Blow Memorial Hall, Constructed 1923-1925

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Blow Memorial Hall was constructed between 1923 and 1925 following a gift to William & Mary from Mrs. Adele Matthiessen Blow in memory of her husband, Captain George Preston Blow, U.S. Navy. The building was referred to as Blow Gym at this time.

While Captain Blow did not attended William & Mary, his father, grandfather, and other family members were alumni, and his grandfather also served on the Board of Visitors. Dramatic growth of the student body during the 1920s and 1930s had made more and larger athletic facilities a necessity soon after the completion of the Blow Gym in 1925. Originally T-shaped, it was substantially enlarged by the addition of a south wing in 1940. Blow Gym remained the home of men’s basketball until William & Mary Hall hosted its first games in December 1970. From the 1970s until the opening of the Recreation Center, Blow Gym continued to serve as a much-needed recreation center for students, faculty and staff.

In 1991, Blow Gymnasium was renovated and converted from a physical education building into a complex for classrooms and offices and was rededicated as Blow Memorial Hall. Blow Hall is home to a number of offices and departments including the Roy R. Charles Center, Sharpe Community Scholars Program, and the Office of the Registrar. These offices moved to Blow after the School of Business moved to new quarters upon the opening of Alan B. Miller Hall in 2009.