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The end of an era: The Frank E. Brown
Campus Center |
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The Brock Commons, a new student center, is slated for completion in May 2013. |
Can you hear that? It’s the sound of
great things happening at Randolph-Macon College.
On March 21, 2012, demolition of the Frank E. Brown Campus Center began, in preparation for the construction of
Brock Commons, a new student center.
As backhoes grumbled and bricks tumbled, onlookers snapped photos. For
Admissions Counselor
Kellyn Fleming ’09, taking a few pictures was a way to capture the end of an era.
“The old Campus Center held a lot of memories for me,” says Fleming. “Some of my fondest memories of life as a student were the times my friends and I would go to Macon Coffee, raid the
bookstore and say hello to Barclay. When it was warm outside, we would sit underneath the umbrellas and eat lunch. The Campus Center was the location for my Bid Turn-in for sorority recruitment and where I met my pledge sisters for the first time.”
Fleming is excited that students will soon be able to enjoy the amenities of a modern student center. The Brock Commons will include a movie theater, an expanded campus bookstore, dining services with an open café, a balcony, a portico with tables, a student mailroom, and multi-purpose rooms and spaces. The anticipated completion date for the new facility is Spring 2013.
“The layout of the old building didn’t really lend itself to a ‘hang-out’ space,” says Fleming. “I can’t help but be excited for what this means for current and prospective students. It will quickly become the focal point of the campus.”
Watching the building come down was “surreal,” according to Fleming. “In the Admissions Office we have been telling prospective students for months about the new center, but now they can actually see the progress when they tour the campus.”
Admissions Counselor
Katie Harding ’09 was a little sad to watch the Campus Center demolition, but she looks forward to seeing the new construction begin.
“The renderings for Brock Commons are amazing,” says Harding, “and prospective families love hearing about new additions to campus. The campus is changing, but it is definitely changing for the better.”
The old Campus Center, built in 1974, was named in honor of R-MC Trustee and benefactor Frank. E. Brown. For
Judee Showalter ’84, circulation supervisor at the
McGraw-Page Library, watching the building come down was bittersweet. She and her husband,
Economics/Business Professor
Ed Showalter ’84, had their wedding reception there.
“It was convenient, and we could serve champagne, which we couldn’t do at the church,” says Showalter. “It was also fun because we are both alums, as were most of the members of our wedding party. It was a pretty day and the big glass doors leading to the fountain were open. I threw my bouquet off the stairs.” Despite her fond memories of the old Campus Center, Showalter is thrilled about the future Brock Commons.
“The old Campus Center didn’t work for current students,” she says. “In the early 1980s it was very much the ‘meet and greet’ place. We got our mail and checked in with friends between classes. Before e-mail and cell phones, mail from home was a big deal. There was even a grand piano under an exposed staircase. There were concerts and movies in the lobby, and we held sorority meetings in the Kaufman Gallery.”
The systematic removal of the current building—it will take three days to demolish, and two to three weeks to clean up the area before new construction can begin—will facilitate the salvaging of all recyclable materials. This cost-cutting measure will help with the pursuit of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, the recognized standard for measuring building sustainability. Metals will be reused, and brick, concrete and slate will be crushed and reused.
Showalter says the Brock Commons will play an important role on campus.
“It will give students a place to get together and relax, and it will give the campus community the central hub we need,” she says.
Click on Webcam to view live coverage of the demolition of the Frank E. Brown Campus Center.
The Brock Commons is made possible in part through a lead $5 million gift from Joan and Macon F. Brock Jr. ’64 and a $1.4 million gift from Tom Birdsong ’49 and The Birdsong Corporation.