James Thomas, Jr. Memorial Hall
Site: Near the corner of Richmond Way and Lakeview Lane overlooking the lake
Completed: Summer, 1913
Architect: Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson; Carneal & Johnston (local supervising architects)
Size: 30,661 square feet
Cost: $189,150 (includes cost of Jeter Hall)
Renovations: At least four, including in 1973 and 1987
James Thomas, Jr. Memorial Hall was one of the first buildings constructed on the Westhampton campus. Construction began on October 5, 1912 and finished in the summer of 1913. Originally it was called Dormitory No. 2. (Jeter Hall was called Dormitory No. 1.)
Thomas Memorial Hall is a residence hall built in the Collegiate Gothic style. It has three full floors and two tower floors and contains 70 rooms. The hall houses 108 students. It is fully air-conditioned with hall baths, laundry and bicycle storage facilities, as well as recreational and presentation lounges.
In 1915 the building was named for James Thomas, Jr., a Richmond tobacconist. Thomas was a charter member of the Richmond College Board of Trustees. He was one of Richmond’s first millionaires and a significant donor to the Virginia Baptist Seminary and Richmond College. Thomas was a supporter or of the Richmond Female Institute, which became the Woman’s College of Richmond, and which was then absorbed into Westhampton College. It was James Thomas, Jr. who gave the college $5,000 in 1866, allowing it to reopen following the devastation of the Civil War. Thomas died on October 8, 1882. The Museum and Art Hall on the old downtown campus was named in honor of Thomas in recognition of his contributions to Richmond College.
During World War I, Thomas Hall was used as a base hospital for soldiers returning from France, and Jeter Hall was used to house the nurses who staffed the hospital. Throughout most of World War II, the building housed Navy V-12 students, who took college courses during their military training on campus. During the 1945-1946 academic year, Thomas Hall was used as a residence for women due to the lack of residential space on the Westhampton side of campus.
The interior of Thomas Hall has been renovated several times, but the Virginia Baptist Historical Society does not have information about the earliest renovations. Most likely these involved reconfiguring floor space to create new rooms, replacing furniture, and updating wiring and plumbing. Thomas Hall underwent a major renovation in the summer of 1973, at a cost of $1,400,000. Another renovation took place over the summer of 1987. New windows and ceilings were installed; the electrical system was modernized; the heating system was upgraded; air conditioning was installed; and new furniture and bathroom fixtures were put in.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, residents of Thomas Hall painted murals in the hallways and public spaces of the building. These included representations of Spiderman, Doonesbury’s Zonker, and Pink Floyd album covers (including “The Wall”). A Collegian article from April 1987 notes that some residents of the hall were upset about the murals being painted over with upcoming renovations.
Students living in Thomas Hall are required to maintain a high grade point average, and the hall rules ensure a peaceful and quiet environment that promotes study. There is also a faculty apartment in Thomas Hall, which facilitates interaction between faculty and students in a residential environment. This program enables the faculty members, known as College Fellows, to participate in student life more fully through developing educational activities for the dorm residents, hosting open houses, and being available for conversations.