Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 09/18/2014
NRHP Listing Date 11/19/2014
NRHP Reference Number 14000947
Constructed in 1888 for the Corps of Cadets, Barracks No. 1, also known as Lane Hall, was the first dormitory built at the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, now known as Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, or more familiarly, Virginia Tech. Barracks No. 1 is one of the oldest buildings associated with Virginia’s premier land grant college, whose mission was to provide practical, industrial, and agricultural education as Virginia slowly recovered from the Civil War. Barracks No. 1 is also important as the original home of the Corps of Cadets at VPI, where military training and drills were an important part of the school’s original curriculum and remain so for the current growing body of cadets. At the time of its listing, the building retained a high degree of integrity, as well as its distinctive original design in the Second Empire style, featuring a mansard roof and central tower. Its unusual plan of five separate entrances and non-connecting bays, each with its own staircase, is also preserved with very few changes to that plan. Located at the center of the Upper Quad at Virginia Tech, the barracks building stands at the heart of the original college campus and the current university.
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: November 9, 2020
