Shaping JMU
March 23, 2009 • By Gabriel Henriquez, The Breeze
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HARRISONBURG, Va. — A distinct, steady clinking reverberates throughout the Quad most mornings. It is the sound of steel mallets and two-inch chisels carving slabs of bluestone that will cover the face of the tunnel at the foot of the Quad. Across the street even more stone is being chiseled for the Performing Arts Center, which is currently under construction.
The soft clinking has been a familiar sound on the JMU campus since construction began in 1908. Imitating the design and style of the original bluestone campus, the current stone masons are chiseling the rectangular stones to give them a similar texture to their older counter parts — using the same method the stone masons did a century ago.
“They come basically squared-up,” said David Kanagy, one of the stone masons working on the tunnel’s stones. “We come in and chisel them out to put a final dressed face on them. That extra dressed bull face definitely gives the stone more of a dressed look than just flat surface stone. It’s much more pleasing aesthetically.”
According to Kanagy, a stone mason of more than 30 years, the bluestone area follows an ashlar style. Ashlar is characterized by large rectangular blocks, which give the building “a structural look.” This contrasts with other styles, like that of the entrance to Carrier Library, which is smoother.
The bluestone comes from the Frazier Quarry Inc. in western Harrisonburg. The quarry that was hired by JMU, states on its Web site, “a variety of limestone, ‘bluestone’ got its name due to its dark blue-gray color that, over time, weathers to a light gray.” The quarry refers to the stone as “Stonewall Grey,” it’s trademarked name, after General “Stonewall” Jackson whose home is built using the limestone.
“I like the color of the bluestone because it’s neither too light nor dark but it gives a sense of comfort within it,” junior Patrick Keane said. “The texture of it is 3-D; I could get a grasp of it, get a feel of it.”
The distinctive stone and its chiseled-texture stand out during campus tours and separates JMU’s campus from others.
“The architecture is one of the primary reasons I came [to JMU]. It definitely attracted me to it when I came to visit for CHOICES last year,” freshman Rachel Skolnick said. “A lot of other schools that I saw kind of just looked kind of drab. It makes it a warmer atmosphere.”
Dismissing concerns of whether there will be enough stone to cover the large Performing Arts Center, Kanagy said, “There’s plenty, as long as Frazier keeps quarrying it out.”
Contact Gabriel Henriquez at henri2gx@jmu.edu
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