Martha Robb House, Dining Hall.
College Hall.
Minerva Hall.
President’s House.
Sketch of Henry Kendall College, 1901, Muskogee, Oklahoma
march 10, 2014 issue 20 ~ volume 99
From Muskogee to today: the changing face of TU’s campus circa 1930s
0s circa 195
An architectural timeline of TU Kimberly Poff
Staff Writer n the 132 years since its founding in Muskogee, Okla. as the Presbyterian School for Indian Girls in 1882, the University of Tulsa has completed a new building or significant renovation on one of its campuses once every two years on average. Resident university historian and former Director of Libraries Guy Logsdon says that since its founding “the university has continued to grow and has continued to look like a major university.” Logsdon is the author of the only history of the school dating to its founding, “The University of Tulsa,” and most of the historical information found in this article was derived from his book. The present-day campus was established in 1907 when the then-Henry Kendall College moved to Tulsa. Cities such as Enid and Guthrie also bid for the placement of the school, but Tulsa’s bid of 20 acres, $100,000 and free energy won the day. The first building on campus was commonly referred to as Kendall Hall, though it was never officially named such, and stood in the same location as present-day Kendall Hall. The cupola and bell currently found in Bayless plaza stood atop that original building. Since that time, the campus has built up immensely and almost constantly. Notable buildings include Harwell Hall, constructed in 1920, which is the oldest building still standing. The buildings which still define the campus aesthetic, McFarlin, Tyrell and Phillips, were all completed in 1930. The next spate of buildings was completed in the 1940s and early 1950s under President Clarence Pontius when GIs flooded TU. These years saw the completion of the Mabee residence halls, Lorton Hall, and what was then the Petroleum Sciences Building and is now known as Helmerich Hall. The expansions in the late 1950s and later in the 1980s and 1990s were known to students as “Master Visions” and “Master Plans” and looked as far ahead as the early 2000s. Building since has kept up the hurried pace, but in a more piecemeal form without the grand overtures of extensive plans. The most recent promised addition to campus is a 300-person dorm room and office space located on The top sketch of Henry Kendall College was featured in a 1901 issue of the Collegian. The Kendall College masthead is from the April 1900 issue of the Collegian. Both images the former site of the Holmes Student Center. were edited by Sarah Power. The top and middle photos are from the University of Tulsa’s McFarlin Library Department of Special Collections & University Archives, Archives
I
Photography Collection 1894.003. The bottom photo is courtesy of The University of Tulsa.
For more on campus changes, see p. 6–8.