurs from December to March, although significant snowfall has been recorded outside of those months. Blacksburg
600-600: A $ 1.6 million renovation took place which added lab space to the first floor for the Department of Biological Systems Engineering. Bishop-Favrao Hall is home to the Department of Building Construction, which is under the College of Architecture and Urban Studies (CAUS), and the Myers-Lawson School of Construction. Much of the building has its systems exposed so that students can see them and learn about
750-675: A 70-acre area in Potomac Yards to include a concert venue, businesses, and a new arena that would have been home to the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards . The proposal failed in March 2024 with the announcement Virginia negotiations were ending and Monumental planning to sign an additional lease with Washington, D.C. after it did not advance in the Virginia General Assembly . According to
900-504: A boost of compulsory education during the second half of the 20th century. Even though there had been a place for secondary education somewhere in town since 1906, it was not until 1952 when the first facility for Blacksburg High School was built on South Main and Eheart Streets. Later it moved to new quarters and was adapted as Blacksburg Middle School. That same year, all high schools in Montgomery County began operating on
1050-479: A catastrophic structural failure and collapsed, causing structural damage to other areas of the school. The school building was condemned and students attended night school on a split schedule with the Blacksburg Middle School students at their school for the remainder of the year. It was determined that repair costs would exceed $ 18 million and would not be feasible given the age of the school; it
1200-650: A conference among representatives from all the states to consider the adoption of definite commercial regulations. This led to the calling of the Annapolis Convention of 1786 , which in turn led to the calling of the Federal Convention of 1787 . In 1814, during the War of 1812 , the British military carried out a successful raid on Alexandria , which surrendered without a fight. In order to avoid
1350-552: A cost of $ 2.8 million. The main dining area, now called "D2", was known as the "Depot at Dietrick" prior to a $ 6.5 million renovation completed in 2004 that converted the hall from a cafeteria-style facility to one that more closely resembles a food court. The building also contains the Dietrick General Store, an extension of the University Bookstore; "Deet's Place", a coffee and ice cream shop; and
1500-480: A few feet away was the room where the house mother would be there to supervise. Hoge Hall is located on Washington Street on the Prairie Quad. The building is named for Janie and William Hoge, a local African American couple that hosted several African American students, including Irving L. Peddrew III, between 1953 and 1959, before African American students were permitted to live on campus in 1961. The building
1650-543: A history class found a page in the 1896 Bugle (Virginia Tech's student yearbook) that seemed to indicate that while an undergraduate, over a century earlier, Claudius Lee had been president of a campus Ku Klux Klan where he was listed as the "Father of Terror" as well as being named "Arch-fiend" of the Pittsylvania Club organization, whose yearbook page featured a black person being lynched. After more than two decades of pressure from students and alumni, Lee Hall
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#17328019893931800-437: A larger square, representing the original 16 square blocks that were a part of Black's design. After Black petitioned the state legislature to establish a town at the site, the official establishment and founding of Blacksburg was January 13, 1798, on the 38.75-acre (15.68 ha) tract that he laid out. The following August 4, he signed over the deed to the town trustees . The town was named after him in his honor. In 1808,
1950-401: A living room, bath, two bedrooms, and kitchen. Some traditional halls where bathroom facilities are shared by half a floor were retained; however, these too were remodeled. The latest renovation added air conditioning. In the "bridge" that spans between East and West AJ and on the lower levels, there are meeting rooms, a student kitchen, a game room, a weight/exercise room, a theater, a library,
2100-519: A log cabin was built just east of Smithfield Plantation. Robert Preston, a future colonel of the 28th Virginia Infantry , lived here, as did two Virginia governors. The cabin was later added to in the mid 19th century to create a Greek Revival farmhouse now known as Solitude , which is the oldest building on the Virginia Tech campus. In 1872, the 250 acre Solitude farm became the central campus of Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, and
2250-510: A mail room, and laundry facilities that can be accessed through the university's "laundry web" (students can reserve machines and see if their wash/dry is done via the Internet). Also in the "bridge" is an apartment for the faculty members who are "in residence" in the HRC. West AJ reopened in the fall of 2012. It houses the university's second Residential College with approximately 800 students and
2400-482: A middle school, and a high school. A newly renovated Blacksburg branch library was opened in 1996. In the aftermath of railroad restructuring, many rail lines were abandoned. After 24 years of abandonment and six years of planning and construction, the first phase of the Huckleberry Trail built on the old Huckleberry railbed opened in 1996. The second phase of construction was completed in 1998. In 2019,
2550-504: A new one. The Belle Pre Bottle Company held a monopoly on a milk bottle that they patented, yet that organization only lasted 10 years. Most businesses were smaller where the business occupied the first floor of a building and the owner and family lived above. Prohibition closed Portner Brewing in 1916. President Woodrow Wilson visited the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation on May 30, 1918, to drive
2700-732: A programming budget of $ 1 per resident (or $ 400 if there are fewer than 400 residents) from the Student Programs office and from the RHF budget. The RHF Officer Group consists of 16 members, composing an Executive Board and a Board of Directors. Like the Resident Advisors employed by the school, the Hall Councils produce programs that entertain and educate the residents of the buildings that they serve. These programs range from movie nights to exam study breaks. In addition,
2850-522: A replacement for Virginia Tech's military mess hall. It was closed and completely renovated in the early 1990s. Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia , United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of downtown Washington, D.C. Alexandria is
3000-581: A ring of forts built by the Union army for the defense of Washington, D.C. , is located inside the boundaries of present-day Alexandria. There were five military prisons in the city, the largest being the Washington Street Military Prison . After the creation by Washington of the state of West Virginia in 1863 and until the close of the war, Alexandria was the seat of the so-called Restored Government of Virginia , also known as
3150-579: A shopping center parking lot within the city. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation later arrested Whalen on July 12, 1966, at his home in the city. In 1961 the original Woodrow Wilson Bridge opened. In 1965, the city integrated schools . In 1971, the city consolidated all high school junior and senior students into T. C. Williams High School . Freshman and sophomore students were assigned to attend either Francis C Hammond or George Washington, formerly four-year high schools, as part of
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#17328019893933300-455: A system-wide overhaul of the public school system, beginning with kindergarten classes, in an attempt to racially "balance" student population throughout the city's public schools to better reflect the city's racial makeup. The plan was known as the "K-6, 2, 2, 2 plan". Classes were broken out, beginning with kindergarten through sixth grade; then seventh through eighth; then freshman and sophomore classes; and finally junior and senior classes, with
3450-466: A twelve-grade basis which is still county policy to this day. The Margaret J. Beeks Elementary School and the Gilbert F. Linkous Elementary School were both completed in 1963 and Harding Avenue Elementary School was built in 1972. Two years later, in 1974, Blacksburg High School moved its location to Patrick Henry Drive after 20 years of issues with overcrowding in its previous location. Jack Goodwin
3600-435: A variety of topics and shared experiences. Most of these programs have course requirements for participation, with some noted exceptions. Residential Colleges, unlike LLCs, have a live-in faculty principal and a more complex structure of student leadership. Students who opt to participate in one of these programs also must agree to two years of on-campus housing rather than just one, as is required for most incoming freshmen by
3750-500: Is actually constructed underground and has four pyramidal skylights that illuminate the studio spaces below. One can access Burchard Hall via either of the three access portals on the "roof", or through the ground-floor entrances. Burchard Hall also has a walkway connecting it to the nearby Cowgill Hall. Constructed in 1936 facing the center of the drill field and originally known as the Teaching and Administration Building, Burruss Hall
3900-604: Is also located within the Ware Lab and is equipped with various machine tools used for project manufacturing, including two Numerical Control (CNC) Machines. The lab is home to such notable teams as the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team , Formula SAE (VT Motorsports), BOLT all electric motorcycle team and the Baja SAE team. Other teams in the lab include AISC Steel Bridge (SBT), Design Build Fly (DBF), and
4050-763: Is an incorporated town in Montgomery County, Virginia , United States, with a population of 44,826 at the 2020 census . Blacksburg and the surrounding county is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of Virginia Tech . Blacksburg, Christiansburg , and the city of Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses those jurisdictions and all of Montgomery, Pulaski, and Giles counties for statistical purposes. The MSA has an estimated population of 181,863 and
4200-576: Is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Alexandria has a humid subtropical climate , abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. At the 2010 census , there were 139,966 people, 68,082 households and 30,978 families residing in the city. The population density was 8,452.0 inhabitants per square mile (3,263.3/km ). There were 68,082 housing units at an average density of 4,233.2 per square mile (1,634.4/km ). The racial/ethnic mix of
4350-702: Is currently one of the faster-growing MSAs in Virginia. In the mid-1600s, English colonists were still uncertain of what lay beyond the Allegheny Mountains , whose topography and possession by native inhabitants, Tutelo -speaking tribes, were a barrier to expanded settlement by the Colony of Virginia . Abraham Wood , who commanded Fort Henry on the frontier (now the site of Petersburg, Virginia ), and operated an Indian trading post nearby, organized several expeditions to explore farther west. A passage over
4500-651: Is currently used as a restaurant called Cabo Fish Taco. It is also the oldest building on Main Street. The Baptists founded the third oldest church in the town in 1852. In 1832, Westview Cemetery was established from a few acres of land that were deeded to trustees. One of the first educational establishments started here was the Blacksburg Female Academy in 1840. The Olin and Preston Institute (re-charted as Preston and Olin Institute in 1869)
4650-442: Is divided into four houses: Hickory, Hawthorn, Honey Locust, and Holly. The Residential College focuses on building of community values and partnership, with each house holding its own events and having its own government structure. Hilcrest Honors Community is the smallest residence hall in Virginia Tech at a student capacity of 108. Unlike most of the other residence halls on campus, it is required that all of its occupants maintain
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4800-604: Is home to the Virginia Tech Hokies men's and women's basketball teams . Additional athletic facilities: Ambler Johnston Hall is a large co-ed undergraduate residence hall located on Washington Street across from the Cassell Coliseum parking lot in what is known as the Summit Community. Completed in 1968, the hall is named after Ambler Johnston, a 1904 graduate of Virginia Tech, who
4950-407: Is known as Old Town Alexandria , or simply "Old Town". With its concentration of boutiques, restaurants, antique shops and theaters, it is a major draw for city residents and visitors. Like Old Town, many Alexandria neighborhoods are compact and walkable. A large portion of adjacent Fairfax County , mostly south but also west of the city, has Alexandria mailing addresses. However, this area is under
5100-551: Is located in Blacksburg and serves most of southwestern Virginia, southeast West Virginia, and northwest North Carolina. In 2003, the new building for Blacksburg Middle School students opened on Prices Fork Road adjacent to the property housing Kipps Elementary School. On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho shot 32 people dead and injured an additional 17 in the Virginia Tech shooting before committing suicide. The massacre
5250-662: Is located in the New River Valley and also sits astride the Eastern Continental Divide . It is the 15th largest municipality and the largest town in the commonwealth of Virginia. The Eastern Continental Divide traverses the Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport . The tallest building in Blacksburg is Slusher Tower , a twelve-story residence hall on the Virginia Tech campus. The building with
5400-658: Is located off of the Duck Pond and Virginia Tech Golf course. The community features 15 houses that serve 19 fraternity and sorority chapters. The community is designated as Special Purpose Housing and while the buildings are considered to be private homes, the facilities are owned and maintained by Virginia Tech Housing and Residence Life. Oak Lane is also home to a pilot program, the Innovate Entrepreneurial Living Learning Community. The twelve-storey Slusher Tower built in 1972
5550-416: Is served primarily by US 460 , a four-lane highway that connects I-81 at Christiansburg, 10 miles to the south, and to I-77 at Princeton, West Virginia. Driving from Blacksburg to its larger metro neighbor, Roanoke , via US 460 and I-81, usually requires less than an hour. Blacksburg Transit (BT) provides bus transportation primarily to and from the campus of Virginia Tech . Students and faculty ride
5700-472: Is the deadliest mass shooting on a college campus since the University of Texas tower shooting in 1966. On January 21, 2009, Zhu Haiyang decapitated Yang Xin at Virginia Tech in the first campus murder since the Virginia Tech shooting. On February 13, 2010, following a snowstorm that dropped two feet of snow on the area, the gymnasium roof on the previously occupied Blacksburg High School suffered
5850-434: Is the dividing line between the sections. John Black's property was later developed as the majority of the central campus of Virginia Tech. In 1797, William Black laid out a small grid of streets and lots comprising 16 blocks on a portion of his land. The original town was limited to the area bounded by present-day Draper Road, Jackson Street, Wharton Street, and Clay Street. The town logo contains 16 small squares that create
6000-425: Is the main administration building on campus and the iconic symbol of Virginia Tech. A west wing and rear addition were built in 1968, and an east wing was added in 1970. It contains a 3,003-seat auditorium, a venue where major events such as commencement, presidential speeches, concerts, and performing arts shows are held. Additionally, the first floor of the building houses faculty offices, studios and classrooms for
6150-677: Is the site of the Blacksburg Electronic Village or BEV, conceived as a computer networking project of Virginia Tech in 1991 and officially born in 1993 as a way to link the town together using the Internet . This project quickly ushered the town into what is being called the Information Age . In 1994, Montgomery County Public Schools completed construction of Kipps Elementary School at 2801 Prices Fork Road. By this time, Blacksburg had five elementary schools,
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6300-500: Is the tallest building in Blacksburg. Slusher Tower, including a three-story annex, Slusher Wing, was originally an all male dorm is a co-ed residence hall, that houses 630 students and is home to the WING and MOSAIC theme housing programs. In 1997, Melinda Marie Somers, 18, a sophomore, died after accidentally falling through an open window on the 8th floor of Slusher Tower, prompting the university to install horizontal bars across windows in
6450-904: The American International Automobile Dealers Association . Alexandria also has a Chamber of Commerce and other business associations including the West End Business Association, the Del Ray Business Association and the Old Town Business Association. Major employment sectors in Alexandria include management consulting , business and finance, office and administrative support, computer and mathematical, sales, and legal. Jobs in Alexandria are highly concentrated around
6600-689: The Blue Ridge to the Colony of Virginia . Following another cession at the 1744 Treaty of Lancaster , however, there was a dispute between the tribe and colonists over whether the new boundary was the Alleghenies or the Ohio River . The site of Blacksburg lay just within this disputed zone. By the 1740s, the Wood's River Land Company, represented by Colonel James Patton , gained a large tract of land within present-day southwest Virginia . Part of
6750-602: The Center for European Studies and Architecture in Ticino , Switzerland . Originally known as the Home Economics Building, Agnew Hall was constructed in 1940 at a cost of $ 42,525. In 1949 it was named in honor of Ella Graham Agnew , the first woman to receive a field appointment from the U.S. Department of Agriculture . The building is used primarily by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences . In 2009,
6900-743: The Creole serving Two-Nineteen Restaurant. In 1973, Nora Lamborne and Beverly Beidler became the first women elected to the city council. In 1974, the Torpedo Factory Art Center opened. In 1983, the King Street–Old Town station , Braddock Road station , and Eisenhower Avenue station opened as the Washington Metro system expanded. In 1991, the Van Dorn Street station opened and Patricia Ticer became
7050-627: The Food and Nutrition Service . The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), the federal school system for military dependents, is headquartered in Alexandria. Alexandria is home to many charities and non-profit organizations including the national headquarters of Catholic Charities , Citizens for the Republic , Global Impact , Good360 , International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children , Islamic Relief USA , United Way , and Volunteers of America . Trade associations located in
7200-588: The French in America. In March 1785, commissioners from Virginia and Maryland met in Alexandria to discuss the commercial relations of the two states, finishing their business at Mount Vernon . The Mount Vernon Conference concluded on March 28 with an agreement for freedom of trade and freedom of navigation of the Potomac River. The Maryland legislature, in ratifying this agreement on November 22, proposed
7350-658: The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), The Motley Fool , Oblon law firm, Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed), Port City Brewing Company , Purple Strategies , ThinkFun , and VSE . Several federal agencies are based in Alexandria, including the National Credit Union Administration , United States Patent and Trademark Office , National Science Foundation , Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense , and
7500-546: The Maryland side. On this visit, Smith recorded the presence of a settlement called Assaomeck near the south bank of what is now Hunting Creek . On October 21, 1669, a patent granted 6,000 acres (24 km ) to Robert Howsing for transporting 120 people to the Colony of Virginia . That tract later became the City of Alexandria. Virginia's comprehensive Tobacco Inspection Law of 1730 mandated that all tobacco grown in
7650-677: The Potomac River drainage area since at least the early 14th century . In the summer of 1608, English settler John Smith explored the Potomac River and came into contact with the Patawomeck (loosely affiliated with the Powhatan ) and Doeg tribes who lived on the Virginia side, as well as on Theodore Roosevelt Island , and the Piscataway (also known as the Conoy), who resided on
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#17328019893937800-420: The U.S. Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 15.5 square miles (40.1 km ), of which 15.0 square miles (38.9 km ) is land and 0.42 square miles (1.1 km ), or 2.85%, is water. Alexandria is bounded on the east by the Potomac River (which forms the boundary between the city and Washington, D.C. and Prince George's County, Maryland ), on the north and northwest by Arlington County , and on
7950-476: The Virginia Anthracite & Coal Railroad , which later became known as the "Huckleberry." Traffic in Blacksburg increased sufficiently enough that by January 1913 the town voted against allowing cows to continue to roam in town. The first filling station was opened in 1919 and at the time was the only one between Roanoke, Virginia , and Bluefield, West Virginia . The town's first landing strip
8100-533: The Virginia Tech shootings on April 16, 2007, which resulted in the shooting deaths of a female resident and a male resident adviser. In early 2010, two students are reported to have broken onto the roof of the larger hall, West Ambler Johnston. East Ambler Johnston reopened in the fall of 2011 as the Honors Residential College (HRC). The newly renovated East AJ features some rooms with private baths, several apartments where four student share
8250-443: The slave trade , and as talk increased of abolishing slavery in the national capital, there was concern that Alexandria's economy would suffer greatly if this step were taken. After a referendum, voters petitioned Congress and Virginia to return the portion of the District of Columbia south of the Potomac River (Alexandria County) to Virginia. On July 9, 1846, Congress retroceded Alexandria County to Virginia . The City of Alexandria
8400-454: The "Alexandria Government". During the Union occupation, a recurring contention between the Alexandria citizenry and the military occupiers was the Union army's periodic insistence that church services include prayers for the President of the United States. Failure to do so resulted in incidents including the arrest of ministers in their church. In 1861 and 1862, escaped African American slaves poured into Alexandria. Safely behind Union lines,
8550-425: The 2013 fall semester is located at 3401 Bruin Lane, behind the current Blacksburg Middle School and Bill Brown Football Stadium. Blacksburg is governed by a Town Council of six members and a mayor. Elections take place in November of odd-numbered years. Council members are elected for four-year terms. The town’s mayor is an elected office. By tradition, the town's vice-mayor is the councilperson who received
8700-576: The 50-year-old high-rise structure should be replaced rather than renovated. The university plans to first build and occupy a new residence hall near the existing Slusher Hall, then demolish Slusher Hall, and construct a second residence hall on the site. The two new residence halls will have a total student occupancy that will equal or exceed the existing Slusher Hall. Virginia Tech offers 23 Living Learning Communities (LLCs) and 3 Residential Colleges for on-campus students. They serve as an alternative experience for their residents and communities range across
8850-488: The Autonomous Aerial Vehicle Team (AAVT). Other academic buildings on the Blacksburg campus: Lane Stadium is the stadium for Virginia Tech's football team. It opened in 1965 has been rated as having the "number one home field advantage" in all of college football. It replaced Miles Stadium , a smaller facility that once stood directly behind the War Memorial Gym. Cassell Coliseum is a 10,052-seat multi-purpose arena in Blacksburg, Virginia . The arena opened in 1961. It
9000-411: The BT fare free with a flat payment included in the cost of tuition. Virginia Tech subsidizes BT for this service. Transportation is available to anyone for a fee, and during special events the service is often free. Blacksburg Transit also offers shuttle service to non-students on Virginia Tech Football game days for $ 5 to be transported from outlying parking areas to the stadium. The Smart Way Bus,
9150-404: The Batts and Fallam party claimed all of the lands comprising the river's drainage basin for King Charles II . However, the region was not yet open to English patent . In 1700, Seneca warriors of the Iroquois Confederacy based in New York and Pennsylvania, overran the entire area, driving out the other bands. As early as 1718, the Seneca had agreed to sell the parts they had conquered east of
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#17328019893939300-415: The Blacksburg Rotary Mountain Bike Skills Park opened with funding from Blacksburg Parks and Recreation and donations. On July 8, 1997, ground was broken for the experimental " Smart Road " project. The second phase of construction was completed in 2002. The road is currently closed to the public and used as a research test bed for the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. A National Weather Service office
9450-432: The Christiansburg-area segment was opened. About half that amount of time passed before the U.S. Route 460 bypass opened in 1969. In the 1970s, Virginia Tech was annexed into the town and the town acquired other land. Together with the effect of the annexations, the population grew from 9,000 people to 30,000 during this decade. Replacing the old public bus system, Blacksburg Transit began running in 1983. Blacksburg
9600-416: The College of Architecture and Urban Studies. The building is named for the eighth president of Virginia Tech, Julian Ashby Burruss. Cowgill Hall, located on Perry Street, is the home of Virginia Tech's College of Architecture and Urban Studies . It was completed in 1969 and is named for Clinton Harriman Cowgill, who retired in 1956 after 28 years as the architecture department head. In 2006 Cowgill Hall
9750-411: The Dean of the Department of Applied Sciences, it was the department home for the Department of Chemistry. Davidson was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the Washington Academy of Science, a member of the American Chemical Society, and served as the President of the National Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, in 1903. Davidson was also a delegate to
9900-403: The Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics , room 219, and used to house the Dean 's Office for the College of Engineering , room 333, The building has been home to the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, room 223, for almost fifty years, and is named for Earl Bertram Norris, who served as dean of engineering for twenty-four years between 1928 and 1952. Norris Hall was also
10050-420: The Dietrick Express, a fast food à la carte facility. West End Market opened in 1999 as Virginia Tech's second major food court dining facility. Adjoined to Cochrane Hall, this facility was known as Cochrane Dining Hall until it closed in 1997 for remodeling. West End Market was recognized in 1999 by the National Association of College and University Food Services as the best university specialty restaurant in
10200-400: The Draper's Meadow area for his sons John and William in 1772. Smithfield Plantation , built in approximately 1774 by Colonel William Preston , was developed on the original Draper's Meadow site, near the current location of the Duck Pond on the Virginia Tech campus. When Samuel Black died in 1792, the land was evenly divided into two sections by his sons. The road now known as Draper Road
10350-445: The French or British as it suited them, plus its location through gaps into the Alleghenies further west, the area's development was viewed with increasing apprehension by the French and their Indian allies. In July 1755, during the French and Indian War , hostile Shawnee Indians equipped and armed by France attacked the frontier outpost at Draper's Meadow, which then had around twenty pioneer settlers. About four settlers were killed in
10500-406: The Grove. It is one of the few red brick buildings on a campus known for its " Hokie Stone " architecture. When women were integrated into VPI, it was the first and only women's dormitory and was built on what was then the far corner of the campus near several large livestock barns used by the College of Agriculture that once stood near where Harper Hall now stands. When Hillcrest opened in 1940 it
10650-470: The International Congress of Applied Chemistry at London, in 1909. In 2012 a $ 31 million renovation of Davidson Hall broke ground. When completed, Davidson Hall will have modern research laboratories, office space, new classrooms, and a 300-person auditorium. As of May 2014, substantial completion was expected in May 2014. Derring Hall, a five-story building, was constructed in 1969 and contains offices, classroom space, and laboratories for primarily
10800-860: The Military Building is located on the Upper Quad. It is the base of operations for the Virginia Tech Rescue Squad and home to the Army, Navy, and Air Force ROTC programs. It also houses the College of Engineering's Joseph F. Ware, Jr. Advanced Engineering Lab. Work began on the Joseph F. Ware, Jr. Advanced Engineering Lab (Ware Lab) in 1997, in a collaboration of Joseph F. Ware, Jr., his wife Jennifer "Jenna" Ware, MSW, LCSW, ATP/CFI, and Hayden Griffin, Ph.D. of Virginia Tech., and
10950-817: The Mississippi and Chesapeake watersheds the official boundary between their Virginia colony and native peoples. It remained so until 1768, when native claims to the land including Blacksburg were cleared by the Treaty of Hard Labour with the Cherokee , and the Treaty of Fort Stanwix with the Six Nations (Iroquois Confederacy). The Shawnee finally abandoned their claim to this territory in 1774 following Dunmore's War . Samuel Black, whose family settled in Staunton, Virginia , bought 600 acres (2.4 km ) of land in
11100-456: The Potomac River, and approximately the line which would become Cameron Street. At the opening of Virginia's 1748–49 legislative session, there was a petition submitted in the House of Burgesses on November 1, 1748, that the "inhabitants of Fairfax (Co.) praying that a town may be established at Hunting Creek Warehouse on Potowmack River," since Hugh West was the owner of the warehouse. The petition
11250-513: The RHF officer group also puts on campus-wide programs, under the command of the Director of Programs. Traditionally, the campus-wide programs have been Campus-Kickoff, Pizza Bonanza, and Hokies Hold'Em. The RHF also performs a number of community service projects. Dietrick Dining Center, or Dietrick Hall, is the largest of Virginia Tech's six dining facilities, seating 1,100 and serving on average 3,758 students daily. The building opened in 1970 at
11400-556: The Residence Hall Federation office in the basement. Community residents thus have the opportunity to maintain close personal relationships with the Honors staff. Hillcrest Hall is one of very few buildings and the only residence hall at Virginia Tech not named for a person. The name is derived from its location at the crest of a hill at the east end of Virginia Tech's central Drillfield, between West Campus Drive and
11550-446: The U.S. capital. It is largely populated by professionals working in the federal civil service , in the U.S. military , or for one of the many private companies which contract to provide services to the U.S. federal government . The city's largest employers include the U.S. Department of Defense and the Institute for Defense Analyses . Alexandria is the highest-income independent city in Virginia. The historic center of Alexandria
11700-490: The Union army in various support roles. After all slaves in the seceding states were liberated, even more African Americans came to Alexandria. By the fall of 1863, the population of Alexandria had exploded to 18,000—an increase of 10,000 people in 16 months. As of ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment , Alexandria County's black population was more than 8,700, or about half the total number of residents in
11850-567: The Vernon Theatre opened Jim Morrison of The Doors , as well as Cass Elliot and John Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas attended the George Washington High School in the 1950s. In 1955, then- Representative and future President Gerald R. Ford and his family moved to Alexandria from Georgetown . The Fords remained in their Alexandria home during Ford's tenure as Vice President (1973–1974), as
12000-493: The Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College opened on October 2, 1872, with a faculty of three members. The college grew and became known as Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI), later, "and State University" was added to the name, which shortly afterward became informally referred to as Virginia Tech. It is now officially called Virginia Tech. It is Virginia's land-grant university . A fire-fighting unit
12150-413: The Ware Lab was opened September 4, 1998. The Lab is named after its founder and 1937 Mechanical Engineering Alumnus Joseph F. Ware, Jr . As a part of the College of Engineering, the Ware Lab is home to many student-based research and design projects. Focused on a hands-on-learning environment, students are encouraged to participate in these projects as early as their freshman year. The Klages Machine Shop
12300-474: The area now known as Old Town as well as the areas of the city northeast of what is now King Street —and all of today's Arlington County share the distinction of having been the portion of Virginia ceded to the U.S. Government in 1791 to help form the new District of Columbia . Over time, a movement grew to separate what was called " Alexandria County " from the District of Columbia. As competition grew with
12450-453: The areas formerly in the town of Potomac , such as Del Ray and St. Elmo, building numbers are assigned east and west from Commonwealth Avenue and north (only) from King Street. In the western parts of the city, building numbers are assigned north and south from Duke Street . The ZIP Code prefix 223 uniquely identifies the Alexandria postal area. However, the Alexandria postal area extends into Fairfax County and includes addresses outside of
12600-648: The attacks, and five were taken captive to Kentucky by the Shawnee, among them Mary Draper Ingles , who later escaped. The memorial to Draper's Meadow massacre was dedicated on a bridge located near Duck Pond. By the end of the war, Draper's Meadow was deserted. By the Treaty of Easton (1758), and again by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 , the British Crown made the Allegheny ridge separating
12750-634: The base of King Street on the Potomac River on May 24, 1861. A few blocks up King Street from their landing site, the commander of the New York Fire Zouaves , Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth , sortied with a small detachment to remove a large Confederate flag displayed on the roof of the Marshall House Inn that had been visible from the White House. While descending from the roof, Ellsworth was shot dead by James W. Jackson ,
12900-658: The biological sciences and geosciences programs at Virginia Tech. The building was named after Paul Neyron Derring, a popular administrator with the students, who was stricken blind at the age of thirteen. Derring served on the State Commission for the Visually Handicapped and served on the Blacksburg Town Council. Durham Hall, a $ 16 million project, opened in 1998 and was called "New Engineering Building", or "The NEB", until 2001. It
13050-588: The building. The quad formed by Slusher Tower, Slusher Wing, Main Campbell and East Campbell Halls has long been referred to as "Slusher Beach", originating from the use of the area by students to sunbathe and play beach volleyball on its sand court during warm weather. In 2018 the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors approved spending $ 3.5 million to develop a plan to replace Slusher Hall. Due to its poor condition, Virginia Tech has determined that
13200-500: The changes including being moved to a different school building. The same year that head coach Herman Boone joined the school and lead the football team to a 13–0 season, a state championship, and a national championship runner-up; the basis for the 2000 film Remember the Titans where Boone was portrayed by Denzel Washington . In 1972, Clifford T. Cline purchased the 1890 Victorian house at 219 King Street and converted it into
13350-483: The cities of Alexandria and Washington offered comparative freedom and employment. Alexandria became a major supply depot and transport and hospital center for the Union army. Until the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, escaped slaves legally remained the property of their owners. Therefore, they were labeled contrabands to avoid returning them to their masters. Contrabands worked for
13500-508: The city have an Alexandria mailing address yet are a part of Fairfax County including: Hollin Hills , Franconia , Groveton , Hybla Valley , Huntington , Lincolnia , Belle Haven , Mount Vernon , Fort Hunt , Engleside, Burgundy Village, Waynewood , Wilton Woods, Rose Hill , Virginia Hills, Hayfield , and Kingstowne . Some refer to these areas as Lower Alexandria, South Alexandria, or Alexandria, Fairfax County. The climate in this area
13650-1000: The city include the American Counseling Association , the Human Resource Certification Institute , the Society for Human Resource Management , the National Society of Professional Engineers , the National Beer Wholesalers Association , the American Society of Clinical Oncology , National Industries for the Blind, American Physical Therapy Association , the National Association of Convenience Stores , and
13800-841: The city's Metrorail stations, primarily in Old Town North and the Braddock Road area, Old Town, and Carlyle near the Eisenhower Avenue station , as well as along the I-395 corridor on the west side of the city. 13% of people that work in Alexandria live in the city, while 87% commute in, with 37% of those commuters being from Fairfax County . An additional 61,000 people commute out of Alexandria to work. 35% commute to Washington, D.C., and 29% commute to Fairfax County. As of March 2024, 2.0% of Alexandria residents are unemployed. Blacksburg, Virginia Blacksburg
13950-718: The city. Delivery areas have ZIP Codes 22301, 22302, 22303, 22304, 22305, 22306, 22307, 22308, 22309, 22310, 22311, 22312, 22314, and 22315, with other ZIP Codes in use for post office boxes and large mailers (22313, 22331, 22332, 22333). Part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway is the one national protected area within the borders of Alexandria. As of 2024, the City of Alexandria is divided into 19 "Small Area Plans" and 11 additional overlapping plans. These areas and their component neighborhoods include: Central Alexandria: Old Town North: Hunting Creek area: Bounded by: Many areas outside
14100-475: The colony must be brought to locally designated public warehouses for inspection before sale. One of the sites designated for a warehouse on the upper Potomac River was at the mouth of Hunting Creek . However, the ground proved to be unsuitable, and the warehouse was built half a mile up-river, where the water was deep near the shore. Following the 1745 settlement of the Colony of Virginia 's 10-year dispute with Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron over
14250-517: The country and has been rated by the Princeton Review as one of the Top 3 school dining facilities multiple times, achieving the #1 spot in 2006. West End Market offers students meals ranging from burgers, sandwiches, wraps, and pizza (cooked in a their own stone hearth pizza oven), to fresh grilled fish, steaks, and lobster taken from JP's Chop House Lobster tank. Owens Hall opened in 1940 as
14400-718: The county. This newly enfranchised constituency provided the support necessary to elect the first black Alexandrians to the City Council and the Virginia Legislature. In the waning years of the 19th century, Alexandria suffered its two documented lynchings . The first, in 1897, was Joseph H. McCoy and the second, in 1899, was Benjamin Thomas . Both were Black male teenagers accused, but never convicted, of assaulting young white girls that were known to them. They were both kidnapped from jail and hanged by mobs. At
14550-472: The deep water could easily accommodate sailing ships. Many local tobacco planters, however, wanted a new town further up Hunting Creek, away from nonproductive fields along the river. Around 1746, Captain Philip Alexander II (1704–1753) moved to what is south of present Duke Street in Alexandria. His estate, which consisted of 500 acres (2.0 km ), was bounded by Hunting Creek, Hooff's Run,
14700-427: The depot was closed, the empty cars were picked up, and the tracks were immediately removed. After years of effort by the citizens of the town a trail was constructed on the former railroad right-of-way and, after years of construction, funding and planning issues the Huckleberry Trail was opened to the public on December 1, 1998. 190 years after its original construction, the newly renovated Smithfield Plantation house
14850-598: The dorms or eat in the dining halls on campus due to Virginia's Jim Crow laws so they boarded with the Hoges instead. A panel named by then-president Paul Torgersen to address the issue examined the available historical records about the organization. A Klan expert hired by the university, John Kneebone, determined that the Klan was extinct in Virginia in 1896, leaving open the possibility that this may have been some kind of collegiate society or fraternity attempting to appropriate
15000-678: The first rivet into the keel of the SS ; Gunston Hall . In 1930, Alexandria annexed the town adjacent to Potomac Yard incorporated in 1908 named Potomac . In 1938 the Mt. Vernon Drive-In cinema opened. In 1939, the segregated public library experienced a sit-in organized by Samuel Wilbert Tucker . In 1940, both the Robert Robinson Library, which is now the Alexandria Black History Museum , and
15150-529: The first woman to be elected mayor. Until 2014, local legislation mandated that all new north–south streets in the city be named for Confederate military leaders . Efforts have increased in recent years to expedite the renaming of these streets with Mayor Justin Wilson and the City Council setting a goal of renaming three of these streets annually. In 2019, the name of U.S. 1 was changed from Jefferson Davis Highway to Richmond Highway. In November 2020,
15300-441: The highest elevation is actually Hoge Hall (formerly Lee Hall ), another residence hall , which until May 17, 2009, was home to the transmitter of campus radio station WUVT . The tower for WUVT now sits atop Price Mountain. Due to its elevation, the climate of Blacksburg is a hot-summer humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification : Dfa ), being cooled down from the lowland areas of Virginia, all of which possess
15450-492: The highest number of votes in the most recent election and is formally elected by council at the first meeting of the new year. According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 19.89 square miles (51.5 km ) of which 19.89 square miles (51.5 km ) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km ), or 0.10%, is water. At 2,080 feet (634 m) above sea level, Blacksburg
15600-564: The hotel's proprietor. One of Ellsworth's soldiers immediately killed Jackson. Ellsworth was publicized as a Union martyr, and the incident generated great excitement in the North, with many children being named for him. Jackson's death defending his home caused a similar sensation in the South. Alexandria remained under military occupation until the end of the Civil War. Fort Ward , one of
15750-603: The house, after the death of its owner in the following decade, served as a college infirmary from 1882 to 1886. It was later used for faculty housing. According to records of the Post Office Department of the National Archives and Records Administration , the post office was established as "BLACKSBURGH" on April 8, 1827. The name was changed to the current spelling (without the "h") in 1893. The Methodists had built two cabins to worship in since
15900-489: The idea and strongly favored a site at the head of Hunting Creek (also known as Great Hunting Creek). It has been said that in order to avoid a predicament the petitioners offered to name the new town Alexandria , in honor of Philip's family. As a result, Philip and his cousin Captain John Alexander (1711–1763) gave land to assist in the development of Alexandria and are thus listed as the founders. This John
16050-576: The image of the Reconstruction era Klan. At the time proposals to rename the building were strongly opposed by many older alumni who had known Claudius Lee during his long tenure as a professor. The issue of Lee Hall re-emerged in 2004, and the Virginia Tech Commission on Equal Opportunity and Diversity issued recommendations to broaden education on the subject of Claudius Lee and also for strengthening diversity efforts across
16200-467: The jurisdiction of Fairfax County's government and separate from the independent city. The city is therefore sometimes referred to as the "City of Alexandria" to avoid confusion. According to archaeologists' estimates, a succession of indigenous peoples began to occupy the Chesapeake and Tidewater region about 3,000 to 10,000 years ago. Various Algonquian -speaking peoples inhabited the lands in
16350-417: The largest slave trading companies in the country. By the 1830s, they were sending more than 1,000 slaves annually from Alexandria to their Natchez, Mississippi , New Orleans , and later Texas markets to help meet the demand for slaves in Mississippi and nearby states. Later owned by Price, Birch & Co., the slave pen became a jail under Union occupation. A portion of the City of Alexandria—most of
16500-415: The legislature and fell out of favor in the mid-1750s. The town of Alexandria did not become incorporated until 1779. In 1755, General Edward Braddock organized his fatal expedition against Fort Duquesne at Carlyle House in Alexandria. In April 1755, the governors of Virginia, and the provinces of Maryland , Pennsylvania , Massachusetts , and New York met to determine upon concerted action against
16650-454: The location of the second shooting attack during the Virginia Tech shootings on April 16, 2007. The building was the site of 31 of the 33 fatalities (including the gunman ), and all 17 wounded faculty and students. The building was closed for the rest of the 2007 spring semester, and reopened with access limited to faculty and students with legitimate business inside at remaining offices and laboratories on June 18, 2007. On December 20, 2007, it
16800-404: The population was: In 2000, there were 61,889 households, of which 18.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.2% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 55.2% were non-families. 43.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
16950-475: The port of Georgetown and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal fostered development on the north side of the Potomac River, Alexandria's economy stagnated; at the same time, residents had lost any representation in Congress and the right to vote and were disappointed with the negligible economic benefit (on the Alexandria side) of being part of the national capital. Alexandria still had an important port and market in
17100-609: The ridge was finally found in 1671 when explorers Batts and Fallam, sent by Wood, reached the present-day location of Blacksburg, Virginia. Their expedition followed Stroubles Creek , through the current locations of the town and campus of Virginia Tech , to what they named Wood's River. They reported the area as inhabited by the Monacan and Moneton , Siouan -speaking groups, but the Virginian colonial legislature had authorized Wood to claim it. Accordingly, on September 17, 1671,
17250-408: The school board unanimously voted to rename T. C. Williams High School and Matthew Maury Elementary School. The high school was renamed Alexandria City High School and Maury Elementary was renamed Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School, effective July 1, 2021. In December 2023, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and Monumental Sports & Entertainment founder Ted Leonsis announced plans to develop
17400-408: The south by Fairfax County . The western portions of the city were annexed from those two entities beginning in the 1930s. The addressing system in Alexandria is not uniform and reflects the consolidation of several originally separate communities into a single city. In Old Town Alexandria , building numbers are assigned north and south from King Street and west (only) from the Potomac River. In
17550-604: The systems. Bishop-Favrao was completed in December 2007 and is named after Richard Bishop and William Favrao, the Department of Building Construction's founder and department head until 1977. Constructed in 1998 and named after Charles Burchard, the founding dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies between 1964 and 1979, Burchard Hall provides studio space for students in the architecture and industrial design programs. The building also provides office and classroom spaces as well as specialized studio space. Burchard Hall
17700-482: The third-largest principal city of the Washington metropolitan area , which is part of the larger Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area . As of 2022, the city's population of 159,467 made it the sixth-most populous city in Virginia and the 173rd-most populous city in the nation . Like the rest of Northern Virginia and Central Maryland , present-day Alexandria has been influenced by its proximity to
17850-494: The top of the hill, where it now intersects the Alumni Mall. By October the town's second stoplight was installed on Main Street at Roanoke Street and was synchronized with the original one at Main and College. The establishment of official law enforcement began in 1937 when Officer Dave "Highpockets" Sumner became the first Blacksburg police officer. The first police car was purchased nine years later. Blacksburg experienced
18000-595: The town's destruction, twenty-two merchant ships and large quantities of flour , tobacco , cotton , wine , and sugar were handed over by Alexandria's municipal authorities to the British. In 1823 William Holland Wilmer , Francis Scott Key , and others founded the Virginia Theological Seminary . From 1828 to 1836, Alexandria was home to the Franklin & Armfield Slave Market, one of
18150-464: The town's founding, but they did not build a more permanent structure until 1830, when they constructed a brick church. The Presbyterians were the next Christian denomination to build a church within Blacksburg's limits. In 1848 they built their first brick building at 117 South Main Street. Though still standing, this building has not been used as a church for many years. It was once South Main Café, but
18300-562: The tract became Montgomery County and Pulaski County and was sold to Virginian, Irish, Scots-Irish, and English settlers as a reward for their services during the American Indian Wars and other wars. The Draper and Ingles families were among those who built their homes at Draper's Meadow by 1748; this area was between the present location of the campus and the subdivision of Hethwood. Because of its strategic location between powerful Indian nations, who alternately allied with
18450-616: The turn of the 20th century the most common production in the city was glass, fertilizer, beer, and leather. The glass often went into beer bottles. Much of the Virginia Glass Company effort went to supply the demands of the Robert Portner Brewing Company, until fire destroyed the St. Asaph Street plant on February 18, 1905. The Old Dominion Glass Company also had a glass works fall to fire, then built
18600-422: The university. The Residence Hall Federation (RHF) is a University Chartered Student Organization. This organization exists to serve the 9,000 on-campus residents through hall councils in each residence hall. The RHF is composed of 23 hall councils, representing the residents of each hall, and three community councils, which represent two or more halls that share a common trait. Each individual hall council receives
18750-426: The university. On August 13, 2020 the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors voted to rename Lee Hall, after a petition to rename the building on Change.org gained over 13,000 signatures. Another residence hall, Barringer Hall , named for the sixth president of Virginia Tech, Paul Brandon Barringer , a physician who advocated eugenics and expressed white supremacist views in his early 20th century speeches and writings
18900-594: The vice president did not yet have an official residence . Following the resignation of Richard Nixon , Ford spent his first 10 days as President in the house before moving to the White House . In March 1959, Lieutenant Colonel William Henry Whalen , the "highest-ranking American ever recruited as a mole by the Russian Intelligence Service ", provided Colonel Sergei A. Edemski three classified Army manuals in exchange for $ 3,500 at
19050-785: The western boundary of the Northern Neck Proprietary , when the Privy Council in London found in favor of Lord Fairfax's expanded claim, some of the Fairfax County gentry formed the Ohio Company of Virginia. They intended to conduct trade into the interior of America, and they required a trading center near the head of navigation on the Potomac. The best location was Hunting Creek tobacco warehouse, since
19200-516: Was $ 103,284 and median family income was $ 130,395. Additionally, 8.6% of the population of the population were below the poverty line. 14.2% of those under the age of 18 and 3.1% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. According to 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, 69.9% of Alexandria residents aged 25 and older have attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 42.2% statewide. Companies headquartered in Alexandria include Crooked Beat Records , Five Guys ,
19350-415: Was 2.04 and the average family size was 2.87. The age distribution was 16.8% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 43.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 91.7 males. According to 2019 Census Bureau data, the median household income
19500-475: Was a Methodist-sponsored academy established in 1851. The first bank in Montgomery County, Blacksburg Savings Institution, was established in 1849. The first newspaper published in Blacksburg was the Montgomery Messenger . Its first issue was printed in 1869. In 1871, the village that became known as Blacksburg was incorporated and Thomas W. Jones became the first mayor. One year later,
19650-448: Was also renamed at the same time. This sentiment emerged as part of the broader social movement as a result of the ongoing George Floyd protests . The building's penthouse, the highest point in Blacksburg, was home to the campus radio station, WUVT-FM 's, transmitter until May 2009, when the station vacated Lee Hall as part of the process of upgrading to a new transmitter and transmit location atop Price Mountain. The Oak Lane Community
19800-515: Was announced that the second floor of Norris would be renovated and become home to the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention. On April 10, 2009, a ceremony was held to commemorate the reopening of the west wing of Norris Hall. The area consists of six reconfigured rooms and laboratories and is home to the new Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention as well as the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics . The renovation project
19950-512: Was appointed the first chief of police by the Blacksburg Town Council in 1954. Jan Olinger was made the first female police officer in 1976. 1958 marked the beginning of the end for the railroad that came to be known as the "Huckleberry." In the 1960s, however, railroads underwent restructuring. Passenger service came to an end on July 25. On June 30, 1966, the last freight train arrived at the Blacksburg depot. Within 24 hours,
20100-738: Was built as part of the Hethwood development. During 1981, the Blacksburg Community Center opened. It cost the town $ 1.2 million to build. By 1988, the New River Valley Mall, located in the neighboring town of Christiansburg, was opened and the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center had its first ground-breaking ceremony. After construction of Virginia's portion of Interstate 81 began in 1957, nine years passed before
20250-435: Was built in 1929 and was 1,800 feet (548.64 m) in length. The grass landing strip was given airport status in 1931 and later became Virginia Tech Airport . Local buses began to make their rounds for the first time in 1947. The town's first theater was built in 1909. It was a precursor to the Lyric Theatre on College Avenue. In the spring of 1935, Main Street was strung with ten street lights from Roanoke Street northward to
20400-448: Was built in 1970. The Blacksburg Branch of the Montgomery County Library was opened the same year. Ten years later, it was moved into the facility that used to house the Blacksburg Lumber Company on Draper Road. In 1971, Blacksburg ratified a new charter and LewisGale Hospital Montgomery was built. The University Mall shopping center opened that year as well. In the mid 1970s the Foxridge apartments, an even larger student apartment complex,
20550-419: Was completed in 1966 and houses 811 residents on its eight floors. It also includes the Galileo and Hypatia engineering "living-learning" programs. Hoge Hall was formerly known as Lee Hall for more than half a century. It was named for Dr. Claudius Lee, an 1896 alumnus of Tech and a professor of electrical engineering who served the university in various capacities for nearly seventy years. In 1997, students in
20700-444: Was completed in March 2009 at a cost of approximately one million dollars; many goods and services were donated by individuals and contractors in support of the project. As department head of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Dr. Ishwar Puri played a leading role in the reoccupation of Norris Hall where his department is housed. Among other roles, he spoke at the April 10 ceremony. Originally constructed in 1936 and renovated in 1998,
20850-407: Was conducted on July 13–14, 1749. Almost immediately upon establishment, the town founders called the new town "Belhaven", believed to be in honor of a Scottish patriot, John Hamilton, 2nd Lord Belhaven and Stenton , the Northern Neck tobacco trade being then dominated by Scots. The name Belhaven was used in official lotteries to raise money for a Church and Market House, but it was never approved by
21000-477: Was decided not to repair the building. Before the school year of 2013-14 Blacksburg High School was operating on a normal schedule out of the Blacksburg Middle School building on 3109 Prices Fork Road, and the middle schoolers were going to school in the old Christiansburg Middle School. The original Blacksburg High School building was vacant until it was demolished in the Summer of 2011. The newly constructed school building of Blacksburg High School which opened for
21150-431: Was introduced by Lawrence Washington , the representative for Fairfax County, the son-in-law of William Fairfax , and a founding member of the Ohio Company. To support the company's push for a town on the river, Lawrence's younger brother George Washington , an aspiring surveyor, made a sketch of the shoreline touting the advantages of the tobacco warehouse site. Since the river site was amidst his estate, Philip opposed
21300-402: Was named in honor of Fred D. Durham, co-founder of the Dover Corporation , a Fortune 500 manufacturing company located in New York City . Norris Hall is a four-story (1 floor below grade) Hokie Stone academic building located between Burruss and Holden Halls. The two wings of the building, built in 1960 and 1962, encompass approximately 70,000 gross square feet and house the main office for
21450-468: Was named the winner of the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects Test of Time Award. This award is presented annually to a building that has served the same function for at least 25 years. Davidson Hall contains office space, teaching labs, and classrooms. Originally constructed in 1928, additions to the structure were completed in 1933 and 1938; the structure was also renovated between 1964 and 1965. Named in honor of Robert James Davidson,
21600-406: Was organized within the university in 1899. The town bought its first fire truck 43 years later. The Blacksburg First Aid and Life Saving Crew was founded in 1951 and renamed Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad in another addition to the growing amount of emergency services. The first automobile came through the town in 1901. Three years later the train entered Blacksburg from Christiansburg using
21750-425: Was promptly dubbed the "skirt barn" by VPI cadets. One of the Honors offices on the first floor used to be a "courting room" when Hillcrest Hall was the women's dormitory. Because visitation was not permitted in the residence hall, and women were not allowed to leave campus on dates, courting took place in this room. Young men would enter the room from one door and the young ladies would enter the room from another. Only
21900-402: Was re-chartered in 1852 and became independent of Alexandria County in 1870. The remaining portion of Alexandria County changed its name to Arlington County in 1920. The first fatalities of the North and South in the American Civil War occurred in Alexandria. Within a month of the Battle of Fort Sumter , the Civil War's first battle, Union Army troops occupied Alexandria, landing troops at
22050-415: Was re-opened in 1964. The amount of commercialization in the area began to increase in the mid-1960s. The Corning Glass Works (now called Corning Incorporated ), based in upper New York State, opened a manufacturing facility in 1964 that is located south of Blacksburg. The Blacksburg Municipal Building on South Main Street was constructed in 1969. Terrace View apartments, the first large student complex,
22200-447: Was renamed Hoge Hall after the late Janie and William Hoge. Janie and William Hoge were a local African American couple who ran a boarding house in Blacksburg and played a crucial role in the success and well-being of the first African American students attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the 1950s. At the time black cadets attending VPI, then a predominately white, predominately male, military institute were not allowed to live in
22350-415: Was the co-founder of Carneal & Johnston Architects (now Ballou Justice and Upton Architects). The hall is divided into two wings, commonly referred to as East AJ and West AJ on campus. West AJ is the larger of the two halls and is taller by one story. The wings are connected by commons areas on the first, third, and sixth floors. West AJ's fourth floor was the location of the first of two attacks during
22500-463: Was the son of Robert Alexander II (1688–1735). On May 2, 1749, the House of Burgesses approved the river location and ordered "Mr. Washington do go up with a Message to the Council and acquaint them that this House have agreed to the Amendments titled An Act for erecting a Town at Hunting Creek Warehouse, in the County of Fairfax." A "Public Vendue" (auction) was advertised for July, and the county surveyor laid out street lanes and town lots. The auction
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