George Mason University’s four main campuses feature signature buildings and spaces that have become recognizable landmarks for all within the George Mason community.
Roger Wilkins Plaza
The central plaza of George Mason University's Fairfax campus is named for famed civil rights leader, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and former Robinson Professor of History and American Culture Roger Wood Wilkins. Visitors to the plaza stroll past and contemplate the significance of dialogue between past, present, and future as they read the words of the memorials and monuments located there.
We have no hope of solving our problems without harnessing the diversity, the energy, and the creativity of all our people.” - Roger Wilkins
George Mason Statue
The George Mason statue was dedicated on April 12, 1996. Created by Wendy M. Ross, the seven-and-a-half-foot statue shows George Mason presenting his first draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which was later the basis for the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights. Beside George Mason is a model of a writing table that is still in the study at Gunston Hall, Mason’s Virginia estate. The books on the table—volumes of Hume, Locke, and Rousseau—represent influences in his thought. The statue was refurbished during the renovation of Wilkins Plaza.
Mason Korea's George
Did you know Mason Korea also has a statue of our namesake? In 2019, the Mason Korea Parents' Association presented the campus with the gift of the likeness of George Mason. Unlike the Fairfax statue, this version holds a book in his outstretched hand; its pages inscribed with the George Mason University Alma Mater.
Enslaved People of Mason Memorial
The Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial honors two of the more than 100 people enslaved at Mason’s home of Gunston Hall, a 10-year-old girl named Penny, and James, Mason’s manservant. It's designed to convey the hidden voices of the enslaved, the traditional voice of George Mason, and a space designed for visitors to reflect and share their voices. The plaza and memorial were designed by Perkins & Will.
The George Mason Clock
The iconic Mason clock, a gift to the university from the Class of 1999, sits at the center of the expanded Wilkins Plaza next to Horizon Hall. The clock was refurbished in 2020, adding digital components to ensure the accuracy of the clock at all times.
Horizon Hall
The six-floor, 218,000-square-foot building is the centerpiece of the Core Campus Project that has transformed the center of the Fairfax Campus, along with renovations to Harris Theatre, installation of a new green space and meditation garden, and an upgrade to the university’s utility infrastructure.
| Classrooms: |
|---|
| • Sized to accommodate 27-120 students • Equipped for video collaboration and instruction • Glass enclosed, open to natural light and interior spaces |
| Outdoor Spaces: |
| • Spiral meditation garden with sustainable plantings • Terraced amphitheater for student gatherings and casual discussions • Expanded and re-envisioned Wilkins Plaza |
| Harris Theatre: |
| • Upgraded lobby and front facade • Renovated to become a standalone facility |
Arboretum
The George Mason University Arboretum is distributed across 900+ acres of the university’s campus sites in Northern Virginia. It was established in 2015 and earned ArbNet Level II accreditation in 2021. Plants are labeled with interactive signs, each with a QR code that links to the website entry for that unique species on the Arboretum website.
The Redoubt at Farr’s Cross Roads
On October 7, 2022, George Mason University dedicated a Virginia historic site and celebrated the university–community partnership that helped preserve it. Just off Parking Lot K on the Fairfax Campus is a redoubt, an earthen fortification, which was one of three constructed by Confederate troops along Braddock Road in 1861. The nearby intersection of Braddock and Route 123 dates back to the 1700s, and has long been a vital part of travel in Virginia.
The preservation and interpretation of this site is the result of a partnership between George Mason and the Bull Run Civil War Roundtable, which began in 2016. The Roundtable and Mason’s Department of History and Art History submitted materials about the site to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to get the site on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.
Fuse at Mason Square
Fuse at Mason Square is a technology-forward building that will be a catalyst for digital innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs to collaborate and thrive. It will house a mix of university R&D and related education programs, as well as corporate innovation labs, incubators, accelerators, and co-working facilities. Fuse will incorporate state of the art smart and green building technologies, as well as advanced cyberinfrastructure essential to advance the digital innovation goals of thousands of university, industry and community innovators who will use Fuse facilities. Fuse's construction will meet high sustainability goals including high performance energy criteria consistent with the goals of the Arlington County community.