Old Botany, Soon To Be Catt


In an office in the nearly new building, young professor 
George Washington Carver worked out his first lesson plans. 
In the basement, young women worked out in the campus' first 
gymnasium for women, relaxing after their exercise in a 
special "sleep lab." However, most of the work going on in 
the building was classwork -- by students in the 
horticulture, agriculture and veterinary medicine programs. 

First known as Agricultural Hall, the building was completed 
in 1894, with a north annex added 10 years later for the 
ag engineering department.

The botany department arrived in 1928 and established such a 
presence that the building was renamed Botany Hall and later, 
"Old Botany." 

The top three floors of Old Botany were closed in 1982 by the 
state fire marshall.  

When it opens this fall, Old Botany which is on the National 
Register of Historic Places, will have a new look and a new 
name -- Carrie Chapman Catt Hall.

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contact:  Anne Dolan, University Relations, (515) 294-7065
updated:  9-28-95