How to Tour Lawrence Academy

Founded in 1793, Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts, boasts attractive Federal-style buildings surrounding a central quad. Any tour of Lawrence Academy should begin in the quad and take in its four impressive cupolas. From there, the tour can branch outward to the newer buildings.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Learn about Lawrence Academy's past at the schoolhouse, which was one of the school's earliest classroom buildings. Located on one side of the Quad, the schoolhouse is now home to Lawrence Academy's administrative offices, admissions office, school store and some classrooms.
2. Visit the Ansin Academic Building, a 33,000-square-foot classroom building abutting the central quad. Notice that this building conforms to the Federal style of the other Quad buildings and that it's roof is topped with a cupola that stands higher than any other point on campus.
3. Inspect the studio art facilities and the student center in the Gray Building, which abuts the central quad. The Williams Art Center makes up part of this building, and visitors can examine its state-of-the-art studio spaces and photography center. McNeil Lounge, a popular student center, occupies another part of the Gray Building.
4. Walk around the McDonald Library in the Ferguson Center on the fourth side of the central quad. The Ferguson Center also houses Lawrence Academy's main theater space and other peripheral theater spaces.
5. Tour the athletic facilities at the Stone Athletic Center, a building that honors Lawrence Academy's dedication to equal-opportunity athletics. Built to provide equivalent athletic facilities for female and male athletes, the building includes gymnasium spaces, weight rooms, locker rooms and a climbing wall. Visitors can also view the photographs, trophies and plaques of successful Lawrence Academy athletes and their achievements.
6. Stop by the Madigan Student Center, one of the most intriguing buildings on campus. Designed through a collaboration of students and a professional architect, the building's unusual appearance embodies a creative and imaginative spirit. The school snack bar is in the Madigan Student Center, and some student activities take place here.
7. Visit some of the school's 10 dormitories. Most of the dormitories were once traditional New England homes, and all have been fully modernized. Bigelow Hall, Lawrence Academy's original dormitory, houses 18 students and has fully restored marble interiors. Elm Tree Hall is another of Lawrence Academy's unusual buildings. Visitors are often intrigued by its grand "cathedral-like" foyer, its remarkably wide hallways and the dormitory rooms that radiate from common student areas.