Our large format division, Worth Wide, worked with Virginia Union University to produce banners for their 150th anniversary. Virginia Union University (VUU), based in Richmond, Virginia, is one of the oldest historically black colleges and universities in the United States.
VUU’s campus is home to some of the oldest and most interesting pieces of architecture in the country. One of the 150-year anniversary banners that Worth Wide produced hangs on a building that has a very interesting history. Victor Bourgeois and Leo Stijnen, under the instruction of one of the most important architects of the 20th century, Hubert Van Kuyck, originally designed the Belgian Friendship Building for the country of Belgium.
Belgian Friendship Building Banner
The building was originally dubbed the Belgian Pavilion and was exhibited at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. The building was supposed to be reconstructed at a Belgian University following the fair. However, in 1940, Nazi occupation of Belgium made it too risky to ship it in the midst of World War II.
As a result, the Belgian government sponsored a competition to determine the building’s new home. VUU won the competition and the building was reconstructed on their campus in 1941. The building now serves as VUU’s gymnasium. Click here to learn more about the Belgian Friendship Building.
Worth Higgins & Associates is very proud to be a part of the production for banners hanging on such an interesting building, especially during Virginia Union University’s 150th anniversary.
Belgian Friendship Building in 1942 from the Richmond Times Dispatch Archive
