Ryland Hall Richmond, Virginia

Text courtesy of the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Parks Service. Minor transcription errors or changes in formatting may have occurred; please see the Nomination Form PDF for official text. Some information may have become outdated since the property was nominated for the Register.

Ryland Hall is significant at the statewide level under Criterion A (Education) for its association with the development of Richmond College (which became the University of Richmond in 1920) and its housing of the university's first library, classrooms, meeting rooms, and offices, including the president's office. The building also is significant at the statewide level under Criterion C (Architecture) for its Collegiate Gothic architecture at the hand of prominent architect Ralph Adams Cram of the Boston and New York firm of Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson. Cram, the head architect for the university's new Westhampton campus during the early twentieth century, employed the Collegiate Gothic style that had gained national popularity at other campuses such as West Point, Princeton University, and Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve). While Cram's original campus plan was never fully realized due to financial constraints, Cram's legacy remains in the original seven buildings built to his designs and his Collegiate Gothic aesthetic that has guided campus architecture to the present day. The period of significance begins in 1913, the year construction began on Ryland Hall, and ends in 1963, the traditional fifty-year cutoff date for historic properties that continued to have importance. Ryland Hall continues to be a landmark building in the heart of the University of Richmond campus today. Ryland Hall is being listed in the National Register under the Multiple Property Documentation Form (MPD), The History and Architecture of the University of Richmond, 1834- 1977. A general historic context covering the educational and architectural history of Ryland Hall is found in sections E and F of the MPD. It is recommended individually eligible in the Property Type Registration Requirements of Section F.