Abandoned:
VIRGINIA INTERMONT COLLEGE
Bristol, VA
Virginia Intermont College was a private college in Bristol, Virginia. Founded in 1884 to create additional educational opportunities for women, the college had been coeducational since 1972. It experienced significant financial difficulties during the last years of its existence, was denied accreditation in 2013, and announced its closure on May 20, 2014.
The original campus buildings built between 1891 and 1893 consisted of the main hall (which featured a dining hall, room for 200 boarders, a gymnasium, and indoor pool) as well as a fine arts building and two out buildings which housed classrooms. The original structure, which only consists of the main hall today, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 4, 1984.
The first major addition to the school was in the early 1920s when Hodges Hall and the current president's home were constructed. These were followed by the construction of what is currently known as East Hall in 1922. The gymnasium was built in 1930 which was followed shortly by the Library and the Humanities building.
No further major construction would take place until the early 1960s when Intermont Hall, Science Hall, the student center, Harrison-Jones Auditorium, and the Worrell Fine Arts Center were constructed.
In the early 1970s, Virginia Intermont became a four-year institution, granting baccalaureate degrees. 1972 marked another major milestone as VI admitted men and became a coeducational institution.
Following its closure in 2014, the campus was purchased at auction for $3 million by a Chinese investor who announced plans to develop the site into a business college. The opening of the new “Virginia Business College,” which was slated for fall of 2020, never materialized and the property now sits abandoned and derelict.
VIRGINIA INTERMONT COLLEGE SLIDESHOW:
