BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech opened up Norris Hall, site of 31 of the 33 shooting deaths April 16, to the media for the first time since the shootings today.

In two tours, media members from more than 20 news outlets walked down the hallways and in the classrooms on the west wing of the building’s second floor where Seung-Hui Cho killed 30 people and himself. The entire wing was coated with fresh white paint and new tiles. There were no signs that it was the site of a shooting less than two months ago.

Forty-nine media members were signed up Thursday morning for two tours. Media entered through the door that police attempted to enter during the shootings. That door was chained shut from the inside, preventing them from entering when they responded to the shootings in April.

Tech also gave tours of some of the research labs located on the building’s first floor. The university cited the importance of the work done in those labs in explaining its decision last week to open the building.