April 9, 2003 — Reynolda House Museum of American Art breaks ground on the new 33,000-square-foot Babcock Wing. From left to right: Mary Louise Burress, Henry Jordan, Barbara Babcock Millhouse, Mayor Allen Joines, and Ed Wilson.
Winston-Salem Journal , Sunday, June 6, 2004.
In the spring of 2003, Reynolda House embarked on its first major construction effort since Mary Reynolds Babcock transformed its basement and grounds in the 1930s. On April 9, 2003, we broke ground on the Mary and Charlie Babcock Wing. The education and exhibition wing included a new visitor center, orientation gallery, video, audio guides, oral history stations, museum store, 2,900-square-foot changing exhibition gallery, two-level auditorium with retractable seating for 190 people, art library, education studios, and expanded office, art, and collections storage space. 
Barbara Babcock Millhouse at the dedication of the Mary and Charlie Babcock Wing, April 13, 2005.
The addition doubled the square footage of Reynolda House and sits behind the the guest house built by the Babcocks in the 1930s. By design, this striking addition to Reynolda's landscape, serves as a compliment to the historic home built in 1917. The wing was designed so that is barely visible when visitors approach from the parking areas on the south side of the house. Architect Beyer Blinder Belle said that he wants visitors to experience the house first and to see the addition as a separate experience.
The Babcock Gallery's first exhibition Vanguard Collecting: American Art at Reynolda House , April 2005.

The Babcock Wing also included an Orientation Gallery and video, seen here in 2008. Ken Bennett/WFU.
The Mary and Charlie Babcock Wing officially opened to the public on April 1, 2005 along with the addition of 10 newly restored rooms in the historic house including our sun porches, breakfast room, and library.
Visitors in record numbers awaiting entry to Ansel Adams: Eloquent Light on view in the Mary and Charlie Babcock Wing, April 2016.
Since 2005, we've welcomed nearly 400,000 visitors from around the world to see some of the most well-known names in American art including Diane Arbus, Romare Bearden, Grandma Moses, Grant Wood, Ansel Adams, and Georgia O'Keeffe.

This summer, Reynolda will expand its interpretation beyond the walls of the 2005 wing to your mobile device! The new Reynolda Revealed app will launch this summer at our free June 2 Community Day and will take visitors through the history and art at Reynolda. We hope you'll join us for this exciting digital expansion!