Japanese Tea House

From CNUpedia, an IEEE Innovation.

CNU was once the proud home to a Japanese Tea House, now removed to another location. It was housed in the woody area west of York River West. Before the valiant efforts of Ms. Koch rescued it, one might have speculated that the university was going to destroy the building, and if not, that errant students would progressively damage it along with animal denizens. For a time, it was not even fit for habitation due to its state of ruin. The fact that it has not been kept somewhere within grounds suggests a deeper significance than is at first obvious. The following notes in part derive from one of Ms. Koch's flyers:

1 Historic Timeline
2 Followup
- 2.1 See also
- 2.2 Did You Know?

[edit]

Historic Timeline

Oct. 1988 - Jan. 1989 - National Gallery of Art exhibit Japan: The Shaping of the Daimyo culture, 1185-1686
The Exhibit ran from October 30, 1988 - January 23, 1989
Gov. Gerald L. Baliles visits Tea House and learns its fate. "It occurred to me that the...Tea House belonged in Virginia."
Gov. Baliles lobbies for the Tea House's relocation to then Christopher Newport College.
Christopher Newport College was chosen as the site for the tea house due to its Japanese Studies Program which featured courses ranging from Japanese arts,culture, and business management to Japanese language.
Feb. 1989 - Christopher Newport College Board of Visitors accepts the Tea House, but will not finance its relocation with school funds.
Fundraising by area corporations raises over $700,000 to cover the $600,000 bill for its relocation; excess money went toward site preparation. The $600,000 was made up of $300,000 from American companies in the Tidewater area and the other $300,000 was from the Japanese businesses in the Tidewater area. By today's standards the total cost would be closer to $1 million.
June 7, 1989 - Construction begins on campus of Christopher Newport College.
September 20, 1989 - Dedication of the Tea House on campus of Christopher Newport College.
The Tea House had a pleasant life on the campus for several years. Tea ceremonies were held there each spring, and people could purchase Japanese tea there year round. This is the predecessor to Einstein's. Though Tea Ceremonies are still held, they are no longer held in the tea house, but in the Student Center.
In December of 2003, the gates to the Tea House were reopened for a TheaterCNU production of the first act of "Waiting for Godot" by Samuel Beckett.

[edit]

Followup

As stated in an email from Ms. Koch,

Dear Tea House Mailing List Members,
A dream has become realized for myself and others. In a matter of days CNU's beautiful tea house is going to its new home where it will remain, and be available to all to visit. The process and hard work of individuals such as William Brauer, Newport News Parks, and numerous others was inspiring. These individuals are responsible for preserving a true monument. The City of Newport News will finally be moving the Tea House to Newport News Park on Monday, December 19th. The contractor doing the move is asking to start the lifting of the structure as early as Thursday. They will block up the structure to allow the flat bed to back under the Tea House. The move itself will occur at 1:00 am on Monday, December 19th.

At some point, the Tea House was removed from the campus. It is gone.

[edit]