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Overview

Anderson Hall accommodated the School of Forestry initially and was named for Alfred H. Anderson, a Washington State lumberman.

Building History

The University of Washington's School (and later College) of Forest Resources has occupied Anderson Hall from the beginning. It was the first UW building which had its total cost underwritten by one donor, Mrs A.H. Anderson, in memory of her husband, the banker and lumberman Alfred H. Anderson (1867-1914). (She gave $250,000 for the purpose.) An officer of the huge Simpson Logging Company, he was credited with acquiring large tracts of timberland for the University. Construction on the building began 05/15/1924 and completed the following year. An article of 07/06/1924 in the Seattle Times described the new facility: "The contract for the hall to be used as the administration building in the School of Forestry group, is for $235,000. The building will be four stories, 70 x 160 feet, and contiguous to the Science Quadrangle. Ceilings will be in various woods and there will be carved hammer beams. An auditorium, exhibition and clubroom and a reading room are interior features. Bebb & Gould have followed the general university type of architecture in the plans and will erect a structure of stone, brick and slate. An arcaded passage way is to connect the building with the already completed Forest Products Laboratory, the first of a series of passageways which are to connect the buildings in the proposed Liberal Arts Quadrangle." (See "$670,000 for New Hall, Seattle Times, 07/06/1924, p. 17.) Due to the election of Washington Governor Roland Hill Hartley (1864-1952) in 1924, a noted opponent of government spending on higher education, none of the quadrangles mentioned came to fruition.

Building Notes

In 1927, the UW School of Forestry was ranked #2 in the US. At the time, it had two buildings, a nursery and a demonstration forest for student and faculty usage. Aside from Anderson Hall, the Forest Products Laboratory was built in 1920 at a cost of $85,000. (See "College of Forestry Ranks Second in U.S.," Seattle Times, 08/07/1927, p. R3.)

PCAD id: 8743