Veterinary Medicine Radiology Lab, 1962
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 – Eugene Groves (1948, 1949), William B. Robb of RB&B Architects of Fort Collins (1965), Heinzman and Ingalls, Associates (1967)
1251 South Mason Street
During the summer and fall of 1947, this one-story, $200,000 steel-framed, insulated corrugated iron shell building was purchased from the United States Government and reconstructed on the Colorado A & M campus. It measured 200’ x 120’ and was originally built to be used as a forge plant at the Remington Arms Plant near Denver. Its walls were made of cinder blocks and in 1949 the east portion was modernized and the whole building was covered with a blond-brick veneer at a cost of $125,000. Architect Eugene Groves was commissioned to oversee the work to erect the building and do the modifications needed to make it into a useable building for the College.
Large scale experimentation was the main purpose of this building thus giving it the name “Industrial Research Building”. The remainder of its space was used for classrooms, laboratories, and library storage. The Industrial Research Building was opened for partial use in early 1948. By September 1948, the remodeling of the first floor was complete. Plans to construct a second and third floor were generated.
At its opening in 1948, the first residents were the Chemistry Section of the Experiment Station, the Soils Testing Laboratory, the Department of Geology, the Library for book storage, and the USDA’s Bureau of Plant Industry’s Regional Soils and Agricultural Engineering staff.
In 1951, a large west wing was added to the building and the first wind tunnel on campus was built under the direction of Dr. Jack Cermak. In February 1957, another large wind tunnel was under construction inside the west wing of the building. A research contract with the United States Air Force provided the funds to construct the massive device. In 1962, Dr. Cermak moved his operations out to the new Engineering Research Center (ERC) at the Foothill Campus.
In 1963, this building became known as the “Bio-Physical Sciences Building”. In 1965, a renovation to the building was designed by William B. Robb of RB&B Architects of Fort Collins. In 1967, the architectural firm of Heinzman and Ingalls, Associates was hired to design another remodeling of the building.
In October 1970, the State Board of Agriculture renamed it the “Biochemistry and Radiation Biology Building”. Following the opening of the new “Molecular and Radiological Biosciences Building” in 1989, this building was again renamed the “General Services Building”.
In 1990, the General Services Building underwent a full remodeling. Another remodeling took place about 2003.
The Office of the Resources for Disabled Students, the Office of Risk Management and Insurance, Environmental Health Services Offices, Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP), and the Research Integrity and Compliance Review Office (RICRO) are current occupants of this building. Located at the north end of the building is the “Flammable Liquids Storage Building” at 1249 South Mason Street.
Sources by Gordon A. Hazard
Fort Collins Coloradoan, March 23, 1947, page 5, col. 3, “College to Get Large Building for Science Work”.
State Board of Agriculture Minutes, April 9, 1947, page 213.
Colorado A&M News, April 1947, page 12, vol. 1, number 10.
State Board of Agriculture Minutes, August 7, 1947, page 247.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, October 3, 1947, page 1, vol. LVII, number 1.
The Colorado State College Alumnus, September - October 1947, page 7, vol. XXVI, number 14.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, December 12, 1947, page 6, col. 2, vol. LVII, number 10.
State Board of Agriculture Minutes, January 17, 1948, page 295.
The Colorado State College Alumnus, January – February 1948, page 4, vol. XXVII, number 1.
Colorado A&M News, February 1948, page 1, vol. 2, number 8.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, February 6, 1948, page 1, col. 1, vol. LVII, number 15.
State Board of Agriculture Minutes, February 21, 1948, page 308.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, September 24, 1948, page 6, vol. LVIII, number 1.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, January 7, 1949, page 2, vol. LVIII, number 12.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, September 23, 1949, page 3, vol. LIX, number 1.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, December 9, 1949, page 7, vol. LIX, number 11.
“1950 Silver Spruce”, page 107, vol. 45.
CSU Historic Photo Collection, 23 images B4396 and B4397 dated September 1951.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, January 11, 1952, pages 1, 3, 11, vol. LXI, number 13, pages 1 and 3.
The Colorado Aggie Alumnus, January – February 1952, page 5, vol. XXVIII, number 4.
Colorado A&M News, January 1952, pages 6 and 7, vol. 6, number 7.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, February 1, 1952, page 7, col. 1, vol. LXI, number 16.
“Long Range Development Program”, Report to the Colorado State Planning Commission, March 1952, pages 14, 18, 20, 29-30, 35 and campus maps, LD1145.8, A452, 1952, Archive.
CSU Historic Photo Collection, 2 images B4652 dated April 1952.
State Board of Agriculture Minutes, June 24, 1952, page 109.
CSU Historic Photo Collection, 29 images B4986, B4987 and B5014 dated November 1952.
The Colorado Aggie Alumnus, March – April 1953, cover, vol. 29, number 5.
1953 Silver Spruce Yearbook photo, page 128.
University Historic Photo Collection, images B5496A, dated January 1954.
CSU Historic Photo Collection, 4 images B5680 dated May 1954.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, May 22, 1956, page 5 vol. LXV, number 37.
The Colorado Aggie Alumnus, September – October 1956, page 4, vol. 33, number 2.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, January 22, 1957, page 3, vol. LXV, number 26.
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Rocky Mountain Collegian, October 17, 1958, page 3, col. 4-5, vol. LXVII, number 7.
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The Colorado Aggie Alumnus, March – April 1961, pages 1 and 3, vol. 37, number 2.
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The CSU Alumnus, November – December 1963, page 7, vol. 38, number 5.
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State Board of Agriculture Minutes, September 25, 1970, page 417.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, September 19, 1974, page 2, vol. LXXXIII, number 13.
“A History of Colorado State University 1870 – 1974”, by James E. Hansen II, 1974.
“Democracy’s College in the Centennial State – A History of Colorado State University” by James E. Hansen II, 1977, p. 393.
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Rocky Mountain Collegian, September 17, 1982, pages 1 and 10, vol. XCI, number 30.
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Rocky Mountain Collegian, May 1, 1985, page 11, vol. 93, number 162.
State Board of Agriculture Land: Chuck Terrell Interview, June 1986, page 7.
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“One Hundred Years of Engineering at Colorado State University: Fulfilling the Land-Grant Mission” by Ann Hilfinger, 1989, page 46.
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Agricultural Frontier to Electronic Frontier – A History of Colorado State University Libraries 1870-1994, page 87, by Douglas J. Ernest, published 1996.
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Rocky Mountain Collegian, September 22, 2000, page 2, vol. 109, number 25.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, April 13, 2001, page 3, vol. 109, number 131.
“Democracy’s University – A History of Colorado State University 1970 – 2003” by James E. Hansen II, 2007, pp. 343, 360, 361.
Rocky Mountain Collegian, April 24, 2013, pages 1 and 3, vol. 121, number 146.
http://source.colostate.edu/rare-wwii-propeller-salvaged-csu-research-tunnel-finds-home/ , April 11, 2016, by Anne Ju Manning, Accessed April 29, 2016.
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