TUESDAY- FERRUARY - 22.- 1955 =M== Building Boom Started in 1855 An old - barn and siveral.‘hacks composed the campus in 1855, two years before the first students enrolled. By the time the 69 students arrived in 1859, the original Old Main was standing. It was a plain but substantial build ing of magnesium limestone. The structure was 240 feet in length, 80 feet in width, and five stories high. It housed everything from classrooms to dormitories. Between 1882 and. the Common Wealth. approp riated ' sev eral hundred t h ousan d dollars for buildings and maintenance,: and in 1895, the - University 'ranked as one of the great technical insti tutions in the country. ' • • One of the first 'structures to be ,erected after the • first • Old Main was the Mechanical Arts building. The edifice, built . in 1885; had floor space of over two acres. • . . During the school year. 1888-9, the Armory was finished. The building was used for a drill hall and a gymnasium. A . year later, a chemistry arid physics building and the Womans' Building were erected. " In the early 1890's, several ad ditions were 'made to the campus. These indlude.the old Engineering building (1891), and Sparks and Hillcrest Cottages (1892): • Miring - the school term 1896-7, the ,Obelisk, constructed of Penn sylvania building s t o e s, -was erected. Soon after the turn. of the , cen tury, Schwab Auditorium (1902), Carnegie Library (1903),. and Mc- Allister Hall. (1904) were added to the ever-growing campus.- • Both .Schwab a n d Carnegie were built. ,of' buff brick and in, the Roman style. At first Carnegie served as a library.. McAllister, also of buff brick, was .used; for dormitory purPoses' for some 600 students and faculty. ' • In • the following two decades, Our Football Team was young once BT ED DUMIS 1905-25; many additions and an nexes. were made. The main ad ditions were: the Agricultural Building (1906), the recently re named Weaver Building 11.914), the r ane (how Textile Chemistry) and the Liberal Arts (now Sparks) buildings (1915-6), and Watts Hall (19234). During the school yeUr 1928-9, five additions were made •to the University. They are: Recreation Hall, Infirmary, sheep barn, .Vet erinary Hospital, and Brooder House. In the 'following two years the following edifices were erected: Main Engineering, Grange Dormi tory, Botany (nOw Buckhout) , and Pond' Laboratories, Old Main was rebuilt, Mineral Industries, and the Power Plant (remodeled a year later for the Petroleum Re fining Laboratory). ' The school term 1937-8 saw many additions. They were: Frances Atherton Hall, Mar y Beaver White 'Hall, wing to 'Min eral Industries; the central unit to Sparks ' Building, .Burrowes Building, Pattee Library ! Frear Laboratory, and the Electrical En- . gineering, Agricultural ,ENgineer ing, and Porestry , buildings. Five _ new dorms Hami4on, Thompson, McKee, Simmons,' and McElwain—, higblighted the ad ditibrip of the • 40's.. -With the oncoming opening of the Hetzel•7Union Building, the brief . history of architecture is brought up to date. • Suit after ahundred years—one Can sit back and be mighty proud of his many accomplishments. We're glad tb t Penn State has now reached that point. And we, of the Penn State Diner are proud 'of the 'University, and the stu dents and faculty. We're glad, and even honored, to have been a part .of the growth and success of the Univer sity. l 4 DAILY COLLEGIAN STATE COLLEGE PENNSYLVANtA Morrill Act . Infused Life In University Sixty-nine colleges and uni versities-.of which the Univer sity was one of the first—pro claim themselves "land-grant" institutions. These schools fall receive reve nue from a grant of public lands by the United States govern ment, a grant that heralded a new era in democratic educa tion. The lands were allocated in the Morrill Act of 1862 for the endowment and support of col leges that would teach "agricul ture, and the mechanic arts" and promote "the liberal and practi cal education of the industrial classes." Up to that time, higher educa tion had been reserved primarily for the wealthy, and it was based largely on classical studies, of Latin and Greek. Now education wa. shaped to the needs of the vommon man. The -teaching- of agriculture was specifically set forth -as' one of the aims of the Mrrill Act. But at the time that /President Abraham Lincoln signed the measure into law, only three states--Pennsylvania, Maryland and Michigan—had schools of agriculture: ' Pennsylvania's representative, founded seven years previously, was the Agricultural College •of' Pennsylvania. It had been re nathed• May 8, 1862, -from the Farmers' High School by its Board of Trustees in anticipation ;Of the 'passage of ,the Act. Indeed, the trustees and other 'friends 1 . gig school are credited , with splaying an Important role in ..aecuriug passage of the bill. ", Frederick Watts, first president of the Board, said: "The trustees Looked uriowthis act of Congress as almost the work of their awn hands---as-an endowment of their jOstitgtion." Typical o their efforts in be- Justin S. Morrill Authors Land Grant Act half , of the land grant was the fact that m 1859 when• President Buchanan vetoed the first Mor rill Act passed by Congress, members went to •Washington in a body to plead for approval of the measure. Their efforts bore fruit when the bill was re-introduced in 1861 and approved by Lincoln July 2, 1862. Under ,provisions of the Act, Pennsylvania was entitled to 780,000 acres of public lands. by the Federal government with in the State's borders, it received sand scrip representing acreage available in other states. This scrip was to be sold, its proceeds goirig to endow the institution designated as the land-grant school in each state. • The Pennsylvania legislature early in 1863 accepted the terms of the Morrill Act, and a battle- Torii • then ensued among the various colleges of the Common wealth who wished to .share in the proceeds. The University initially had been founded largely 'through the efforts of. agricultural.organ izations. The Morrill Act, with And Roy Rogers was too The Diner was young once. But now after .many years . in State College, we'd like to offer our pledge to the further growth of Penn State . . . The good food and efficient, courteous ser vice that you always get at the friend ly "Sign of the Lion". Happy Birthday Penn State from the . . . PENN STATE DINER '"SiOp at the Sign of the Lion" W. College Ave. Never Closed PAGE THIRTEEN McAllister Hall Was. Originally Dorm for Men By BARBARA BUDNICK McAllister Hall, woman's dormi tory on Pollock Road, has the dis tinction of being named after one 4 of the men most. active in the ~ work of getting the land grant -- for the University, Hugh Nelson , McAllister. McAllister, a lawyer by pro- fession, experimented with scien tific agriculture as a hobby on a , .i I farm he owned near Bellefonte. 11 lAs a lawyer, he could have been a prominent personality in state and national politics but chose, instead, to turn his attention to a project resulting from his hobby. He and Frederick Watts had,• discussed the establishment of a state school specializing in scien tific agricultural education. Their efforts resulted in the passing of: the land grant bill in the state legislature and calling the pro- ' posed institution, the Farmers',, High School of Pennsylvania.. In 1905, 32 years after Mc- Allister's death, the building that now bears his name was opened as a men's dormitory. • For several years before, many • male students had been forced to return home because of the room', shortage in State College. During the 10 years after the building's erection, many of theoli occupants moved to clubs andas, fraternities,- leaving McAllister. Hall only partially filled. Finally, in 1915, when the College's 50-. coeds were overflowing local fa-- cilities, McAllister. Hall became a . woman's dormitory. its provision for teaching the "mechanic arts," justified broad ening, the scope of instructiori beyond agriculture to inchide 11 ,` , the sciences and engineering.— 11, Similarly, the Morrill Act stated that the land grants were " "to promote the liberal ... edu;• cation of the industrial classes in -or the several pursuits and profes sions in life," and this helped it develop the institution beyond P7x a mere trade or technical school; Jrl
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers