University of Richmond - Campus

Campus

The University of Richmond's campus consists of 350 acres (1.4 km2) in a suburban setting on the western edge of the city. The university has, with few exceptions, remained true to the original architectural plans for the campus — red brick buildings in a collegiate gothic style set around shared open lawns. Many of the original buildings, including Jeter Hall and North Court, both residence halls, and Ryland Hall, the original administration building and library for Richmond College, were designed by Ralph Adams Cram in 1910. Cram, a noted institutional architect, also designed buildings for Princeton, Cornell, Rice, and Williams, among other universities. Warren H. Manning, a former apprentice to Frederick Law Olmsted, designed the original landscape plan. The overall effect of the gothic architecture set amid a landscape of pines, rolling hills, and Westhampton Lake, is intimate and tranquil. In 2000, the campus was recognized by The Princeton Review as the most beautiful in the United States.

The University of Richmond campus was used to film portions of the pilot of Commander in Chief, and lead character Mackenzie Allen, (played by Geena Davis) served as chancellor of a fictionalized University of Richmond prior to her election as Vice President of the United States. Much of the movie Cry_Wolf was filmed on the Westhampton side of campus, with several dormitories, including South Court, North Court, and Keller Hall, serving as locations. Several episodes of the television show Dawson's Creek were also filmed on campus, referring to Richmond only as a nameless "beautiful Ivy League campus." The filming itself took place in Stern Quad and inside the Jepson Alumni Center.

The University of Richmond also owns the former Reynolds Metals Executive Office Building, purchased from Alcoa in 2001. Located a few miles from campus, the 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m2) building was designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft and opened in 1958. The building, which incorporates nearly 1.4 million pounds of aluminum, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It currently serves as the headquarters of Altria Group and its subsidiary, Philip Morris USA, which are leasing it from the university. In early 2001, the university also finalized the purchase of 115 acres (0.47 km2) of land in eastern Goochland County, a few miles from the main campus. The land is currently used for biology research, but future uses could include intramural athletic fields.

The University of Richmond campus is also home to the Virginia Governor's School for Visual and Performing Arts and Humanities during the summer.