Members of the Tuona Stone Masons lower a half-ton slab of limestone into position outside the Wren Building on the campus of William & Mary. “The Wren Building is central to the William & Mary story,” said Charles Fulcher ’99, director of Wren Building Operations. “It exists both as an historic structure and also as an active and vital part of the W&M community. Every week, thousands of students enter the building along with countless visitors: for daily classes, receptions, meals, formal gatherings, concerts, services, and ceremonies.” Fulcher also alluded to the Convocation Ceremony, which welcomes first-year students to the college. “When they enter the building, they most likely walk on these courtyard steps,” Fulcher added. “We need look no further than the Opening Convocation Ceremony for a reminder of the role these steps play in the life of the university. As incoming students pass through the Wren Building and down the courtyard steps, they are welcomed into the W&M family, met with cheers, high fives, and raucous celebration. These steps are the single-most traveled surface in the building, and this restoration will assure safety, preservation, and access to the nation’s oldest university building for the next century.” W&M, was chartered by the British Crown in 1693, the Wren Building’s steps were first constructed in 1695.
