Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 10/06/1970
NRHP Listing Date 11/11/1971
NHL Listing Date 12/18/1970
NRHP Reference Number 71001047
The historic heart of Washington and Lee University, located in the Lexington Historic District, is an architecturally harmonious complex of buildings forming one of the nation’s most dignified and beautiful campuses. The central element, the Colonnade, gives the impression of a single design concept. It is, in reality, the product of a building program extending over 150 years. The first buildings, erected in 1803 for what was then Washington College, have disappeared. The classical theme of the complex was established with the oldest existing building, the temple-form Washington Hall of 1824. Its builder architects, John Jordan and Samuel Darst, here transformed the prevailing Roman Revival style into a sturdy regional idiom. Washington Hall was flanked by Payne Hall in 1831 and by Robinson Hall in 1843. Two pairs of porticoed faculty residences were also added to the complex. Stylistically contrasting elements are the distinctive President’s House of 1868 and the Lee Chapel of 1866-67.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: July 27, 2022
