Travel

Location

THATCamp will be held in the Research 1 building at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. The Center for History and New Media is located on the fourth floor of the Research 1 building. This Campus Map and the Google Map below shows you the location of Research 1: in the southeast quadrant of campus across York River Road from the Sandy Creek Shenandoah Parking Deck and across Patriot Circle from the Aquatic Center. UPDATE 6/1: For some reason the Sandy Creek Parking Deck has been renamed the Shenandoah Parking Deck. Be advised. Fortunately, it is only the signifier that has shifted: the signified deck itself remains in the same place.

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Hotels

Mason Inn

We have reserved a block of hotel rooms for THATCampers at the Mason Inn at a special conference rate of $99. The Mason Inn is located on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University. UPDATE 5/13: The Mason Inn is now full (though you can call them at 703-865-5705 and mention THATCamp to check if anyone has canceled). Parking at the Mason Inn is free for registered guests.

Residence Inn Fair Lakes Fairfax

We have also reserved a block of rooms at the Residence Inn Fair Lakes Fairfax for a reduced rate of $85 (which includes breakfast and Internet). To get the conference rate, use this reservation link (room type: Studio Suite; group code: THATHAA) or call 1-888-236-2427 and ask for the 2011 THATCamp at the Residence Inn Fair Lakes Fairfax before May 31. The Residence Inn is a little further away from the GMU campus, but it is right on a CUE bus line.

For other hotels, see also GMU’s Local Hotel Information. If you’d like to share a room, feel free to post a request for a roommate to the THATCamp blog or to Twitter with the hashtag #thatcamp.

Getting to George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus

See GMU’s page of Directions for general transportation options to the Fairfax Campus. You can fly in to Dulles (IAD), which is the closest to GMU, or to Reagan (DCA), which has a Metro stop. Another alternative is the Baltimore airport (BWI). From any airport, you can reserve space on the SuperShuttle to your hotel or to GMU campus; the cost from the closer airports will be about $15. You can also take the train in to downtown Washington’s Union station and take the Metro from there to the Vienna stop; see below for directions from the Vienna metro.

Getting to the Center for History and New Media by car

From Washington via I-66W, take exit 60 at Route 123 South, Chain Bridge Road. Follow Route 123 through the City of Fairfax, and turn left at Braddock Road. Take your first left onto Roanoke River Road. Bear right at the fork in the road onto Patriot Circle. Follow Patriot Circle around past the Aquatic Center and turn left at Sandy Creek Way into the Sandy Creek Shenandoah Parking Deck. See the Campus Parking Map to locate the Sandy Creek Shenandoah Parking Deck. Parking in any GMU deck costs $3 per hour or $12 per day on both weekdays and weekends. The Research 1 building is just across the drive, and the Center for History and New Media is on the fourth floor.

Getting to the Center for History and New Media by public transportation

The closest Metro station to the Center for History and New Media is the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU station at the end of the Orange line. You can take the free Metro to Mason shuttle (which also runs Mason to Metro) or the CUE Bus (which costs $1.70 without a GMU ID) from the Vienna station to George Mason University. Note that the Metro to Mason shuttle does not run on Saturday and Sunday. On Friday, however, you can take the Metro to Mason shuttle to the Sandy Creek stop and look for the nearby Research 1 building. The CUE Bus runs on both Saturdays and Sundays, but be warned that the bus does not run early enough on Sundays to get you to GMU before 10am. Any CUE bus, Green or Gold, 1 or 2, will drop you off at the north side of the GMU campus, a fair distance from CHNM in the Research 1 building. Follow the sidewalk from the CUE bus’s GMU stop south, past the clock tower, and continue walking south until you arrive at the Research 1 building on your left.

If you would rather take a cab, try Fairfax County Taxicab: call 703-722-0710 or reserve online; you will certainly need to call ahead for a cab. Remember, too, that you can post a request for a ride on Twitter with the hashtag #thatcamp or even on the blog.