Washington and Lee University Historic District

Washington and Lee University's historic core occupies a ridge along the western edge of Lexington, Virginia. Its centerpiece is the Colonnade, a row of brick buildings fronted with columns, piers and pilasters. Washington Hall, raised in 1824 to designs by John Jordan, anchors the group with a Roman Doric portico, and its cupola, topped by a wooden statue of George Washington carved by Matthew Kahle, was added in 1844. Payne and Robinson Halls, later Newcomb and Tucker Halls, and four faculty houses completed in 1843 extend the classical composition. Down the hill stands Lee Chapel, built in 1868 under Robert E. Lee's direction, where he was buried in 1870, and nearby is the President's House of 1869, first occupied by Lee. The district matters because these buildings, added over nearly 150 years, still read as one unified campus. Later Georgian Revival buildings nearby are placed discreetly. The Colonnade's interiors were replaced in a 1936 renovation, though the exteriors keep their early character.