Painting the "A", 1924
From CSU's Sense of Place: A Campus History of Colorado's Land-Grant University, by James E. Hansen, Gordon A. Hazard, and Linda M. Meyer. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University, 2018.
Architects – Professor Oliver Pennock and his Civil Engineering students
Builders – Aggie students
This massive symbol of the Aggies was originally designed by Civil Engineering Professor Oliver Pennock and his students. A large contingent of Aggie students actually built the “A” on December 12, 1923. The annual painting the “A” white began as a tradition in 1924 only after the emblem had been enlarged and slightly redesigned on September 19, 1924. The dimensions of the “A” were expanded to its current size of 450 feet high by 210 feet wide to make it look better from the Main Campus and the city.
In October 1940, the proposal was made to run a high power electric line out to the base of the “A” and install electric lights at five foot intervals around the outline of the “A”. It would have automatic controls that would light it at night and turn off the power during the day. The Fort Collins Junior Chamber of Commerce would provide half the money needed if the students would provide the other half. A student vote was taken on October 18, 1940 which passed with a 12-1 margin. To finance the students’ half of the cost, fifteen cents of the four-dollar yearbook fee would begin being moved to the “lighting account” at the beginning of the 1941-42 school year. Other money would come from a portion of the activity fees charged to the students. After five semesters, it was estimated enough money would be available to start work on the project. The entry of the United States into World War Two on December 8, 1941 appears to have ended this proposed project.
In January 1964 there was a vote by the students to change the design to either a “C” or “Colorado State University”. Despite this, the traditional design was never changed. In the years that followed, an occasional “letter to the editor” in the Rocky Mountain Collegian newspaper would call for its removal due to ecological concerns or simply that the writer felt the letter “A” was no longer valid.
In the summer of 1995 it became listed on the Colorado State Register of Historical Properties. Now firmly embraced as an important part of school history, the maintenance of the “A” continues as a beloved tradition today. Thanks to the Student Alumni Connection, the current class of freshman students, the College Agricultural Sciences, freshman members of the CSU Ram Football Team, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity, the “A” gets a fresh coat of paint each year.
The painted “A” serves as an aerial landmark that can be seen by pilots as far as 60 miles away. Each summer, as a part of Ram Welcome, freshman students hike to the “A” and leave a small white pebble as a symbol of the impact she/he will have on the University The “A” is painted with non-toxic white paint that is checked and deemed environmentally sound by CSU's Environmental Health Services.
The painted “A” stands for Aggie, one of the former nicknames for the University. The land used to construct the ‘A’ was leased to CSU until 2022 for $1 by the Robert Garibaldi Maxwell (1860-1955) family. The City of Fort Collins Parks and Recreation now administers the land. It is listed on the State Register of Historic Properties by the Colorado State Historical Society.
Sources by Gordon Hazard
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