CSU Buildings and Grounds History

Troxell Wood Utilization Laboratory Interior, 1960

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 – United States Army, Physical Plant Department

Builder – WPA led by foreman Earl Hershey (1941)

Originally, this wooden building was constructed by WPA workers in 1941 as the “Bishop Trainer” Building of the Military Department.  Materials salvaged from the old cafeteria building on the Oval were likely used in its construction.  No longer needing a training facility for artillery, during the early 1950s, the building and its dirt floor served as storage for boxes of unused books owned by the library.  In 1957 the building was transferred from the Military Department to the Department of Forest and Wood Science.  The 1958 and 1959 Summer Session Bulletin campus maps continued to show the structure as the “Bishop Trainer Building”.

Through the efforts of Wood Science Professor Dr. Harry E. Troxell, funds and materials were donated to the University and in October 1958 work began to convert the building for use by the Wood Science Department.  This major overhaul used materials donated by companies in the wood products industry.  On February 21, 1959, it was dedicated as the Troxell Wood Utilization Laboratory. Every office and classroom had different materials used in the construction of its ceiling and walls.  There were 30 different species of wood used in the hallway.  Each was marked with a number for use as reference making the entire building a library for students learning about the wood products industry.

In 1965, a Mechanical Testing Laboratory was added to allow the testing of stress loads on different varieties of wood.  By late 1989, discussions were being held about tearing down the building and moving the classes and lab work into the neighboring General Services Building. This did not happen.  In fact, 1992 and 1993 campus maps show an addition being added to the building’s east side in the summer of 1992.  Change continued and within a couple of years, only three undergraduate students were still declared “Wood Science” majors. 

Across the street, the new Natural and Environmental Science Building opened in October 1994. The Wood Utilization Laboratory was abandoned at that time.  The World War II vintage military support building was demolished in the summer of 1995 and the land it occupied was carefully cleaned of hazardous chemicals left over from years of learning to treat wood products.  Once cleaned, the soil was monitored for many months for any signs of remaining residue.  Environmental safety officials eventually gave their approval, and the site was fully paved over for a parking lot west of the General Services Building in 1996.  This unique building served such professors as Dr. Harry E. Troxell and Dr. Craig Shuler in enlightening students on the role of wood as a forest resource.