5 Photographs of Eagle Landing Before It Was a Residence Hall
Not many photographs exist of Eagle Lodging pre-1990s, but one image of the hotel from this distinguished era remains. Seen here is an image of The Washington suite, which at the time served as the chief business suite for companies. Decorated with colonial-inspired pieces, the Washington suite was the prize of the hotel. The Washington Suite comfortably fit up to eight guests and had a full kitchen. The suite also included a small board room with a wet bar for visitors to use. 
Eagle Lodging underwent a minor remodeling in the 1990s. Mainly focusing on surface work and interior design updates, the remodel brought life back into the lounge areas of the hotel. Redesigned with the intent of giving guests a space to work, these lounge spaces also served as overflow or activity space for visiting conferences or events. 
The 1990s remodel also gave a much-needed facelift to the hotel’s conference rooms. This remodel added air conditioning to all conference rooms and added private lounge spaces, like the one seen above. These lounge spaces served were ideal for business cocktail hours or networking events. Modern updates like these kept the hotel afloat throughout the 1990s. 
The bar, which remained untouched throughout Eagle Lodging’s many remodels, served as a watering hole for the traveling businessman and guests. Over the years, the bar grew many fierce regulars and even created a line of signature drinks. Unfortunately, when the University of Mary Washington bought the space this centerpiece was removed. Not all may be lost, as the space that once held the bar has been turned into the University’s glass-enclosed rotunda, a space that is still used for social gatherings. Veeresh Malik/Flickr/CC Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic 
This final image is one of the last photographs of Eagle Lodging before the University of Mary Washington bought the property in 2007. Eagle Lodging underwent its final remodel in 2006. In 2006 many rooms were converted to the setup seen above. This interesting room design, nicknamed the 3-in-1 room, featured a Queen bed and a significantly smaller Twin bed. The hotel initially designed these rooms with odd-numbered traveling parties in mind, however, the design was ill-conceived and became a heavy drawback to the hotel. Sean MacEntee/Flickr/CC Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic
Long before it housed University of Mary Washington students, Eagle Landing was a locally-run hotel called Eagle Lodging. Eagle Lodging, which opened in 1965 shortly after the opening of the nearby Giant, served as a mecca for businessmen plying their trade on the Route 1 corridor. Because of its easy access to the highway, Eagle Lodging often hosted large conferences. Consequently, to accommodate hosting conferences the rooms were designed to hold parties of guests rather than couples. Through many remodels, the rooms in Eagle Lodging became even more suited for hosting businesses and eventually included conference rooms for holding small, personal meetings.
Burdened by debt from the 2006 remodel and early signs of a recession beginning to loom, business at the hotel began to decline from 2006-2007. After many attempts to stay afloat, in 2007 Eagle Lodging closed its doors permanently. Concurrently, the University of Mary Washington was facing a housing crisis and in desperate need of housing for 100 students. The University, faced with an unexpected opportunity to expand its land next to campus, bought the closed hotel. With the work of some emergency grounds and housing staff, the hotel overnight became fit for housing the displaced students. The following year the hotel was renovated by UMW and renamed Eagle Landing. Almost 10 years later, Eagle Landing has become one of the University of Mary Washington’s premiere residence halls, despite its strange beginning as a hotel for traveling businessmen.
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