Sarah Brunet Memorial Hall
Site: On Richmond Way across from the Law School
Begun: July 19, 1913
Completed: August, 1914
Architect: Ralph Adams Cram of Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson; Carneal & Johnston (supervising architects)
Size: 27,463 (after expansion in 1986)
Cost: $45,515
Other Renovations: 1943, 1964, 1985
Rededication: June 1, 1985
Sarah Brunet Memorial Hall, one of the first buildings on campus, was originally simply called the Refectory and was built to serve as the men’s dining hall for Richmond College. Construction of the Refectory began on July 19, 1913 and was completed in August 1914. The building is constructed with Flemish bond brickwork and leaded glass windows. Some people believe that the stone portrait of a man wearing spectacles positioned above the front door is the likeness of Ralph Adams Cram, architect of the original campus buildings.
The Refectory was later named for Sarah W. Brunet of Norfolk, Virginia, who had endowed a scholarship at Richmond College and who had left a number of real estate holdings to Richmond College in her will. Brunet died in 1888. The University took possession of the different properties over time, as Brunet’s family members and life-tenants of the properties passed away. The 1922 President’s Report to the Board of Trustees states that the institution felt it should create a memorial to Brunet in recognition of her generosity; as a result, the Richmond College refectory was named in her memory on June 6, 1924.
The first meal was served in the refectory on September 14, 1914 to Richmond College students. The last meal was served on August 15, 1982, with the opening of the E. Bruce Heilman Dining Center. When Brunet Hall opened, there were more than 250 Richmond College students. Male and female undergraduate enrollment in the fall of 1982 totaled 2,666: 1432 men and 1234 women.
In July 1943, Navy V-12 program students arrived. They lived in Jeter Hall and Thomas Memorial Hall and ate in the main dining rooms in Sarah Brunet Memorial Hall. That year a new dining room was added at the back of the building to accommodate the increased number of students.
With the construction of more men’s dormitories in the 1950s and 1960s, a new kitchen was added in a 1964 renovation to provide additional dining facilities for Richmond College. In the 1970s, overcrowding became a problem and it was evident that there was a need for newer and larger dining facilities.
The E. Bruce Heilman Dining Center opened in 1982 to serve both Richmond College and Westhampton College. After the Heilman Dining Center opened, plans were made to renovate Sarah Brunet Memorial Hall and to use it for new purposes. It was renovated in 1985 by Marcellus, Wright, Cox and Smith, and there was a formal dedication of the renovated building during alumni weekend, May 29-June 1, 1985. The renovated building served various functions. The alumni center was housed in the front, or original, part of the building. On the right was a lounge that had formerly been the men’s team dining room. A new alumni board room was created, as well as a large reception room. The Women’s Resource Center occupied the back part of the building, replacing the latest kitchen addition. The Women’s Resource Center had its own entrance. It provided programs, workshops, life planning seminars, and counseling. The Institute for Business and Community Development (IBCD) moved into an area that was formerly part of the original main dining room. The IBCD provided continuing management education as a service to the community.
In the early 1990s, the Women’s Resource Center and the Institute for Business and Community Development (which is now called the Management Institute) moved to the Special Programs Building. In 1996, the Alumni Center moved to the Jepson Alumni Center. Sarah Brunet Memorial Hall was refitted to house financial aid, admissions, the scholars office, and the office of development and communications. In January 2000, the Bursar’s Office and the Registrar’s Office moved into renovated quarters in the building. Sarah Brunet Memorial Hall is now home to the Bursar’s Office, Registrar’s Office, Admissions Office, Financial Aid Office, and Student Employment Office.
Sources:
Reports from the Committee on New Buildings, 1914 (VBHS)
UR website
VBHS building file