Welcome to TBT — Throwback Thursday — where we take a look at historic images from the State College area and Penn State.
William Atherton is regarded as one of the most important figures in Penn State history. When he arrived in 1882, the then-Pennsylvania State College had only 87 students and the school was struggling with finances. His efforts galvanized Penn State and set it on a path to growth and excellence. One of his key efforts was securing regular financial support from the state, as well as funding to construct new buildings to support that growth.
The most impressive of those was the Engineering Building, which stood near the corner of College Avenue and Allen Street about where Hammond and Sackett Buildings are today. It was one of six buildings constructed on the campus between 1886 and 1892. ‘Old Engineering was a massive structure with a great arched entrance, onion-dome roofs on bartizans, and other dramatic ornamentation,’ according to the Penn State University Libraries Campus History Collection. ‘It firmly established the campus location for engineering for the next century.’
On the evening of Nov. 25, 1918, the Engineering Building suffered a catastrophic fire. Fire departments from as far away as Tyrone battled the flames for hours and by morning the building was gutted. A large complex containing a wood shop (which contributed to fueling the fire), it also housed a power plant that supplied heat and electricity to a number of campus buildings. As a result, classes were canceled for more than a week.
The engineering department would mostly be housed in the Engineering Units until a new Main Engineering Building — which would later be named after longtime dean Robert Sackett — was finished in 1929.
Engineering Building, circa 1892 (Photo Courtesy of Penn State University Archives)
