A University of Virginia student steps from the midday sun into the welcoming recesses of Garrett Hall. Designed by McKim, Mead and White – the New York City architecture firm that re-envisioned the Rotunda following an 1895 fire – Garrett Hall opened in 1909 and was originally known as the Commons, a central dining hall for the Grounds. In Thomas Jefferson’s original design of the Academical Village, students dined in the hotels along the Range; by the early 20th century, enrollment had grown to the point where a central dining space was needed.
The building has gone through a number of uses since. Fully renovated in 2009, it now houses the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, under the direction of Dean Ian Solomon.
