Changes
→History
==History==
When the university was founded in 1872, buildings were simple brick constructions, reflecting the architecture of [[Blacksburg]] at that time. In 1901 the YMCA Building (now the [[Performing Arts Building]]) was the first to be constructed of Hokie Stone, in 1971 1917 [[McBryde Hall]] introduced the Hokie Stone clad neo-gothic style which became the official architecture of the campus. During the 60's and 70's, concrete and brick structures absent of Hokie Stone such as [[Dietrick Hall]] and [[Cassell Coliseum]] were built. In 1983 the Virginia Tech [[Board of Visitors]] required that some Hokie Stone be incorporated into the construction of every new building on campus.<ref name="rt">http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story168531.html</ref> Today each campus project uses an average of 1,500 tons of Hokie Stone, with each ton of stone covering only 30-35 square feet.<ref name="bsm" /><ref name="rt" />
In additional to building exteriors, Hokie Stone is used in important monuments such as biographical markers outside each campus building providing a brief history of the person for whom the building is named. Thirty-two Hokie Stones were quarried by university stonemasons and engraved with the names of students and professors killed in the [[April 16 shootings]].<ref name="post">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/19/AR2007081901018.html</ref> The Virginia Tech football team enters the playing field through a tunnel with an exit topped by a block of Hokie Stone which is touched by each player.<ref name="nyt">http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/04/sports/ncaafootball/04tech.html?fta=y</ref>