Ashby Hall, Pre-1985.
My team and I intend to cover the physical and functional changes that have occurred on the Quad, as well as comparisons of the material culture then and now. We will be creating an interactive story map that viewers can explore to learn about the physical campus by clicking around the various Quad buildings and get a sense of what it was like to be a JMU in the twentieth century. Additionally, they will be able to learn about the specific progression of each Quad building, the kinds of clothing and objects students possessed, and about the interests and values from various time periods. We are hoping to find an abundance of photos in JMU’s Special Collections that can serve as a visual aid for this progression and to help us uncover as much information as possible. Specifically, I am in charge of the history and updates of Ashby Hall, Alumnae Hall and Keezel Hall. My artifact is a digital photo taken of Ashby Hall dated back to 1917 that labels it as “2nd Dormitory” on the back. The photo is valuable for our website’s goal because it is authentic and can clearly depict what Ashby’s exterior looked like when it was first built. In our map, we intend to show both recovered photos and current ones of what each Quad building looks like today to show the audience the changes that have been made to the landscape and architecture, if any. We will also direct the story map into a building’s interior if they have since been repurposed or can teach viewers about any aspects of material culture of that time.
By placing an updated photo side by side with this one of Ashby Hall, we can show how the structure has had only very minimal updates for accessibility purposes, but that much of the building’s original details and integrity have been maintained since it was first built. The story map will include a description of both Ashby Hall’s maintenance and transformation of its adaptive reuse of the interior of the basement of the dormitory to a computer testing center for the university. This is significant because although the function of the interior has been updated to serve more progressive demands, the exterior has been intentionally preserved for over a century. Even though as the campus continually expands in modern way to accommodate for the rapidly expanding population and twenty-first century advancements, the Quad has been purposefully and entirely conserved. More specifically, they have chosen to rehabilitate these buildings while keeping the traditional bluestone aesthetic throughout the Quad instead of updating it to match the newer east campus. Therefore, it is clear that JMU values the architecture of the Quad and the history of the institution as a whole, while still being a progressive university. We know that because of this act of preservation of the structures and their integrity, Like Ashby Hall, the history of the landscape is culturally important to the JMU Dukes identity and is something they are proud of. This is the kind of information on the institution that my team and I hope to lay out in an effective and visually pleasing way for readers.
Control #: Gstu02, JMU Historic Photos Online, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.
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