Powell Archives Web Exhibits
The Tucker Hall Fire of 1934
Files
Download Tucker Hall Ruins, December 16, 1934. (131 KB)
Download Letter of an undergraduate student written on the day of the fire. Courtesy of W&L Leyburn Library Special Collections. (223 KB)
Download Ring-tum Phi (W&L student newspaper) banner, December 17, 1934. (651 KB)
Download Ring-tum Phi, below the fold, December 17, 1934, page 1. (724 KB)
Download Ring-tum Phi, more fire coverage, December 17, 1934. (688 KB)
Download Ring-tum Phi, more fire coverage, December 17, 1934. (623 KB)
Download Ring-tum Phi, more fire coverage, December 17, 1934. (598 KB)
Download Ring-tum Phi, more fire coverage, December 17, 1934. (60 KB)
Download VMI Cadet (student newspaper) coverage of fire. Courtesy of VMI Archives. (740 KB)
Download Lexington Gazette coverage of the fire. (953 KB)
Download Rockbridge County News coverage of fire (banner.) (1.6 MB)
Download Rockbridge County News coverage of fire (cont.) (1.3 MB)
Download Rockbridge County News coverage of fire (cont.) (510 KB)
Download Washington Post coverage of both the construction and destruction of Tucker Hall. (234 KB)
Download New York Times coverage of both the construction and destruction of Tucker Hall. (60 KB)
Download University Bulletin about the Tucker Hall fire and plans to build a new law school building. (860 KB)
Download Dean William H. Moreland selected correspondence concerning the fire. Last letter in this file is from law class of 1931 member Lewis F. Powell, Jr. (1.6 MB)
Download Tucker Hall photo and building plans from "The Architecture of Historic Lexington," by Royster Lyle, Jr. and Pamela Hemenway Simpson. (223 KB)
Download "New" Tucker Hall was opened on February 17, 1936, just fourteen months and one day after the fire. (223 KB)
Description
Eighty years ago this month, in the early hours of December 16, 1934, Tucker Memorial Hall became engulfed in flames. The building, the first dedicated home of the law school at Washington and Lee University, was completely destroyed, as were virtually all of the contents.
This exhibit tells the story of the fire in photos and press coverage. It goes on to document the planning and construction of a new law building in less than 14 months, and the determination of the school to protect the college group buildings that compose the colonnade from a similar fate.
Exhibition Date
12-2014
Keywords
John Randolph Tucker Memorial Hall, Washington and Lee University School of Law history, Tucker Hall Fire
Disciplines
Legal Education