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EspañolCAMPUS OF TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
(Redirected from Riverside Campus)
The 'campus of Texas A&M University', also known as 'Aggieland', is situated in College Station, Texas, USA. Aggieland is centrally located within 200 miles (320 km) of three of the 10 largest cities in the United States and 75% of the Texas and Louisiana populations (approximately 13.1 million people). Aggieland's major roadway is State Highway 6, and several smaller state highways and Farm to Market Roads connect the area to larger highways such as Interstate 45.[1]
The campus is bisected by a set of railroad tracks primarily operated by Union Pacific Railroad.[2] The area east of the railroad tracks is known as "Main Campus"[3] and includes many of the academic buildings, the Memorial Student Center, Kyle Field, and the student dormitories. The portion of the campus west of the railroad tracks is known as "West Campus" and includes most of the other sports facilities, the business school, agricultural programs, the veterinary college, the George Bush Presidential Library and the medical school. The area of West Campus along Kimbrough Boulevard is known as "Research Park" and includes many research facilities.[4][5]
The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, later known as Texas A&M University, was established by the Texas State Legislature on April 17, 1871 as the state's first public institution of higher education. The legislature provided $75,000 for the construction of buildings at the new school. A committee tasked with finding a home for the new college chose Brazos County, which agreed to donate 2,416 acres (10 km²) of land.[6]
The college officially opened on October 4, 1876 with six professors charged with educating 106 students. The campus at the time bore minimal resemblance to the campus as it is today. Wild animals roamed freely, and the area served as a meeting point for the Great Western Cattle Trail.[7] The first building to be placed on campus was known as Old Main. "A stately, semi-classic building four stories in height", Old Main housed all the activities of the college for the first ten years of the school's existence. In the following three decades, it played a prominent part in A&M activities and housed the offices of the school's presidents. The building caught fire in the early hours of May 27, 1912 and was unable to be saved.[8]
Students and faculty lived in separate wings of Gaithright Hall. For the school's first few decades, there were no formal train stops in the area. Students would request to be dropped off near the college. The wife of the college president would keep watch for the trains from her home in the faculty portion of Gaithright Hall, sending a buggy to retrieve any students she saw disembark.[9]
Many people credit Texas A&M president Lawrence Sullivan Ross, known affectionately to students as "Sully", with saving the school from closure and transforming it into a respected military institution.[10] Ross, the immediate past governor of Texas, had been a well-respected Confederate soldier and enjoyed a good reputation among state residents. When Ross arrived at the school, he found that there was no running water, the school was suffering a housing shortage, the faculty was disgruntled, and many of the students ran wild. As Ross began to make improvements, more parents began to send their children to the school in the hopes that they would learn from Ross's example. During this time one of the more recognizable features of the Texas A&M landscape, the Century Oak Tree, was planted. The massive oak tree, located in Academic Plaza, would become a favored place for students to propose marriage.[11]
The last major campus construction overseen by Ross was the development of the Mess Hall. Designed by architectural firm Glover and Allen and opened in 1897, the Mess Hall could originally seat 500 students. Its front porches were later enclosed to double the seating capacity, making the Mess Hall the largest dining hall in Texas. An accidental kitchen fire on the morning of November 11, 1911 destroyed the building. Its replacement, Sbisa Dining Hall, remains one of the primary dining centers on campus.[12]
The focal point of campus for much of the early 20th century was Military Walk, a 1,500 feet (460 m) street that connected the former Guion Hall, now the location of the Rudder Theatre Complex, with Sbisa Dining Hall. Lined with oak trees, the avenue provided access to Assembly Hall (1889-1929), Foster Hall (1899-1951), Ross Hall (1891-1955), Gaithright Hall (1876-1933), and Mitchell Hall (1912-1972). The street was closed in 1971. Many of the original trees remain, but buildings, walk ways, and grassy areas were added in place of the street itself.[13]
The school began offering an expanded choice of degree programs at the same time that the state legislature and the United States Department of Agriculture established several services at Texas A&M. The college was unprepared for the ensuing population growth. For the next ten years, several hundred students lived in tents in a field in the middle of campus.
In the late 1920s, following the discovery of oil on university lands, Texas A&M and the University of Texas negotiated a settlement for the division of the Permanent University Fund which enabled A&M to receive one-third of the revenue. This guaranteed wealth enabled A&M to grow and expand.
Enrollment soared after World War II as many former soldiers used the G.I. Bill to further their education. Again unprepared for the growth, between 1949 and 1953 Texas A&M used the former Bryan Air Force Base as an extension of the campus. An estimated 5,500 men lived, studied, ate, showered, and attended classes at the base, which became known as the Annex.[14]
The George Bush Presidential Library was established in 1997 on 90 acres (364,220 m²) of land donated by Texas A&M at the western edge of the campus. This tenth presidential library was built between 1995 and 1997 and contains the presidential and vice-presidential papers of George H.W. Bush and the vice-presidential papers of Dan Quayle.[15]
The main campus chiefly contains the student and Corps of Cadets dormitories, university apartments, various dining facilities, a health center, two post offices, libraries, and drill fields used by the Corps. The main campus houses some facilities of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Sciences and all of the facilities of the College of Architecture, the College of Education and Human Development, the College of Geosciences, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Dwight Look College of Engineering. Notable buildings on the main campus include Kyle Field, the Academic Building, the Memorial Student Center, the Administration Building, Rudder Tower, Albritton Bell Tower, and the Bonfire Memorial. The main campus is bordered by George Bush Drive, Wellborn Drive, University Drive, and Texas Avenue on the south, west, north, and east sides, respectively.[16]
The west campus contains both the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Health Science Center, a component of the Texas A&M University System. West campus also contains the remaining facilities of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Sciences, all of the facilities of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service, and Mays Business School. In addition to a few dining facilities, the Medical Sciences Library and the West Campus Library are the only two libraries on west campus. Olsen Field, home of the baseball team, and Reed Arena, home of the basketball team, are both situated on west campus as well. In addition, administrative offices of various state agencies, including the Texas Engineering Extension Service and Texas Transportation Institute, are housed here. Easterwood Airport, which provides flights to both George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, is located on the far west side of west campus. West Campus is bordered by railroad tracks operated by Union Pacific Railroad, George Bush Drive, John Kimbrough Boulevard, and Easterwood Airport, on the east, south, north, and west sides, respectively.16
The Riverside Campus is located adjacent to State Highway 47 and Highway 21, west of Bryan, Texas. Riverside Campus was originally Bryan Army Airfield.[17]
In 1943, Bryan Field was the starting point of the first intentional meteorological flight into a hurricane.
Gus Grissom, later one of the first astronauts, was a jet instructor here.[18]
The base became Bryan Air Force Base upon separation of the Air Force from the Army in 1947.[19] Following World War II, enrollment at Texas A&M soared. Housing was in short supply, so between 1949 and 1953 an estimated 5,500 men lived, studied, ate, showered, and attended classes at the Annex on the former Bryan Air Force Base.[14] It was deactivated in May 1961. The land and buildings were deeded to the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University) in 1962.[19]
Situated 10 miles from the main campus, the 1,900-acre Riverside Campus hosts three training divisions of the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), which occupies about 100,000 square feet of offices, classrooms, and laboratories. The agency maintains outdoor training facilities at Riverside, including overhead and underground electric power training fields, a firing range for law enforcement officers, a heavy equipment training field, an emergency vehicle-driving track, unexploded ordnance ranges and search grids, and simulation prop houses for tactical training.[22][23]
A vintage World War II hangar at the Texas A&M Riverside Campus was recently transformed into a state-of-the-art training facility for utility workers in the electric power and telecommunications industry. Classrooms in the new facility include interactive Smart boards, custom-built workbenches and cabinets, built-in audiovisual systems, and automatic lighting.
The runway is also used as an SCCA racetrack.[24]
The Texas A&M College of Architecture recently completed an 8,000-square-foot Built Environment Teaching and Research Facility also known as Architecture Ranch.[25] The building contains a woodshop, a metal shop, and two digital fabrication machines: a CNC Mill and a CNC Plasma Cutter. Architecture Ranch is located on 12 acres of the Texas A&M Riverside Campus.[26]
The campus is also home to several Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) testing facilities used in the areas of vehicle performance and handling, vehicle-roadway interaction, the durability and efficacy of highway pavements, and the safety of structural systems.[27]
Of the over 200 buildings on the Texas A&M University campus, the most recognized include the Academic Building, Albritton Bell Tower, the O&M Building, the Administration Building, the George Bush Presidential Library, Kyle Field, and the Memorial Student Center (MSC).
The Academic Building stands at the crossroads of the campus. Completed in 1914, it stands on the site of Old Main, the first campus building, which burned to the ground in 1912. Its most prominent feature is its copper dome, which is green with oxidation, much like the Statue of Liberty. The practice of polishing the dome was stopped due to the danger the glare posed for pilots landing at nearby Easterwood Airport. When the building was constructed, it was one of the first on campus to use rebar. Its architect, A&M Professor F. E. Giesecke knew little about reinforced concrete, "so [he] just figured out the amount of steel...necessary and doubled it". The result was an extremely durable building so filled with steel that blowtorches had to be used when piping for water fountains was added. In front of the Academic Building is the Academic Plaza, which is the site of a wide range of campus events, most notably Silver Taps.[28][29]
Donated to Texas A&M University by Martha and Ford D. Albritton and dedicated on October 6, 1984, the Albritton Tower is 138 feet (40 m) tall and contains 49 Westminster carillon bells, the largest of which weighs more than 6000 lb (2727 kg). The bells ring every quarter hour and are also programmed to play music such as ''The Spirit of Aggieland'', patriotic songs, and hymns.[30][31]
The David G. Eller Oceanography & Meteorology (O&M) Building is the tallest building at Texas A&M University. The construction of the Oceanography and Meteorology (O&M) building began in August 1970 and was completed in 1973. The architectural designers for the building were the father and son team of Preston M. Geren Sr. and Jr. of Fort Worth. Both the Gerens are Aggies. The building was built by the Tulsa, OK-based Manhattan Construction Company. It cost $7.6 million to build and was constructed of reinforced concrete and steel, with limestone exterior walls. In 1989, the building was renamed the David G. Eller Building for Oceanography and Meteorology, after David G. Eller, the former Chairman of the University Board of Regents.[32]
The building encompasses 109,609 square feet (10,183 m²) of office, classroom, laboratory, and storage space. Housing the departments of geography, atmospheric sciences, and oceanography, it maintains a TTVN site for distance education which facilitates teaching with the Texas A&M University at Galveston campus. A Doppler radar system located on the roof provides data on severe storms.[33]
The Administration Building is the centerpiece of the main entrance to Texas A&M University. For many years home to all of Texas A&M's administrative offices, the Jack K. Williams Administration Building opened its doors in 1932. It continues to house several Texas A&M University and Texas A&M University System offices and agencies. Designed by Professor C.S.P. Vosper and built by Campus Architect F.E. Giesecke, features of this monumental classical structure include intricate Ionic columns, polished brass handrails along its marble staircases and stained-glass windows. In 1997, the building was officially named after former Texas A&M University president Jack Williams to honor his work in increasing enrollment while preserving the traditional aura of the campus.[34][35]
Main articles: Kyle Field
One of the most prominent architectural features of the campus is the Kyle Field, also known as ''The Home of the 12th Man''. In the fall of 1904, Edwin Jackson Kyle, professor of horticulture and an 1899 graduate of Texas A&M and current, fenced off a section of the southeast corner of campus that had been assigned to him for agricultural use. Using $650 of his own money, he purchased the covered grandstand from the Bryan fairgrounds and built wooden bleachers to raise the seating capacity to 500 people.[36][37] After the first World War, the stadium was dedicated as a living memorial to the Aggies who died in that conflict. On game days 55 American flags, one for each Aggie killed, fly around the highest points of the stadium. The Standard At Kyle Field, the November 1921 game between the Aggies and their archrival the University of Texas became the first college football game to offer a live, play-by-play broadcast.[38]
Over the years, the modest wooden bleachers were expanded to a three deck concrete stadium with a capacity of 82,600, currently the second largest football venue in Texas.[39] Other features of the stadium and surrounding area include the Bright Football Complex, an award-winning natural grass field, Kyle Field's turf the "13th man"? the Texas A&M Sports Museum, the award-winning press box, and the second largest video board in college athletics and one of the ten largest in the world[40]. Kyle Field is often regarded as one of the most intimidating college football stadiums in the nation. CBS Sportsline listed Kyle Field as the nation's best with a perfect score in three categories (atmosphere, tradition, and fans).[41]
For more than 50 years, the Memorial Student Center (MSC) has been a living memorial, a living room, and a living tradition at Texas A&M University. Dedicated on Muster Day in 1951, the building is dedicated to all Aggies, past or future, who have given or will give their lives in wartime.[42] Because the building and grounds are a memorial, those entering the MSC are asked to remove their hats and not walk on the surrounding grass lawns.[43]
On the main floor of the MSC is the Flagroom, a large, flag-lined room which students use for meetings, visiting, napping, and studying. The MSC also contains a bookstore, a post office, three art galleries, three dining facilities, and a seventy room hotel. Additionally, the MSC contains many meeting rooms and is the home of numerous student committees "that provide an array of educational, cultural, recreational and entertainment programs for the Texas A&M community."
On-campus residents, who make up about 20% of the student body, usually travel to classes by walking, biking, or taking the on-campus shuttle.[44] Faculty, staff, and visitors may also take advantage of the on-campus shuttle route system, which operates from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, and at select times during nights and weekends.[45][46] Sidewalks and walkways pervade the campus to allow pedestrians to travel to their selected destination. Multiple bike racks are located throughout the campus, especially adjacent to buildings, for bicyclists to park their bicycles.[47]
Off-campus residents, who make up the remaining 80% of the student body, may travel to campus by walking, bicycling, driving by motor vehicle, or taking the off-campus shuttle.44 Students who reside in the Northgate area usually walk or bike to campus due to its close proximity. Those who travel to campus by an automobile park on assigned student parking lots located throughout the campus and travel to their classes by walking or taking the on-campus shuttle. Motorcycle parking lots are also located throughout the campus for motorcyclists.[48] As the on-campus shuttle route, the off-campus route operates 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, and at select times on nights and weekends.[49]46
Additionally, the university includes two branch campuses: Texas A&M at Qatar located in Education City in Doha, Qatar devoted to engineering disciplines[50] and Texas A&M University at Galveston in Galveston, Texas, devoted to marine research and host to the Texas Maritime Academy.[51]
1. Bryan-College Station: Quick Facts
2. Union Pacific, A&M, CS officials agree to slow trains
3.
4. The Campus in 2020: Connect East and West Campus
5. Texas A&M Campus Map Project
6. Texas A&M University
7. A Pictorial History of Texas A&M University, 1876-1976, , Henry C., Dethloff, Texas A&M University Press, 1975,
8. "Old Main": A Visual Record of a Building's Life and Passing
9. Gaithright Hall: A Magnificent Afterthought
10. Ross Elevated College from "Reform School"
11.
12. Texas A&M's castle: The Old Mess Hall (1897-1911)
13. Military Walk Renovation - Architectural and Engineering Services
14. Aggies recall days at Annex
15. The Birth of the Tenth Presidential Library: The Bush Presidential Materials Project, 1993-1994
16. Texas A&M Campus Map Project
17. Handbook of Texas Online
18. http://www.astronautscholarship.org/grissom.html
19.
20. Aggies recall days at Annex
21.
22. Riverside Campus-Texas A&M University
23. Texas Engineering Extension Service website
24. North American Motorsports
25. College of Architecture Newsletter Fall 2006
26. College of Architecture
27. Riverside Campus
28. A Symbol of Academic Excellence: The Academic Building
29. Academic Building
30. Albritton Bell Tower
31. Texas A&M To Join In National Day Of Prayer And Remembrance
32. TAMSCAMS' Meteorology Department History
33. TAMU Geosciences Facilities page
34. Jack K. Williams Honored With Building Dedication
35. Jack K. Williams Administration Building
36.
37. ''A Centennial History of Texas A&M University, 1876-1976'', , Henry C., Dethloff, Texas A&M University Press, ,
38. First Play-by-Play Radio Broadcast of a College Football Game
39. Kyle Field
40. Lights, Camera, Action: Introducing 12th Man TV
41. Top 25 College Football Stadiums
42. A Living Memorial
43. Faculty Survival Tips
44. Texas A&M University Fall 2006 Enrollment
45. On-Campus Routes
46. Night & Weekend Service
47. Texas A&M University Bike Rack Locations
48. Texas A&M University Campus Parking
49. Off-Campus Routes
50. Texas A&M University at Qatar
51. Texas A&M University at Galveston
★ Texas A&M University Campus Maps
Academic Plaza
The campus is bisected by a set of railroad tracks primarily operated by Union Pacific Railroad.[2] The area east of the railroad tracks is known as "Main Campus"[3] and includes many of the academic buildings, the Memorial Student Center, Kyle Field, and the student dormitories. The portion of the campus west of the railroad tracks is known as "West Campus" and includes most of the other sports facilities, the business school, agricultural programs, the veterinary college, the George Bush Presidential Library and the medical school. The area of West Campus along Kimbrough Boulevard is known as "Research Park" and includes many research facilities.[4][5]
History
Texas A&M in 1883
The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, later known as Texas A&M University, was established by the Texas State Legislature on April 17, 1871 as the state's first public institution of higher education. The legislature provided $75,000 for the construction of buildings at the new school. A committee tasked with finding a home for the new college chose Brazos County, which agreed to donate 2,416 acres (10 km²) of land.[6]
The college officially opened on October 4, 1876 with six professors charged with educating 106 students. The campus at the time bore minimal resemblance to the campus as it is today. Wild animals roamed freely, and the area served as a meeting point for the Great Western Cattle Trail.[7] The first building to be placed on campus was known as Old Main. "A stately, semi-classic building four stories in height", Old Main housed all the activities of the college for the first ten years of the school's existence. In the following three decades, it played a prominent part in A&M activities and housed the offices of the school's presidents. The building caught fire in the early hours of May 27, 1912 and was unable to be saved.[8]
Students and faculty lived in separate wings of Gaithright Hall. For the school's first few decades, there were no formal train stops in the area. Students would request to be dropped off near the college. The wife of the college president would keep watch for the trains from her home in the faculty portion of Gaithright Hall, sending a buggy to retrieve any students she saw disembark.[9]
The Century Tree, planted in 1898
Many people credit Texas A&M president Lawrence Sullivan Ross, known affectionately to students as "Sully", with saving the school from closure and transforming it into a respected military institution.[10] Ross, the immediate past governor of Texas, had been a well-respected Confederate soldier and enjoyed a good reputation among state residents. When Ross arrived at the school, he found that there was no running water, the school was suffering a housing shortage, the faculty was disgruntled, and many of the students ran wild. As Ross began to make improvements, more parents began to send their children to the school in the hopes that they would learn from Ross's example. During this time one of the more recognizable features of the Texas A&M landscape, the Century Oak Tree, was planted. The massive oak tree, located in Academic Plaza, would become a favored place for students to propose marriage.[11]
The last major campus construction overseen by Ross was the development of the Mess Hall. Designed by architectural firm Glover and Allen and opened in 1897, the Mess Hall could originally seat 500 students. Its front porches were later enclosed to double the seating capacity, making the Mess Hall the largest dining hall in Texas. An accidental kitchen fire on the morning of November 11, 1911 destroyed the building. Its replacement, Sbisa Dining Hall, remains one of the primary dining centers on campus.[12]
The focal point of campus for much of the early 20th century was Military Walk, a 1,500 feet (460 m) street that connected the former Guion Hall, now the location of the Rudder Theatre Complex, with Sbisa Dining Hall. Lined with oak trees, the avenue provided access to Assembly Hall (1889-1929), Foster Hall (1899-1951), Ross Hall (1891-1955), Gaithright Hall (1876-1933), and Mitchell Hall (1912-1972). The street was closed in 1971. Many of the original trees remain, but buildings, walk ways, and grassy areas were added in place of the street itself.[13]
A&M Tent Row in 1910
The school began offering an expanded choice of degree programs at the same time that the state legislature and the United States Department of Agriculture established several services at Texas A&M. The college was unprepared for the ensuing population growth. For the next ten years, several hundred students lived in tents in a field in the middle of campus.
In the late 1920s, following the discovery of oil on university lands, Texas A&M and the University of Texas negotiated a settlement for the division of the Permanent University Fund which enabled A&M to receive one-third of the revenue. This guaranteed wealth enabled A&M to grow and expand.
Enrollment soared after World War II as many former soldiers used the G.I. Bill to further their education. Again unprepared for the growth, between 1949 and 1953 Texas A&M used the former Bryan Air Force Base as an extension of the campus. An estimated 5,500 men lived, studied, ate, showered, and attended classes at the base, which became known as the Annex.[14]
The George Bush Presidential Library was established in 1997 on 90 acres (364,220 m²) of land donated by Texas A&M at the western edge of the campus. This tenth presidential library was built between 1995 and 1997 and contains the presidential and vice-presidential papers of George H.W. Bush and the vice-presidential papers of Dan Quayle.[15]
Areas
Main Campus
The main campus chiefly contains the student and Corps of Cadets dormitories, university apartments, various dining facilities, a health center, two post offices, libraries, and drill fields used by the Corps. The main campus houses some facilities of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Sciences and all of the facilities of the College of Architecture, the College of Education and Human Development, the College of Geosciences, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Dwight Look College of Engineering. Notable buildings on the main campus include Kyle Field, the Academic Building, the Memorial Student Center, the Administration Building, Rudder Tower, Albritton Bell Tower, and the Bonfire Memorial. The main campus is bordered by George Bush Drive, Wellborn Drive, University Drive, and Texas Avenue on the south, west, north, and east sides, respectively.[16]
West Campus
The west campus contains both the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Health Science Center, a component of the Texas A&M University System. West campus also contains the remaining facilities of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Sciences, all of the facilities of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service, and Mays Business School. In addition to a few dining facilities, the Medical Sciences Library and the West Campus Library are the only two libraries on west campus. Olsen Field, home of the baseball team, and Reed Arena, home of the basketball team, are both situated on west campus as well. In addition, administrative offices of various state agencies, including the Texas Engineering Extension Service and Texas Transportation Institute, are housed here. Easterwood Airport, which provides flights to both George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, is located on the far west side of west campus. West Campus is bordered by railroad tracks operated by Union Pacific Railroad, George Bush Drive, John Kimbrough Boulevard, and Easterwood Airport, on the east, south, north, and west sides, respectively.16
Riverside Campus
The Riverside Campus is located adjacent to State Highway 47 and Highway 21, west of Bryan, Texas. Riverside Campus was originally Bryan Army Airfield.[17]
In 1943, Bryan Field was the starting point of the first intentional meteorological flight into a hurricane.
Gus Grissom, later one of the first astronauts, was a jet instructor here.[18]
The base became Bryan Air Force Base upon separation of the Air Force from the Army in 1947.[19] Following World War II, enrollment at Texas A&M soared. Housing was in short supply, so between 1949 and 1953 an estimated 5,500 men lived, studied, ate, showered, and attended classes at the Annex on the former Bryan Air Force Base.[14] It was deactivated in May 1961. The land and buildings were deeded to the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University) in 1962.[19]
Satellite image of the Riverside Campus
Situated 10 miles from the main campus, the 1,900-acre Riverside Campus hosts three training divisions of the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), which occupies about 100,000 square feet of offices, classrooms, and laboratories. The agency maintains outdoor training facilities at Riverside, including overhead and underground electric power training fields, a firing range for law enforcement officers, a heavy equipment training field, an emergency vehicle-driving track, unexploded ordnance ranges and search grids, and simulation prop houses for tactical training.[22][23]
A vintage World War II hangar at the Texas A&M Riverside Campus was recently transformed into a state-of-the-art training facility for utility workers in the electric power and telecommunications industry. Classrooms in the new facility include interactive Smart boards, custom-built workbenches and cabinets, built-in audiovisual systems, and automatic lighting.
The runway is also used as an SCCA racetrack.[24]
The Texas A&M College of Architecture recently completed an 8,000-square-foot Built Environment Teaching and Research Facility also known as Architecture Ranch.[25] The building contains a woodshop, a metal shop, and two digital fabrication machines: a CNC Mill and a CNC Plasma Cutter. Architecture Ranch is located on 12 acres of the Texas A&M Riverside Campus.[26]
The campus is also home to several Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) testing facilities used in the areas of vehicle performance and handling, vehicle-roadway interaction, the durability and efficacy of highway pavements, and the safety of structural systems.[27]
Notable buildings
Of the over 200 buildings on the Texas A&M University campus, the most recognized include the Academic Building, Albritton Bell Tower, the O&M Building, the Administration Building, the George Bush Presidential Library, Kyle Field, and the Memorial Student Center (MSC).
Academic Building
Albritton Bell Tower
Academic Building
The Academic Building stands at the crossroads of the campus. Completed in 1914, it stands on the site of Old Main, the first campus building, which burned to the ground in 1912. Its most prominent feature is its copper dome, which is green with oxidation, much like the Statue of Liberty. The practice of polishing the dome was stopped due to the danger the glare posed for pilots landing at nearby Easterwood Airport. When the building was constructed, it was one of the first on campus to use rebar. Its architect, A&M Professor F. E. Giesecke knew little about reinforced concrete, "so [he] just figured out the amount of steel...necessary and doubled it". The result was an extremely durable building so filled with steel that blowtorches had to be used when piping for water fountains was added. In front of the Academic Building is the Academic Plaza, which is the site of a wide range of campus events, most notably Silver Taps.[28][29]
Albritton Bell Tower
Donated to Texas A&M University by Martha and Ford D. Albritton and dedicated on October 6, 1984, the Albritton Tower is 138 feet (40 m) tall and contains 49 Westminster carillon bells, the largest of which weighs more than 6000 lb (2727 kg). The bells ring every quarter hour and are also programmed to play music such as ''The Spirit of Aggieland'', patriotic songs, and hymns.[30][31]
Eller O&M Building
The David G. Eller Oceanography & Meteorology (O&M) Building is the tallest building at Texas A&M University. The construction of the Oceanography and Meteorology (O&M) building began in August 1970 and was completed in 1973. The architectural designers for the building were the father and son team of Preston M. Geren Sr. and Jr. of Fort Worth. Both the Gerens are Aggies. The building was built by the Tulsa, OK-based Manhattan Construction Company. It cost $7.6 million to build and was constructed of reinforced concrete and steel, with limestone exterior walls. In 1989, the building was renamed the David G. Eller Building for Oceanography and Meteorology, after David G. Eller, the former Chairman of the University Board of Regents.[32]
The building encompasses 109,609 square feet (10,183 m²) of office, classroom, laboratory, and storage space. Housing the departments of geography, atmospheric sciences, and oceanography, it maintains a TTVN site for distance education which facilitates teaching with the Texas A&M University at Galveston campus. A Doppler radar system located on the roof provides data on severe storms.[33]
Jack K. Williams Administration Building
The Administration Building is the centerpiece of the main entrance to Texas A&M University. For many years home to all of Texas A&M's administrative offices, the Jack K. Williams Administration Building opened its doors in 1932. It continues to house several Texas A&M University and Texas A&M University System offices and agencies. Designed by Professor C.S.P. Vosper and built by Campus Architect F.E. Giesecke, features of this monumental classical structure include intricate Ionic columns, polished brass handrails along its marble staircases and stained-glass windows. In 1997, the building was officially named after former Texas A&M University president Jack Williams to honor his work in increasing enrollment while preserving the traditional aura of the campus.[34][35]
Kyle Field at sunrise, viewed from the west side
Kyle Field
Main articles: Kyle Field
One of the most prominent architectural features of the campus is the Kyle Field, also known as ''The Home of the 12th Man''. In the fall of 1904, Edwin Jackson Kyle, professor of horticulture and an 1899 graduate of Texas A&M and current, fenced off a section of the southeast corner of campus that had been assigned to him for agricultural use. Using $650 of his own money, he purchased the covered grandstand from the Bryan fairgrounds and built wooden bleachers to raise the seating capacity to 500 people.[36][37] After the first World War, the stadium was dedicated as a living memorial to the Aggies who died in that conflict. On game days 55 American flags, one for each Aggie killed, fly around the highest points of the stadium. The Standard At Kyle Field, the November 1921 game between the Aggies and their archrival the University of Texas became the first college football game to offer a live, play-by-play broadcast.[38]
Over the years, the modest wooden bleachers were expanded to a three deck concrete stadium with a capacity of 82,600, currently the second largest football venue in Texas.[39] Other features of the stadium and surrounding area include the Bright Football Complex, an award-winning natural grass field, Kyle Field's turf the "13th man"? the Texas A&M Sports Museum, the award-winning press box, and the second largest video board in college athletics and one of the ten largest in the world[40]. Kyle Field is often regarded as one of the most intimidating college football stadiums in the nation. CBS Sportsline listed Kyle Field as the nation's best with a perfect score in three categories (atmosphere, tradition, and fans).[41]
MSC Flagroom
Memorial Student Center
For more than 50 years, the Memorial Student Center (MSC) has been a living memorial, a living room, and a living tradition at Texas A&M University. Dedicated on Muster Day in 1951, the building is dedicated to all Aggies, past or future, who have given or will give their lives in wartime.[42] Because the building and grounds are a memorial, those entering the MSC are asked to remove their hats and not walk on the surrounding grass lawns.[43]
On the main floor of the MSC is the Flagroom, a large, flag-lined room which students use for meetings, visiting, napping, and studying. The MSC also contains a bookstore, a post office, three art galleries, three dining facilities, and a seventy room hotel. Additionally, the MSC contains many meeting rooms and is the home of numerous student committees "that provide an array of educational, cultural, recreational and entertainment programs for the Texas A&M community."
Transportation
On-campus residents, who make up about 20% of the student body, usually travel to classes by walking, biking, or taking the on-campus shuttle.[44] Faculty, staff, and visitors may also take advantage of the on-campus shuttle route system, which operates from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, and at select times during nights and weekends.[45][46] Sidewalks and walkways pervade the campus to allow pedestrians to travel to their selected destination. Multiple bike racks are located throughout the campus, especially adjacent to buildings, for bicyclists to park their bicycles.[47]
Off-campus residents, who make up the remaining 80% of the student body, may travel to campus by walking, bicycling, driving by motor vehicle, or taking the off-campus shuttle.44 Students who reside in the Northgate area usually walk or bike to campus due to its close proximity. Those who travel to campus by an automobile park on assigned student parking lots located throughout the campus and travel to their classes by walking or taking the on-campus shuttle. Motorcycle parking lots are also located throughout the campus for motorcyclists.[48] As the on-campus shuttle route, the off-campus route operates 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, and at select times on nights and weekends.[49]46
Branch campuses
Additionally, the university includes two branch campuses: Texas A&M at Qatar located in Education City in Doha, Qatar devoted to engineering disciplines[50] and Texas A&M University at Galveston in Galveston, Texas, devoted to marine research and host to the Texas Maritime Academy.[51]
References
1. Bryan-College Station: Quick Facts
2. Union Pacific, A&M, CS officials agree to slow trains
3.
4. The Campus in 2020: Connect East and West Campus
5. Texas A&M Campus Map Project
6. Texas A&M University
7. A Pictorial History of Texas A&M University, 1876-1976, , Henry C., Dethloff, Texas A&M University Press, 1975,
8. "Old Main": A Visual Record of a Building's Life and Passing
9. Gaithright Hall: A Magnificent Afterthought
10. Ross Elevated College from "Reform School"
11.
12. Texas A&M's castle: The Old Mess Hall (1897-1911)
13. Military Walk Renovation - Architectural and Engineering Services
14. Aggies recall days at Annex
15. The Birth of the Tenth Presidential Library: The Bush Presidential Materials Project, 1993-1994
16. Texas A&M Campus Map Project
17. Handbook of Texas Online
18. http://www.astronautscholarship.org/grissom.html
19.
20. Aggies recall days at Annex
21.
22. Riverside Campus-Texas A&M University
23. Texas Engineering Extension Service website
24. North American Motorsports
25. College of Architecture Newsletter Fall 2006
26. College of Architecture
27. Riverside Campus
28. A Symbol of Academic Excellence: The Academic Building
29. Academic Building
30. Albritton Bell Tower
31. Texas A&M To Join In National Day Of Prayer And Remembrance
32. TAMSCAMS' Meteorology Department History
33. TAMU Geosciences Facilities page
34. Jack K. Williams Honored With Building Dedication
35. Jack K. Williams Administration Building
36.
37. ''A Centennial History of Texas A&M University, 1876-1976'', , Henry C., Dethloff, Texas A&M University Press, ,
38. First Play-by-Play Radio Broadcast of a College Football Game
39. Kyle Field
40. Lights, Camera, Action: Introducing 12th Man TV
41. Top 25 College Football Stadiums
42. A Living Memorial
43. Faculty Survival Tips
44. Texas A&M University Fall 2006 Enrollment
45. On-Campus Routes
46. Night & Weekend Service
47. Texas A&M University Bike Rack Locations
48. Texas A&M University Campus Parking
49. Off-Campus Routes
50. Texas A&M University at Qatar
51. Texas A&M University at Galveston
External links
★ Texas A&M University Campus Maps
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