British Pavilion

Before Bixby Hall was built in 1926, Washington University's of School of Fine Arts was housed in the British Pavilion, a structure originally created for the 1904 World's Fair. Modeled after an orangery by Christopher Wren, the Pavilion embodied the University's early reliance on borrowed architectural forms. While temporary, it gave the School of Fine Arts its first dedicated home and a sense of visibility on campus, laying the groundwork for Bixby's later role as a lasting space for student creativity and community.