{"id":21314,"date":"2018-12-06T09:14:10","date_gmt":"2018-12-06T15:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/baylorproud\/?p=21314"},"modified":"2018-12-07T07:33:44","modified_gmt":"2018-12-07T13:33:44","slug":"80-years-ago-the-cornerstone-was-laid-for-baylors-beloved-pat-neff-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/baylorproud\/2018\/12\/80-years-ago-the-cornerstone-was-laid-for-baylors-beloved-pat-neff-hall\/","title":{"rendered":"80 years ago, the cornerstone was laid for Baylor’s beloved Pat Neff Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Every Baylor Bear knows the iconic Pat Neff Hall. It houses the highest offices at the university — including the president herself — and is no doubt one of the most photogenic buildings<\/a> on campus. Eighty years ago today — Dec. 7, 1938 — the building was “born,” when the cornerstone was laid in a ceremonial event.<\/p>\n

Baylor’s enrollment at the time was booming, even amidst\u00a0the Great Depression. This was great news for the university, but led to overcrowded classrooms and lack of faculty space. Thankfully, the General Education Board, a New York-based philanthropic organization dedicated to supporting higher education institutions, offered $50,000 for the construction of an administration building to free up classroom space.<\/p>\n

And so, construction on the new building — eventually named Pat Neff Hall, in honor of the president who saw the university through the country\u2019s most difficult economic struggle<\/a> — began, celebrated with the cornerstone-laying ceremony mentioned above. Designed by the Waco architectural firm Birch D. Easterwood and Son, the 46,000-square-foot, American Georgian-style building was completed in 1939 at a total cost of\u00a0$250,000, and dedicated on the next Baylor Founders Day, Feb. 1, 1940.<\/p>\n

\"Pat<\/a>