Willis Hall; a residence hall building dedicated to Hulon Willis, Sr.
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Memorial Structure
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Named Building
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Willis, Hulon
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Willis Hall; a residence hall building dedicated to Hulon Willis, Sr.
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This brick dormitory was constructed from 1934-1935 and opened in 1935. A Public Works Administration (PWA) grant and a $650,000 loan funded the building's construction. This residence hall was originally named after William Booth Taliaferro, a Confederate officer in the Civil War who attended William & Mary and served on its Board of Visitors from 1890 to 1898.
The residence hall was renamed during Homecoming weekend of 2021 after Hulon Willis Sr., an African American man who was admitted to William & Mary for a master's degree in education in 1951. Willis Sr. graduated with a M.Ed. from William & Mary in 1956.
Hulon Willis Sr. was a trailblazer at William & Mary and beyond. He was one of three Black students in his high school and was also captain of his football team. He graduated with an undergraduate degree from Virginia State University in 1949 after serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. His late son Hulon Willis, Jr. '77 and granddaughter Mica Willis '13 also attended William & Mary.
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This brick building was constructed to copy the Georgian style of nearby eighteenth-century structures. The light-colored bricks of the structure and chimneys and rooflines fit in well with William & Mary's architectural style of the early twentieth century. Architect J. Binford Walford designed the building, and Peters Construction Co. of Newport News was awarded the contract.
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Walford, J. Binford
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June 1935
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October 2021
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Public Works Administration (PWA) grant and loan of $650,000
Position: 1374 (54 views)