{"id":6697,"date":"2017-07-06T11:43:38","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T15:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6697"},"modified":"2017-07-06T12:51:35","modified_gmt":"2017-07-06T16:51:35","slug":"what-a-difference-fifty-years-makes-the-original-fenwick-library-building-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6697","title":{"rendered":"What a Difference Fifty Years Makes: The Original Fenwick Library Building Today"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

George Mason College Library, Fairfax, Virginia, 1967. George Mason University Libraries records, R0095, Box 194, Folder 5, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.<\/p><\/div>\n

What was once considered\u00a0old has become new again!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

1966 architect’s rendering of George Mason College Library, Fairfax, Virginia. George Mason University Libraries records, R0095, Box 139, Folder 6, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.<\/p><\/div>\n

During the fall of 1967, George Mason College of the University of Virginia opened its fifth building on the Fairfax Campus. The original four – North (now Finley), South (now Krug), East and West – went into service in August of 1964. A significant part of West Building served as the college library until the completion of the 14,000 square-foot two-story library in 1967. \u00a0During the\u00a0building’s dedication in\u00a0December, it was named for a local member of the state legislature, Senator Charles Rogers Fenwick. \u00a0Fenwick, a speaker at the event, was unaware of the naming plan until it was announced at the ceremony itself.\u00a0 He was admittedly surprised and humbled by the gesture.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

George Mason College Library Dedication ceremony, December 15, 1967. This space served as the Periodicals\/Microforms and Reading Room from 1967 until December 2015. George Mason University photograph collection, R0120, Box 1, Folder 29, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.<\/p><\/div>\n

As Mason became an independent university, and\u00a0enrollment tripled over the next sixteen\u00a0years,\u00a0Fenwick would undergo two major additions. \u00a0A tower was added to the southwest part of the building in 1974, and an identical one on the southeast side in 1983. By the end of the 1980s, administrators agreed that the university’s needs were growing faster than the library. \u00a0Plans for more additions to the library were drawn up but shelved to make budget\u00a0room for the upcoming University Learning Center (known\u00a0today as the Johnson Center).<\/p>\n

By the early 2000s library administration and staff were planning again for a new addition to Fenwick that would add more space for\u00a0study, programming, and housing of staff and library resources. \u00a0By 2013 ground was broken, and construction was underway. \u00a0The new Fenwick Library would take over two years to construct and add over 2,000 seats for study,\u00a0a 24-hour caf\u00e9 and study space, a state-of-the-art\u00a0Special Collections Research Center\u00a0with dedicated space for exhibitions, and dedicated areas that can be used for special library events. \u00a0The 150,000-square foot addition was completed in January 2016 and\u00a0complies with LEED silver standards.<\/p>\n

So, what happened to the original library space?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Interior of The MIX@Fenwick, July 2017. This is the same location as the 1967 photograph above. Photo by Emily Curley.<\/p><\/div>\n

It has been transformed into the MIX@Fenwick. \u00a0The\u00a0MIX network<\/a>\u00a0(Mason Innovation Exchange) consists of two on-campus entrepreneurship- focused collaboration and maker spaces. The MIX@Fenwick is a student-centered collaboration and event space that will promote and encourage entrepreneurship at Mason. \u00a0It opened its doors to the Mason community in June 2017.<\/p>\n

MIX@Fenwick provides students, faculty, and staff with spaces and tools for co-working, collaboration, and experiential learning. Multi-disciplinary groups can come together to meet, develop ideas, research problems, craft solutions, and start companies. The MIX@Fenwick is intended to be a place to promote interactions among students, faculty, staff, alumni, investors, and business advisors.<\/p>\n

The Mason Innovation Exchange network seeks to empower students with the tools to solve problems and pursue entrepreneurial opportunities; provide a place to meet, socialize, and collaborate; create a network of entrepreneurial-minded individuals; and create a start-up culture at Mason.<\/p>\n

For fifty years Fenwick Library has been an anchor building on the Fairfax Campus, bringing together students, faculty, and staff. Now that the original has been replaced, it is gratifying to see the former space repurposed and used once again as place for collaboration.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Exterior of the north side of the former Fenwick Library with MIX graphic on the window. Photo by the author.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What was once considered\u00a0old has become new again! During the fall of 1967, George Mason College of the University of Virginia opened its fifth building on the Fairfax Campus. The original four – North (now Finley), South (now Krug), East and West – went into service in August of 1964. A significant part of West […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[272,198,94],"tags":[208,210],"class_list":["post-6697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmu-fairfax-campus","category-photography-collections","category-university-archives","tag-fenwick-library","tag-george-mason-university-libraries"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-1K1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5144,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=5144","url_meta":{"origin":6697,"position":0},"title":"Mason’s Fairfax Campus turns 50!","author":"Bob Vay","date":"September 13, 2014","format":"image","excerpt":"George Mason University's Fairfax Campus turns fifty years old this Sunday.\u00a0 On September 14, 1964 George Mason College of the University of Virginia opened its doors to 356 freshman and sophomores.\u00a0 The faculty, which numbered fifteen,\u00a0comprised\u00a0seven full-time and eight part-time professors. The four original buildings were named North (now known\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fairfax History"","block_context":{"text":"Fairfax History","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=194"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/R0120B01F16.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/R0120B01F16.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/R0120B01F16.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9923,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9923","url_meta":{"origin":6697,"position":1},"title":"The Latest Reincarnation of Fenwick Library, Wing A","author":"Bob Vay","date":"November 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Rebecca Thayer, Buchanan Papers Project Archivist, contributed the contemporary photos for this post. Completed in October of 1967, Fenwick Library's A Wing has withstood the test of time. It opened to patrons in late October 1967 soon after a well-coordinated group of faculty, students, and staff hand carried all of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "George Mason University History"","block_context":{"text":"George Mason University History","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=529"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/fenwick_test-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/fenwick_test-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/fenwick_test-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/fenwick_test-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/fenwick_test-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/fenwick_test-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7625,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=7625","url_meta":{"origin":6697,"position":2},"title":"The Class of \u201868 Opens the Fairfax Campus","author":"Bob Vay","date":"June 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This is Part 1 of a four-part series of articles pertaining to the George Mason University Class of 1968. The text is borrowed from SCRC's exhibition \"First Class: Mason '68 and Beyond\" currently on display through August 2018 in the SCRC Gallery. In August 1964, George Mason College of The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/1964_aerial.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/1964_aerial.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/1964_aerial.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/1964_aerial.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/1964_aerial.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/1964_aerial.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7922,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=7922","url_meta":{"origin":6697,"position":3},"title":"Robinson Hall: The Beginning of the End (for now), Part 1","author":"Bob Vay","date":"September 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This is Part 1 of a multi-part series. To read Part 2, visit https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=8196 As you might have noticed by now, our beloved Robinson Hall is being prepared for demolition so that a new and more-modern Robinson Hall can rise up in its place by 2022. Robinson opened in September\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "GMU Fairfax Campus"","block_context":{"text":"GMU Fairfax Campus","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=272"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/RobinsonmeetRobinson.jpg?fit=1200%2C977&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/RobinsonmeetRobinson.jpg?fit=1200%2C977&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/RobinsonmeetRobinson.jpg?fit=1200%2C977&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/RobinsonmeetRobinson.jpg?fit=1200%2C977&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/RobinsonmeetRobinson.jpg?fit=1200%2C977&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10152,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10152","url_meta":{"origin":6697,"position":4},"title":"Establishing Our Identity: George Mason’s Fairfax Campus","author":"Bob Vay","date":"June 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This post is part of a four-part series detailing the history of George Mason University from the student perspective. Our initial post, Before We Became George Mason University: Our First Campus at Bailey's Crossroads, can be read here: https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10138 In August 1964 George Mason College moved from Bailey\u2019s Crossroads to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/patriot.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/patriot.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/patriot.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8196,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=8196","url_meta":{"origin":6697,"position":5},"title":"Robinson Hall: The Beginning of the End (for now), Part 2","author":"Bob Vay","date":"January 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This is Part 2 of a multi-part series. To read Part 1, visit https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=7922 George Mason University faculty, staff, and students noticed increased activity around Robinson A when the Fairfax Campus reopened after the Winter Break on January 7th. 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