Washington Literary Society and Debating Union - Washington Hall

Washington Hall

The Washington Society was without permanent meeting facilities from 1842 to 1849, when they were granted a room in Hotel B, where they remained through much of the 19th century. In 1852, the Society asked for permission to enlarge its room in Hotel B; University historian Philip Alexander Bruce notes that this was the origin of the use of the name Washington Hall to describe these chambers. In 1869, the reorganized society expanded the hall to its current dimensions. In the year 1896, following the burning of the Rotunda and the destruction of the Annex, law classes were held in Washington Hall. The University took possession of the Hall sometime after 1929 when there was no Society to maintain the building. Washington Hall now houses the University of Virginia's Office of Equal Opportunity Programs.