Mapping the Future of Campus

By Eliott Grover '06

Throughout Tabor’s history, long-range planning has helped the school meet present needs while anticipating future circumstances. Master plans are essentially roadmaps expressed in architectural terms. They focus on changes or additions to the physical plant, but they represent much more than brick and mortar.

A school’s facilities function as a proxy for its values. Tabor’s master plans, and the campaigns that support them, shape campus and reflect institutional priorities. Consider what buildings such as Lillard Hall, the Marine and Nautical Science Center, and the forthcoming Travis Roy Campus Center say about Tabor’s identity.

Because master plans are articulated as aspirational long-term goals, their recommendations don’t always materialize. Mapping the future is a challenging task, one in which situational headwinds can trigger the need to tack in order to face new and unforeseen realities. But that doesn’t diminish the value of revisiting historical plans.

This article examines the transformation of Tabor’s campus through five distinct chapters of school history. By taking stock of the different plans that were proposed for the future of campus—whether they were acted upon, changed, or abandoned—one can gain a deeper understanding of how Tabor has evolved over its nearly 150-year history.

Academy Lane (1876-1916)

Founder Elizabeth Taber, like many of the individuals featured in this issue, was an accomplished builder. She grew up in Marion in the early 19th century before marrying Stephen Taber and moving to New Bedford. After the Civil War, she returned to her hometown as an 80-year-old widow. It was not the Marion of her childhood; like most of the country, its economy and identity had been battered by the war. Elizabeth was determined to save it.

A woman of considerable means, she inherited her husband’s estate and amassed her own fortune through savvy investments in railroads and mills. A former school teacher, Elizabeth played a leading role in rebuilding Marion by using education as the cornerstone of her efforts. In 1872, she built the town library. On the second floor of the Victorian building, she funded a natural history museum. She had the foresight to seed endowments for both institutions, which continue to serve the community to this day.

The extent of Elizabeth’s philanthropy is difficult to overstate. As noted in the Sippican Historical Society’s Reflections on a Town, she “single-handedly lifted Marion from its post-Civil War decline and laid the foundations for Marion today.” In addition to the library, she funded the town’s Music Hall and many other village improvements. Of all the structures Elizabeth built, none have had a more far-reaching impact than the school she founded in 1876.

Tabor Academy’s first two buildings were located on Academy Lane, present day Spring Street. The original schoolhouse, Academy Building, was built next door to the town library, which was visited regularly by students. Working alongside Clark P. Howland, Tabor’s first principal, Elizabeth created the school’s curriculum and code of conduct. In 1880, she commissioned Tabor Hall on the opposite side of the library. Its first floor was a dormitory that included housing for the school’s principal. On the second floor, Elizabeth built an apartment for herself.

She guided the school’s tiller with an active hand until her death in 1888 at the age of 97. In her will, she appointed Tabor’s Trustees and implored them to continue growing the school while engaging in thoughtful long-term planning. “The nature of the branches and character of the instruction given shall from time to time be modified,” she wrote. “The character of the school itself should also be gradually elevated and its scope enlarged.” Washburn House, an elegant two-story dormitory built in 1906 between Tabor Hall and the library, affirmed the Trustees’ commitment to their charge.

Although the structures brought forward by Elizabeth Taber served the school well in its infancy, several of them would soon become part of its past.

Towards the Sea (1916-1952)

After steady growth through the turn of the 20th century, Tabor’s enrollment shrank as a series of financial catastrophes swept the country. By 1915, the school had less than a dozen students. Facing a dire moment, the Trustees turned to a visionary leader to take the helm.

Walter H. Lillard became Tabor’s fifth headmaster in 1916. Perceiving that Marion’s waterfront, just blocks from the campus, held the key to Tabor’s future, Lillard set the school on a course to embrace this identity. The sailing, rowing, and Tabor Boy programs all began during Lillard’s tenure, as did the school’s nautical science curriculum. Lillard’s changes did not stop with new programming. He believed that in order for Tabor to realize its potential as the “School by the Sea,” the school needed to move closer to the sea.

In 1923, Tabor purchased Bushnell House, which was originally situated facing the harbor. The school then moved the dorm to its current location in order to make room for a transformational project. Lillard Hall, initially named Harbor Hall before the Trustees surprised the headmaster with its new name, was built in 1926. As the main dormitory and dining room, it instantly became the heart of school life. Students and faculty mingled at the mailboxes. The living room, anchored by an inviting fireplace, was an ideal setting for formal and informal gatherings.

Two years later, the shoreline was graced with another pivotal structure. Hoyt Hall was built to bolster the school’s extracurricular offerings. It included a gymnasium, theater, school store, and boathouse. With these two flagship buildings, the gravitational center of campus shifted to the waterfront.

But half of the school was still located at the bottom of Spring Street. The half-mile walk from Academy Building to Lillard Hall, though scenic, was not ideal. To design a plan for a more cohesive campus, Lillard and the Trustees turned to Arthur Shurcliff, a landscape architect whose portfolio included campus redevelopment projects at Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, and Groton School.

Shurcliff’s master plan involved creating an oval with Lillard Hall by constructing a cluster of buildings on the opposite side of Front Street. To achieve this goal, the school needed more land. In 1929, Tabor purchased the five-acre Delano property directly across the street from Lillard. The estate included a commodious building to be used as a dormitory, named Dexter House for Trustee Lemuel LeBaron Dexter, Class of 1897. One of the most significant moments in school history occurred in 1936 when Tabor finalized a property exchange with the town of Marion. The deal is commonly known as “the swap.”

As part of the swap, Tabor gave the town its Spring Street real estate, namely Academy Building and Tabor Hall. The school kept Washburn House, but moved it further north on Spring Street to a plot behind Dexter House. In return, Tabor received three town-owned buildings on Front Street across from Hoyt Hall. The swap worked well for both parties. Academy Building became Marion’s new town hall, and the town’s Front Street holdings became Tabor’s new classroom buildings. Tabor still owned a number of properties for student and faculty housing throughout the village, but from this point on there was no question that the school’s identity was linked explicitly to the sea.   

In 1936, the Trustees published All-A-Taut-O. Part viewbook and part master plan, it trumpeted the school’s unique attributes while outlining a vision for campus development. The centerfold of All-A-Taut-O included a map of campus marked with detailed drawings of the new buildings Shurcliff had proposed. Directly across from Lillard Hall he envisioned a grand multi-wing building that contained classrooms and a library. Flanking this academic building, he included plans for a chapel to the south and a senior dormitory to the north.

While Shurcliff’s master plan never materialized exactly as it was drawn, it was the springboard that launched several future projects. Lillard retired in 1942 to return to the Army and join the war effort. As much as the Tabor community lamented his departure, they were optimistic about his successor. And for good reason. In the process of becoming Tabor’s longest-serving head, James W. Wickenden would shepherd the school through a period of unprecedented growth.

Campus Expansion (1952-1972)

"Tabor is growing" declared a 1965 editorial in The Log. "If a school grows rapidly enough, its student body can witness at least a fraction of its metamorphosis and can possess at the least a glimpse into its destiny."

The post-war years featured a substantial increase in the school’s footprint and enrollment. The Hayden Science and Library Building was erected in 1957, completing the oval that Shurcliff envisioned with Lillard Hall. In need of additional housing for students and faculty, the school considered multiple plans throughout the 1950s to build new dormitories. For various reasons, these plans could not be acted upon at the time, so Wickenden expanded the network of off-campus residences sprinkled throughout the village. In 1960, the school owned or rented 14 such properties.

Tabor’s physical size increased dramatically during this period of school history. In 1942, the campus encompassed 31 acres. By 1961, that figure jumped to 72. This expansion was fueled by land acquisitions that opened space for a number of new construction projects. In 1952, the school purchased the Luce property, a large tract of land on the west side of Spring Street. It would soon play a significant role in the development of upper campus. Another important transaction occurred in 1960 when the school purchased the Allanach property, a parcel wedged between the academic buildings and Hoyt Field. This land would also prove vital in the coming years.    

One consequence of the school’s growth is that it outgrew many of its early facilities. In no realm was this more apparent than athletics. Multiple solutions were floated. A 1959 booklet entitled The Beebe Wing outlined a proposal for an addition to Hoyt Hall. It began with a strongly worded critique of the existing space. “With the exception of our basketball court, which is still one of the best in this area, the situation in the gymnasium is deplorable. Visiting team facilities just do not exist—our guests have to change their clothes on the balcony, on the stage, and in the crew room.” The booklet ended with a signed letter from Wickenden stating his hope to name this new wing after Roderick Beebe who “has served this school with rare devotion and with selfless dedication, unequaled by anyone anywhere.”

Plans for the Beebe Wing were soon scrapped due to “topographical and financial reasons,” but a viable alternative quickly emerged. Douglas Orr, an architect who had designed facilities for Brown, Princeton, and Yale, surveyed Tabor’s land in 1959 and declared that “any intelligent long-range planning would involve the use of the Allanach property for athletic buildings.” When the property became available for sale the following year, Tabor pounced.

In 1961, the Trustees published A Time of Decision, a report that outlined construction opportunities to commemorate the school’s 85th anniversary to be completed by the school’s Centennial in 1976. Citing a report from the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools that referred to the athletic facilities as “inadequate and obsolete,” they identified a new gym as the school’s top priority. Thanks to swift action and the generosity of alumni and friends, the Stone Gymnasium was completed in 1963 on the newly acquired Allanach property.

A Time of Decision laid the groundwork for several other projects that addressed glaring needs. “The existing upstairs assembly room in Hoyt Hall can accommodate less than two-thirds of the present student body,” the Trustees wrote. To address the need for larger meeting facilities, Wickenden Chapel was constructed in 1967. It was the first building sited on the former Luce property.

Other long-term projects to be completed by the school’s Centennial included a new academic center, a new music and arts center, and a building to house a new dormitory and dining hall. While plans for the latter were abandoned when the school renovated Lillard’s dining facilities to open the Johnson Dining Room in 1977, the academic and art centers would soon become active projects.

Picking up where A Time of Decision left off, the 1970 Master Campus Plan offered a sweeping vision for the development of the physical plant. It analyzed the current state of campus with striking granularity—a map labeled “existing vehicle circulation,” for example, indicated that Front Street averaged 114 cars per hour while Spring Street was quieter with 51—while outlining an equally detailed plan for the next three decades.

A new building “to consolidate teaching and administrative spaces” was the major near-term priority. The three buildings that the school received from the town swap were demolished in 1971, and ground broke on the new Academic Center shortly thereafter. A medium and long-term objective of the 1970 plan was “to eliminate off-campus housing and establish residential facilities on higher ground.” The Luce property would play a critical role in achieving this goal.

According to Hugh Stubbins, the architect who authored the 1970 Master Campus Plan, the overarching aim of all campus planning is “to create an atmosphere in which it is pleasant to live, to play, to study, and to be stimulating to both student and teacher.” Although many recommendations from Stubbins’s plan were never executed, like a six-lane swimming pool to be built behind Stone Gymnasium, many others were. The construction of the Braitmayer Art Center and the renovation of Hoyt Hall to include music and performing arts facilities were part of the plan. So too was the construction of a waterfront oceanography lab.

Living and Learning (1972-2011)

With its expanded footprint, Tabor focused on consolidating on-campus housing and constructing new buildings to improve the student experience in and outside the classroom. For Wickenden, the completion of the new Academic Center in 1972 was a major highlight in his remarkably productive tenure. He retired in 1976 after 34 years of service.

Tabor’s next two leaders, Peter Webster and Jay Stroud, oversaw a period of prolific building between 1976 and 2012. During their headships, the school built seven new dormitories, remodeled over 50 faculty apartments, and renovated or constructed virtually every core building that stands on campus today. While the 1970 plan continued to serve as a playbook for campus development, school leaders made new plans as necessary. The landmark return to coeducation in 1979, for instance, had been unforeseen in the 1970 plan.

In 1982, Webster and the Trustees announced a list of Decade Objectives aimed at “improving the overall quality of the school.” Increased funding for financial aid and the construction of a student center were among the top priorities. The return of female boarding students that year added to the already urgent demand for new housing and the expansion of existing facilities. This happily coincided with a major goal of the 1970 plan—a village of dormitories to be built in three phases over several decades on the former Luce property. Construction began in 1984 with William and Hitchcock Dormitories.

In 1985, the Advancement Office announced A Program for Tabor, a five-phase plan outlining strategic objectives for the coming decade. Among the priorities in the $22.5 million proposal were increased endowment funding, housing improvements, updated arts and athletic facilities, and a marine science center. Successful fundraising efforts allowed the school to act quickly. “This year Tabor’s campus has become alive with new development projects,” a Log reporter observed in the May 1987 issue. “There is the third new dorm being built [and] the art building addition,” he wrote, referencing Makepeace dorm and the new ceramics studio being added to the Braitmayer Art Center.  The completion of Heath House in 1999, joining the six other Spring Street residences, marked the realization of the long-term objective to build an upper-campus dormitory village.

Concurrent to the residential construction in the mid-1980s, the school’s athletic facilities once again became a focal point of campus planning. Hoyt Hall still featured a basketball court and other athletic spaces, but there was growing talk of replacing them and converting the building to a performing arts center. In light of this possibility, a 1986 report concluded, the Stone Gymnasium should be renovated and expanded. “This addition would include a gymnastics/multipurpose room, weight room, and four squash courts along with additional storage and support areas. A second addition is also being recommended between the Stone Gym and the Johnson Arena.”

Following Headmaster Webster’s 1987 announcement of plans for a two million dollar expansion of Hoyt Hall, newly appointed Headmaster Stroud announced plans to move forward with the project in 1988. “This constitutes a major step in achieving the desirable balance of academic, athletic, cultural, and extra-curricular programs and opportunities at Tabor,” he wrote in a letter that November. The Fireman Performing Arts Center was finished in 1991. The building’s original Tudor-revival exterior was replaced with an updated shingle style, and the former gym space was converted to a 650-seat auditorium that elevated the school’s theater program while creating a dignified venue to host world-class performers.

With the completion of one major project, the school set its sights on another. A 1993 Facilities Master Plan identified the Stone Gym renovation as a top priority. Other key items from this plan included flood-proofing the campus, converting the library to a student center, and creating a recycling center. Plans for the new gymnasium featured many aspects of the 1986 report, including a multipurpose field house and designs for enclosing the Johnson Arena. A new health center would also be part of the project, as the school's infirmary was previously located in what is now Baxter House dormitory. The new health center promised to create an efficient space that, according to a 1998 Advancement brochure, “will place Tabor at the forefront of community health and wellness.”

The Fish Center for Health and Athletics was unveiled in 1999. It was a transformative building that altered the face of campus and elevated the student experience. Beyond its impact on athletics, it became a hub of school life. The modernized Beebe Grill was relocated to its current perch above the hockey rink, offering a vibrant spot to grab a snack and socialize.

Not to be overlooked during this period of robust campus development were several upgrades to the school’s academic facilities. Building on the success of the pioneering waterfront Schaefer Oceanology Laboratory, which was dedicated in 1995, the construction of the Marine and Nautical Science Center in 2005 capitalized on Tabor’s unique location to offer unprecedented learning opportunities. As part of a broader commitment to strengthening science education at Tabor, the LEED-certified Math and Science Wing was completed in 2007 as an addition to the Academic Center. Its upgraded lab facilities featured integrated technology and expanded classroom space that allowed students and teachers to pursue hands-on learning in a state-of-the-art environment.   

Community Life (2011-Present Day)

In 2011, architect and alum Will Saltonstall ’82 presented a new Facilities Master Plan to Tabor’s Trustees. Saltonstall has been instrumental in designing many school buildings over the past three decades, including the Fish Center and the Math and Science Wing. His master plan followed a holistic process by cataloging the school’s existing facilities, identifying future goals, and mapping out a long-term strategy for achieving them.

Significant academic and athletic upgrades resulted from this planning. In 2011, the entrance of the Academic Center was remodeled and the building’s name was changed to honor Headmaster Stroud. The G. Richard Duffy ’56 Athletic Fields were dedicated that same year. The rubberized turf was a boon to the soccer, football, baseball, field hockey, and lacrosse teams. In 2014, the crew program was the beneficiary of an indoor rowing facility that would make most college teams envious. In addition to these facilities, the school has also focused its recent construction efforts on strengthening its residential life program.    

Tabor’s two newest dorms, Matsumura House and Cornelia Hall, were built with a focus on using physical structures to fortify communal bonds. Their open floor plans foster interaction by offering central spaces for students to study and mingle. On a much larger scale, the Travis Roy Campus Center will emulate this dynamic by providing the entire community with a beautiful space to work, play, and eat. For a more detailed look at the Campus Center, read A New Center Piece.

In many ways, Tabor’s campus today is unrecognizable from the school Elizabeth Taber founded on Academy Lane. The location has changed, along with the structures that define the institution. These physical modifications reflect how the school has grown and evolved throughout its history. Tabor may look dramatically different from its earliest days, but as it prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary, its commitment to its students and its mission has remained steadfast. The fact that the new Campus Center is sited exactly where Arthur Shurcliff’s first master plan envisioned a grand building to mirror Lillard Hall is a poetic reminder of how the school’s future will always connect to its past.

View more photos from Tabor's transformation.