Washington College Magazine
Landscapers Offer Campus Makeover
Color. Shape. Texture. Water. Historical and regional significance. Each of these elements has considerable impact in making that important first impression.
College officials are hoping to kick up the visual impact of the campus landscape for its visitors with seasonal plantings and signature outdoor settings that call attention to the College's best features.
The landscape plan proposes relocating the George Washington statue and reestablishing the historic walkway from the old gate on Washington Avenue to William Smith Hall.
Click to enlarge picture.
A campus makeover now in the planning stages is part of President Baird Tipson's plan to enhance the College's image and elevate its status among its peers. "If you want to be a premier national liberal arts college," Tipson says, "you have to look like one."
This summer, Washington College selected the Baltimore architectural firm Hord Coplan Macht, Inc. to design a campus landscape that accentuates the institution's historical roots and its connection to the Chesapeake.
The landscape plan calls for lots of seasonal plantings, altered parking patterns and more brick pathways, as well as some imaginative treatment of the area around the Hill dorms—the College's three oldest existing structures whose posteriors face the Cater Walk, a well-used path across campus. This site, Tipson points out, is also the location of the original College building.
He has asked the architects to create an aesthetic link between Middle Hall and the George Washington statue, and to communicate visually the College's historical significance.
"Nearly 225 years of this country's history have played out on the Washington College campus," says Tipson. "George Washington walked and slept here; Franklin Roosevelt gave an important address here; and three other U. S. Presidents stood on this ground. We owe it to visitors to the College and the Chestertown community to preserve this heritage in the finest possible state. Our new landscaping plan will highlight areas of historic significance, bring out the natural beauty of our plantings and buildings, and create attractive new spaces for conversation and contemplation.
In response, the architects have proposed installing a Presidents' Plaza on the campus green in front of William Smith Hall.
The northern campus entrance, Miller Library, Reid Hall, Casey Academic Center and Gibson Performing Arts Center are also targeted for enhanced visual impact. Architects have proposed installing a fountain on the Martha Washington Square, a tree alley along the Cater Walk and a boxwood garden in front of Reid Hall.
Work is scheduled to begin next spring and will proceed in stages as funds become available.
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