The Wren Building is the oldest building on the campus of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Along with the Brafferton and President's House, these buildings form the College's "Ancient Campus." With a construction history dating to 1695, it is the oldest academic building still standing in the United States and among the oldest buildings in Virginia. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960.
The front of the Wren Building
The rear of the Wren Building
A reconstruction of an original classroom in the Wren Building
Earliest known drawing of the building by Swiss traveler François-Louis Michel, 1702
Campus of the College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary has maintained a campus in what is now Williamsburg, Virginia, since 1693. The cornerstone of the Wren Building, then known as the College Building and the oldest surviving academic building in the United States, was laid in 1695. The college's 18th-century campus includes the College Building, the President's House, and Brafferton–all of which were constructed using slave labor. These buildings were altered and damaged during the succeeding centuries before receiving significant restorations by the Colonial Williamsburg program during the 1920s and 1930s.
Clockwise from top left: Statue of Lord Botetourt in front of the Wren Building, Sunken Garden, College Woods, Zable Stadium, Monroe Hall, Swem Library
The earliest known drawing of the College Building, by Swiss traveler Franz Ludwig Michel, 1702
The College Yard on the Bodleian Plate, a copperplate engraving dated to c. 1732–1747. Left to right: Brafferton, College Building, and President's House
The College Building as it appeared from 1859–1862 with Italianate towers