Main House: Marymount’s Iconic Mansion

Marymount’s iconic portico.

By: Betsy Lizotte. Photos: Betsy Lizotte

Every summer, hundreds of prospective Marymount students visit the campus and begin their tour at Marymount’s Main House. According to Marymount alumnus and Admissions Counselor, Destiny Welch, over 300 registered visitors toured the campus in summer of 2017. Welch feels that Main House is important to have as the first stop because it shows Marymount’s history.

“This is where our original class of 13 students studied and lived,” said Welch. “Showing the Main House first on tour adds a significance to where we started and how we have expanded throughout the years.”

Intricate designs and
columns in the Main House

Since it was built in 1920, Main House has had a colorful history. According to a 2013 pamphlet titled, “Marymount University Main House (Rixey Mansion),” the white-columned structure was built by Rear Admiral Presley Marion Rixey between 1919 and 1920.

Rixey was the private surgeon to two presidents, President William McKinley and his successor, President Theodore Roosevelt. According to Dr. Mark Benbow, Assistant Professor for History and Politics, President Roosevelt often came to Marymount to ride horses with Rixey.

According to an architectural report conducted by Marymount students, after Rixey’s death in 1928, the mansion was leased out, most notably to the Secretary of the German Embassy in 1933. In 1936, Mrs. Ida Polen and Mrs. Lola Pattie bought the mansion, with twelve acres, from the Rixey estate. The two ladies operated a Tea House inside the mansion.

Finally, in 1948, the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM), in conjunction with Bishop Ireton of the Richmond Catholic Diocese, bought the mansion with the goal of opening a college for women.

When Marymount began, Main House was a residence hall. In her autobiography, College To University: A Memoir, Sister (Sr.) M. Majella Berg, RSHM, explains that Marymount University began as a high school. According to Sr. Berg, in 1948, the school opened with 13 female students.

What the Main House looks
like during the winter holidays

Sister (Sr.) Jackie Murphy, the last remaining RSHM on Marymount campus, remembers that the nuns were also housed in Main House, above the chapel. “People call it a convent, but it’s not,” she said. “It’s called a residence – it’s a dorm. It’s got a lovely living room. And all the rooms are connected,” said Sr. Murphy.

In 1949 the school added elementary grades 1-8, and in 1950, Marymount Junior College of Virginia began teaching female college students in Ireton Hall. Many of the nuns served as teachers and later as Residence Assistants. Sister Murphy still lives upstairs in the old dormitory.

According to the Main House pamphlet and the architectural report, Rixey personally supervised the construction of the original mansion. The plans included the current ionic columns that support the front entrance’s long portico. Photos of the columned portico are the centerpiece of Marymount’s website and other marketing material.

Faculty and students alike feel that main House is the icon representing Marymount University. When asked about his views of Main House, Benbow stated that Main House “stands in as a symbol for the whole campus.”

Marymount senior and Student Ambassador, Alisa Talbert, feels that Main House is “our mini White House.” Talbert likes that Main House has been kept in its historic state. “I like that we keep the historical aspect of the University although we are always evolving and growing. I like that we keep the building there as a remembrance that we are in Washington DC and that is the best visual representation of the University.”

The grand staircase
in Main House

Along with the iconic ionic columns of the portico, Rixey personally oversaw the construction of the grand staircase. Made of North Carolina pine and quartered oak, the grand staircase is the focal point of Main House upon entering. The staircase’s handrails are made of gleaming birch and they curve, like the inside of a conch shell, at the bottom stair.

This grand staircase brings back memories to Sr. Murphy. “And those stairs,” she said, “They were very important in the life of Marymount because everything took place here.” She especially remembers how the stairs held a prominent place during the Snow Balls of the 1950s and 1960s when Marymount was still a women’s only college.

According to Sr. Murphy, young men who were invited to Marymount to escort Marymount students to the Marymount Snow Ball, would report to Main Hall to call for their Marymount dates.

“The gentlemen were invited here and the girls came down from upstairs. And they all met in front of the stairs. And the young men would come and tell the sisters, ‘so-and-so is my date,’ and the nuns would call upstairs for the specific girl. The girl would come down and meet the boy. So everything happened in this home. The stairs were very special,” said Sr. Murphy.

The grand staircase is still special. When new students visit Main House their tour begins at the foot of the majestic staircase, just inside Main House’s towering front vestibule.

Marymount Lacrosse coach, John Reynolds, starts all of his campus tours on that spot. Reynolds conducts 30-40 tours for prospective players each year. He feels that Main House is a great place to begin Marymount campus tours both because the building is ancient and because it gives a chance to meet President (Dr.) Shank.

“I like it because of how old it is and I think it has a lot of character,” said Reynolds. “Now that Dr. Shank’s offices are upstairs it sometimes allows the opportunity to catch him in passing which is huge during one of the visits,” he said.

From the University Admission’s perspective, having President Shank’s office in Main House is another great reason to begin campus tours in the iconic building.

“Whenever we have a prospective student on tour, [Dr. Shank] consistently takes time out of his day to meet and connect with them,” Welch said.

Tours for students begin here,
in front of the grand staircase

Main House currently contains the offices of the University President, the Office of Advancement/Development and Alumni Relations. According to President Shank, six years ago these three offices were located at the bottom of the hill in Rowley Hall. President Shank feels that having his office in Main House is more accessible and inviting.

“It’s a much more attractive setting to talk about plans. It’s going to be more enjoyable for someone who wants to come see me to see me in this office, in this setting, instead of trying to figure out where Rowley hall is,” said President Shank.

Aside from the grand staircase, there are several other features in the mansion that make it a memorable setting. For example, President Shank admires the woodwork. “It’s spectacular,” he said. The fireplace is ornately carved and there is a beautiful molding around the chandelier in the dining room to the left of the grand staircase.

President Shank stated that many people comment on the size and weight of the pocket doors leading into the dining room. “That is a massive door,” said President Shank, “It’s pretty easy to look at that and see what kind of craftsmanship there was back in the day.”

Another feature inside the mansion are the paintings on the walls. One painting, of a country setting, to the right of the grand

Sister Murphy’s favorite
Bucolic painting

staircase, was a painting from Sr. Murphy’s home in New York, from before she became a nun.

“The picture on the wall here came from my home. It’s a bucolic picture. It must be close to a hundred years old,” said Sr. Murphy. Every time she looks at the picture, it brings back memories and strikes her as unusual. “There’s just something about that picture,” she said. “It always attracted me.”

Some of the most interesting features are not readily noticeable. For example, according to President Shank, there is a secret passageway leading from Main House to the chapel.

“Another thing people don’t realize is that the chapel is attached to the main house,” said President Shank, “so that you can go from one place to another without going outside – if you know the secret way,” President Shank laughed, then smiled, “It’s not all that secret,” he said. “But a lot of people don’t even realize that right behind the altar there’s an opening. So if I’m going to mass, I just go straight through that door. And then when I need to go back to the office I just go through the little door behind the altar, and people wonder ‘where’s he going?’”

The sitting room

Another hidden feature of Main House is the dumbwaiter. In the 1930s, when the mansion was a teahouse, the dining room was to the right of the grand staircase.

“And in that room there, there is a an old thing called a dumbwaiter, nonfunctional now, but that was where they had the dining room for the inn. When you come in the front door you go to the right and the dining room is that way,” said Sr. Murphy. Today, the dining room is to the left of the front door.

Main House is often used as a venue for functions. The main floor contains many rooms suitable to formal functions, including the main hall, the dining room, and several sitting rooms.

“The Main House provides a welcoming and intimate area to hold special events or ceremonies,” said alumnus Welch. “In 2012, as a member of the Women’s Basketball team, we had the honor of holding our Capital Athletic Conference Championship ring

ceremony in the Main House,” she said.

The dining room’s
chandelier and fireplace

President Shank often hosts dignitaries or lecturers for lunch or dinner before the speakers walk over to Reinsch Auditorium. President Shank has dined with a variety of notable guests in Main House.

“Several delegations from Hungary, royalty from Saudi Arabia, and lecturers will have dinner here first and then we will walk over to the library, to give their speech in the auditorium,” said President Shank.

“Congressmen have been here: Don Beyer, and Jim Moran before [him], have come for dinners and lunches. We had Charles Lindbergh’s daughter here. She is an author who came to speak at the University,” President Shank said.

Marymount’s Main House is an iconic landmark, filled with history and interesting features. As a storied emblem of the university, it is and will continue to be a wonderful reminder of the history and growth of Marymount University. While its past is filled with special events, it continues to serve many purposes, including a starting point for campus visits and a meeting place for special events and dignitaries.