Civil and Irrigation Engineering Building, 1910
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 – Harlan Thomas and Louis George Carpenter (1903), Larry Trampe of Architectural Resource Group P. C. of Fort Collins (2006)
Builders – Charles A. Button (1903), Loupe & Boyd (1908), R. H. Bradley and W. F. Towers (1909), Richard Lippoth of Pinnacle Quarry and Sun Construction & Design Services (2006)
851 Oval Drive
In August 1903, the contract to build a new $60,000 Civil and Irrigation Engineering Building was awarded to Charles A. Button. Civil and Irrigation Engineering Professor Louis George Carpenter worked with architect Harlan Thomas to design the “Mission-style” building. Barton O. Aylesworth was the President of the College when the project broke ground. It was described as being located “north of the Old Reservoir”. These features are seen on the campus map of 1904 drawn by Ralph Parshall. However, due to funding problems, the construction stopped. It would eventually take seven years to finally complete and open for classes.
In 1908 Loupe & Boyd were hired to take over the construction. This lasted for a short time until funds dried up again. It wasn’t until Charles A. Lory became president of the College in the summer of 1909 that adequate funds were finally secured. Contractors R. H. Bradley and W. F. Towers were hired, and the construction of the long needed building finished. The new building’s equipment was installed in time for the start of the 1910 fall term.
Opening in September 1910, this landmark campus building became a showcase building and was touted as being the best facility available for irrigation work anywhere in the country on any campus. The Irrigation Engineering Laboratory, Cement Laboratory and photography darkrooms occupied the basement of the building when it opened. Department and Experiment Station offices, museum and instrument room occupied the first floor. Faculty offices, classrooms and a library occupied the second floor. A large well-lighted drafting room, blueprint apparatus, tables and filing cases occupied the third floor. Within three years, a new Hydraulics Laboratory opened west of this building and the irrigation experimentation work was moved there. During its early years, Dr. George Glover used part of the new building for the offices of the Division of Veterinary Medicine, a Pathology museum and even one classroom.
The “Civil Building” as it was commonly known, had been envisioned by Professor Louis George Carpenter, longtime head of the Civil and Irrigation Engineering Department and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station. Architect Harlan Thomas designed the building that had “Mediterranean with Mission Elements” architecture. The Colorado School of Mines campus has a similar appearing Harlan Thomas building that opened in 1904 known as “Stratton Hall”.
For a few weeks in late 1918 and early 1919, the top floor was used as an infirmary for students suffering from the Spanish Flu. From late-January 1927 until mid-June 1928, the Pathology Section of the Department of Veterinary Medicine used part of the building. The Veterinarians and their laboratories had been displaced by the fire that destroyed the North and South Barracks on January 28, 1927. In June 1928, they were able to move across the Oval to the old Library building now called the Veterinary Medicine Building.
After completion of the current “Engineering - Physics Building” in 1957, the old “Civil Building” became known as the “Business and Economics Building”. This became the home to the CSU Computing Center in 1960. In 1962, the College of Business moved over to Johnson Hall and the name again changed to simply the “Economics Building”. In June 1984 the State Board of Agriculture placed the 75-year-old building, along with two others, on a list to be razed. Years of deferred maintenance had taken its toll. Fortunately, the wrecking ball was not used.
In May 1988, the State Board of Agriculture changed its name to the “Statistics Building” to better reflect its current function as home to the College of Natural Sciences, the Department of Statistics, the Franklin A. Graybill Statistical Laboratory, and the Center for Applied Statistical Expertise (CASE) In October 1994, the “Statistics Building” became one of 26 campus buildings of the internally created “CSU Historic Preservation District” created by the administration under President Albert C. Yates. The old building received restoration work using funds from a grant provided by the Colorado State Historical Society during 1995. In the summer of 2006 the masonry stairs at the entrance to the building were restored by Richard Lippoth of Pinnacle Quarry and Sun Construction & Design Services. Architect Larry Trampe of Architectural Resource Group led the design work on this project.
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