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Washington State University Buildings and Landscapes

Campus Maps

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Map shows early campus buildings with walks and roads indicated.
Washington Agriculture College began in 1892, on the hills overlooking the fifteen year old, wheat-growing town of Pullman, Washington. A land-grant college funded by the Morrill Land Act of 1862, the school's purpose was to educate Washington State farmers in the latest crop and animal husbandry practices and technological advances. This map of Washington State College (the school changed its name in 1905) shows what is today the center of campus. In 1892, the campus consisted of the two and a half story College Hall (shown here) which held the President's office, classrooms and labs, a library and an assembly hall, a one story classroom building called "the crib", a number of farm buildings, a workshop, and a five story, co-ed dorm. Within the next few years (1894-96) the school added the Mechanic Arts Hall, the Administration building, and a women's dorm (later called Stevens Hall). Science Hall and Ferry Hall (a men's dorm that had burned down in 1897) were constructed in 1899, with Morrill Hall coming sometime soon after. One of the programs to gain its own department building was the Domestic Economy program. Begun in 1903, the field gained such prominence that Van Doren Hall was built to hold its classrooms and dining facilities in 1908. Other early draws to the school were courses taught towards Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacist training. The veterinary hospital and hydraulics lab shown on this map were constructed in 1907. The building marked "Auditorium and Library" is Bryan Hall, designed by architect J.K. Dow and completed in 1909. It was named after the second president of the college--Enoch A. Bryan.
A map of the campus of Washington State's land-grant school--Washington State College. Set up initially with a focus on agriculture, by 1913 it also included courses in business, foreign languages, home economics, pharmaceuticals and veterinary medicine.
A number of buildings no longer standing on the present campus are represented on this map. For example, the hospital situated to the right of College Hall was built in 1903. Construction for the new John A. Finch Memorial hospital began in 1928 and was located south of this map's boundaries. A women's dormitory shortage in 1930 brought the old hospital a new use, however, when thirty female students claimed a home out of its quarters and changed the hospital's name to "Maple Cottage". A number of new buildings were constructed around the time of this map as well. In 1913 the President's Mansion was built, and from 1912 to 1915 workers began both the Mechanical Arts Building and Wilson Hall, then known as the Agricultural Building. Note also the northeast portion of this map. Silver Lake is no longer a part of the campus, but in 1899 the school purchased six acres lying north of the athletic fields and a one and a half acre lake--known affectionately by students as Lake de Puddle--was formed. To make room for gyms and the Bailey baseball field, Silver Lake was drained in 1927. However, one recreation area has withstood the many developments of the school and is present today--Rogers Field. In 1894, just two years following the school's opening, students already felt the necessity of a playfield. Originally, the area was known as "Soldier's Field", but its name was changed in 1902 to honor Washington State's Governor John R. Rogers.
A small, footprint map of the State College of Washington campus. The map does not include street names, but all buildings are identified.
Many of the periphery buildings on this map were a product of the upswing in the national economy during 1928 and early 1929. A number of buildings were constructed at this time, including the large and important addition of a hospital (see to the left of the title.) Troy Hall, which was built in 1926 and housed the dairy industry department, was the last substantial building before this surge. A budget crisis in the 1930s resulted in little construction being undertaken. In fact, in 1933-34, both Ferry Hall (men's) and Steven's Hall (women's) dormitories were closed down. Of the students that continued in their studies, many of the men lived in makeshift shacks, dotted throughout campus and in town, or wherever unoccupied land was available.
In 1892, Washington's land-grant college (Washington Agriculture College as it was then called) had its beginnings on a barren, dusty hilltop overlooking the young town of Pullman. While a number of years and many methods were spent attempting to beautify the school, by it's twentieth anniversary comments were still heard around campus regarding the school's ungainliness. Much of the problem stemmed from the inability of transplanted trees and shrubs to thrive in their new environment--despite the best attempts of successive Horticulture Department heads. Even the students pitched in to help, annually planting trees on Arbor Day (many of which came from Moscow Mountain) and taking one day of the year for a campus clean-up session. However, not until around 1920 were professional landscape designers brought in for consultation on the problem. Improvements thereafter came swiftly and successfully, and a few respected firms, such as the authors of this 1937 landscape study--Morell & Nichols, Inc. of Minneapolis, Minnesota--gained regular employment. In time, this and other firms developed the campus into something "creditable" and collegial looking.
Map of the campus of Washington State College in Pullman, Washington.
This map shows the footprints of main buildings on campus in 1938. While it designates the major roads running through the campus, it does not name them. It also has a faint trace in the lower right-hand corner of a title, written in pencil and then erased. The golf clubhouse title and building are also painted over in white. These corrections suggest that the drawing was an early map template. The same general format was used in the printed map of around 1942. The 1942 map has some additions and reductions to the buildings, but more importantly, it names the area's streets and looks like a finished, polished product.
By the time of this map, the field house and Bohler gym were reaching their twelfth year, as was the hospital. Following World War II, the horse barn, incubator and brooder house area were razed--to be replaced by new dormitories and the right of way of the Stadium Loop Highway (Stadium Way). The old power house on this map became the fire station not long after the drafting of this map.
A small map of the campus at Washington State College, 1939.
A number of buildings belonging to the Washington State College are shown in this footprint map of the campus for 1939. By the 1950s, the agriculture program became fully mechanized and no longer needed work horses. The horse barn, incubator and breeder house were torn down to make room for the Stadium Loop Highway and veteran housing. Note also the women's gymnasium, located on this map southwest of Rogers Field. This was known as the TUB, or Temporary Union Building during the time of the map. It housed library books and was the campus community center until the completion of the Compton Union Building in 1952.
Map includes sorority, fraternity, building, street, and church directories. Business district and paved streets are indicated.
As early as 1915, President Bryan commented on the arrival of fraternities and sororities at the Washington State College campus. Five national fraternities and four sororities soon made visible additions to campus life. By 1936, the number of students living in Greek houses nearly matched that of dormitory residents. This 1939 map of campus and downtown Pullman documents the rapid expansion of the system at WSC, which totaled thirty-four Greek houses on campus at that time and an enrollment of 4,035 students.
Leading up to that point, however, the 1930s Great Depression hindered campus living somewhat, and left many students out of dorms completely. A number of young men lived out the school year in self-built shacks on empty properties around the campus. While the economy improved by 1939, new buildings or additions would not be constructed until a few years after World War II. Post-war students and faculty made do with shipped-in structures and furniture surplus no longer needed by the Army.
A small map of the campus of Washington State College in Pullman, Washington. During World War II, WSC learned that while it was located in rural Washington State, it still could hold an important place in the success of the war effort. In 1939 it began a number of training courses and housed a number of Army recruits. Victory gardens and crops were planted all over the conducive Palouse hills, and both students and faculty alike left campus and put their careers on hold to help the war effort. Many students went off to fight, while many faculty went to work for the government--their scientific expertise providing a great service toward the nation's defense. With the return of these students, plus many more making use of the G.I. Bill, the school experienced a great housing shortage and a number of laboratories and classrooms were in an irreparable state. In 1942, the men's dorms, Stimson and Ferry Hall, had been turned over strictly for military use. Civilian students were housed only in Waller Hall or privately run Pine Manor. The only campus dormitory that ran as a cooperative completely operated by students, Pine Manor was built in 1938 and boarded 85 men. It closed its doors sometime in the 1960s but greatly helped the postwar housing shortage.
In 1946, Washington State College began a policy of entrance requirements for students. A housing shortage in the years directly following the Second World War forced the college to recognize that it could no longer accept everyone. Resident veterans received first priority, followed by Washington residents with an acceptable grade point average. Faculty and staff also felt the housing shortage. A number of new homes were built on Military Hill and near the Finch Memorial Hospital to house employees. Students lived in temporary dorms previously used as US Army cantonments. They were shipped to the school and situated near the golf course. Known as North, South and East Fairway, a number of veterans lived in these buildings.
The student union building in the center of campus on this map is not the same building used today. It was known as the TUB--or temporary union building--and was originally the women's gymnasium. Students began to use the area as a community center sometime in the early 1940s. However, President Compton felt the need for a new, modern building to help unite the campus. The TUB was torn down and replaced with the Compton Union Building in 1951. The building's dedication came shortly after his forced resignation--brought about by politics found within the Board of Regents at the time. Compton was replaced in 1952 by C. Clement French, the Vice President of Texas Agriculture and Mechanical College, also a land-grant school.
The campus of the state's land grant school--Washington State College in Pullman, Washington. By 1950, WSC had developed into an institution claiming over five thousand students. Four major changes took place in the five years following the war. An increase in enrollment due to the G.I. Bill, caused an urgent need for temporary housing. The Army responded by donating a number of surplus living quarters and furniture left over from wartime cantonments. While other units were placed on campus elsewhere, the main area of growth sprung up along the boundary of the WSC golf course and were appropriately named North, East and South Fairway. Peacetime also signaled the arrival of a new president. E.O. Holland, following a stint of ill health, stepped down from the position he had held for three decades and took an advisory position in the library. He was replaced by Wilson M. Compton, who sought increased faculty satisfaction and student physical and mental well-being. The latter goal resulted in more campus activities, counseling services, and the construction of a student union building in 1951. Up until this time, students used the old women's gymnasium, but that building was razed to make room for another major addition soon to arrive on campus--a state-of-the-art library. Plans for an improved library facility had been in the works since 1937. By the time funds became available after the war, it was apparent to all that an architectural "monument" as originally slated under the Holland administration would no longer suffice. With the appointment of Dr. G Donald Smith as library director, the designs were re-drafted to reflect modern needs. This meant not only space for microfilm and movies, but also the centralization of the library's entire collection into one building. Before, the collections were held in a variety of short-term repositories beyond that of Bryan Hall because of lack of storage space. Among these included the Home Economics Building, the Women's Gym and even the Rifle Range. On this map a building marked "library storage" attests to this practice. The improved library increased the viability of a competitive graduate program and, along with President Compton's efforts to establish WSC as a center for technological and industrial advancement, easily placed the college in a position to obtain university status in 1959.