Wheeling architect Charles Bates designed this heavy Beaux-Arts–cum–Georgian Revival brick building, which is fronted by a massive limestone portico. The frieze that continues across the long facade contains the names of figures important in the history of jurisprudence. An “attic” story, seemingly contained within a parapet above the entablature, and dormer windows above it give a curiously top-heavy effect. The side elevations are embellished with handsome tripartite windows topped with blind arches that contain sculptured renditions of the West Virginia state seal. Colson was built to house the law school, the university's oldest professional school. Renovated in 1979–1980, it now contains an undergraduate library, along with the university's state and regional history collections.