Plans and Blueprints Records
This collection contains plans and blueprint for Wake Forest College's Reynolda Campus in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Reynolda Campus debuted in 1956, after a decade of design by lead architect Jens Fredrick Larson under the patronage of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. The Reynolda Campus atmosphere mimics the Georgian revival style and park-like feeling of the original Wake Forest, N.C., campus. Records include plans for campus layout, academic buildings, the gymnasium, Z. Smith Reynolds Library, residence halls, and staff and faculty housing at and around the new campus, rendered predominantly by architect Larson. Records include conceptual and final blueprints of Reynolda Campus buildings.
Biographical and Historical Note
In 1946, lead architect Jens Fredrick Larson was hired to develop architectural plans for the new Wake Forest College (WFC) campus under the patronage of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. J. F. Larson worked on significant projects at Dartmouth College, Colby College, Bucknell University, University of Paris, and University of Louisville campuses before working on Wake Forest's Reynolda Campus as the culmination of his career. He was a flying ace pilot in World War I before pursuing architecture through residence at Dartmouth College in 1919.
The Campus' move from Wake Forest, N.C., was prompted by the Bowman Gray Foundation in 1938, when it formed an agreement between the Winston-Salem Baptist Hospital and WFC in regards to the College's medical program. In 1941, Bowman Gray Medical School moved to Winston-Salem, putting plans to move the rest of the school in motion.
The original Reynolda Campus was composed of Wait Chapel, then-men's north residence halls Kitchin, Davis, Poteat, and Taylor, and their respective shops, Reynolda Hall, Z. Smith Reynolds Library, Salem Hall (Science Building), the gymnasium, Carswell Hall, women's south residence halls Bostwick and Johnson Residence Halls, North Campus Apartments (originally faculty apartments), Student Apartments (then reserved for married students), Starling Hall (then the President's house), and athletic and maintenance buildings in the campus' southeast corner. The campus has undergone steady renovations since its debut in 1956.
Current-day Kirby and Manchester, Tribble, and Winston Halls were built in the 1960s. The Manchester Center, Scales Fine Arts Center, and Luter Hall were constructed in the 1970s. Olin Physical Labotatory and Hall, Collins Residence Hall, Piccolo and Palmer Residence Halls, and the former Museum of Anthropology building were built in the 1980s. ZSR Library's Wilson wing, Worrell Professional Center, Alumni Hall, Greene Hall, Benson University Center, and Polo and Martin Residence Halls were constructed in the 1990s. South and Angelou Residence Halls, the Miller Center (now part of the athletics complex), and expansions to athletic facilities have occurred since 2000. The campus also underwent numerous changes to its landscaping and roads, with the end goal of maintaining a pedestrian-friendly and park-like atmosphere.
Thomas Sears was tasked with much of the landscaping design at the Reynolda Campus. He received his A.B. and B.S. in landscape architecture from Harvard University. His career was characterized by landcaping projects of estates, namely the Michael Jenkins estate in Roland Park, Baltimore, Maryland; the C. S. Walton estate in St. Davids, Pennsylvania; and Reynolda gardens and estate, under the patronage of Katharine Smith Reynolds in 1915. Many of the estate projects he undertook were alongside Pennsylvania landscape architect Charles Barton Keene, including when working on the Reynolds' Estate.
Reynolda Campus' architecture and campus atmosphere take inspiration from the original campus in Wake Forest, N.C. Both were settled on agricultural lands, and as a result were built with their areas' topography and existing landscapes in mind. The original campus in Wake Forest began to develop a distinctive Georgian revival style through its renovations, characteristics that were retained in the Reynolda Campus. Reynolda buildings use similar materials to one another, characterized by Old Virginia brick veneers; wrought iron railing, emblems, poles, and lanterns; oyster white painted wood trim; limestone and cast stone building details; large, multi-paneled clear glass windows; and slate roofed residence halls and standing seam copper metal roofed academic and administrative buildings.
Collection Overview
This collection contains plans and blueprint renderings for Wake Forest's Reynolda Campus in Winston-Salem, N.C. These include the plans for the campus layout, academic buildings, gymnasium, residence halls, and staff and faculty housing at and around the new College campus. Extensive records for Z. Smith Reynolds Library, including the stacks, fire prevention systems, and rare books room, are available in this collection. Blueprints include interior and exterior detail renderings of buildings by floor. Some buildings' records, especially the gymnasium, include beam and framing blueprints, as well as utilities planning. There are booklets and reports on campus improvements and future plans, such as expansions to the Reynolda Campus, reports from architect Jens Fredrick Larson, consultations and proposals for Benson University Center and Worrell Professional Center, as well as rendered pitches and a project manual for the Library's Wilson wing. Landscape research and renderings by prominant landscaping architect Thomas Sears are also included in these records.
Faculty housing plans appear in the general apartment style and also specific to the original faculty inhabitants. Types of plans that may be included in those folders include the following plan types: construction, elevation, fireplace, floor, foundation, hardboard siding, heating, plot, and wing truss. Records include conceptual and final blueprints of campus buildings, meaning some renderings are not perfect matches to the construction or the current buildings. More contemporary buildings are less represented.
Multiple copies are noted, as are revisions if that information is provided on the items. As many buildings as possible were identified with their original and modern names.
Administrative Information
- Publication Information
- Processed by Immanuel Eggers, 2021
- Access Restrictions
- This collection is open for use.
- Copyright Notice
- The nature of the WFU Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
- Preferred Citation
- Plans and Blueprints Records (RG32.0), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.