Cocke Hall Renovation

Old Cabell Hall steps and Cocke Hall.
Photo by GFC, 2008.09.23

In 2007, Cocke Hall reopened after about three years of renovation. The firm McKim, Mead and White designed Cocke, Rouss and Old Cabell Hall together, and the buildings opened in 1898. Since then, the building has been through several renovations, but had not had a major renovation since the 70s. The plaster and paint had started to crumble in places, there was no central air but only window units, the stairs had started to wear down dangerously, and the building was noisy due to thin walls.

UVA decided to fix all of this and hired R.E. Lee & Son to be the general contractor for this project. The building underwent a remarkable transformation, inside and out. Most of the floor plans were redrawn. Many rooms that existed five years ago no longer do today, including what had been the most popular room in the building, a huge computer lab on the ground floor. Back then, students had a print quota where they could print 500 pages free per semester. The quota decreased over the years and was eventually eliminated. Today, copies and prints are approximately 10 cents each and can only be made with a Cavalier Advantage debit card. The Cocke Hall computer lab was the largest centrally located computer lab near the College's classrooms. As a result, it was packed at all hours of the day.

The computer lab no longer exists. In its place today are classrooms, restrooms, and a beautiful small library. To make the building conform to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), UVA installed an elevator. At least two historical features did not change in the renovation. One is that the building still boasts the original wooden floors from 1898, which have of course been repaired and treated with durable surface finishes. Walking on the Cocke Hall floors yields creaks that can only be found from noble old wooden flooring.

Photo by GFC, 2008.11.20

The other original feature is the clock on the west face, visible from the amphitheater and Minor Hall. UVA Today wrote an excellent article about the clock, which is very rare because of its unique workings and is technically called an "impulse clock." The article also notes that the building was originally called the Mechanical Laboratory but was renamed for Thomas Jefferson's friend John Hartwell Cocke in 1939.

View of Minor Hall from Cocke Hall.
Photo by GFC, 2008.10.26