ermier Hall, an austere brown brick structure stands almost out of place among the more ornate buildings of the old campus.  It even seems to be facing the wrong way, for the back of the building is located on Ross Street while the front faces the north side of the Academic Building, which at the time, was the central focus of the campus.  Today, old oak trees soften the front elevation, making it appear more like the other campus landmarks.  Completed in 1919 at a cost of $75,500, the building served as the administrative headquarters for the Department of Mechanical Engineering.  While Rolland Adelsperger, college architect, is listed as the designer, notes located in the University Archives indicate it was most likely the work of his chief draftsman Scott Dune.
    According to the 1919-20 annual report of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, the building opened for occupancy on February 15, 1920.  The report also gives details on the original configuration of the structure. "This building is 52 feet wide and 94 feet long.  It comprises a high basement and three stories, and is modern and fireproof in all respects.  

In the basement are provided two laboratories, preparation, storage, and shipping rooms.  On the first floor are administrative offices, reception and display rooms for model equipment; on the second floor are rooms for offices, lecture rooms and a departmental library; on the third floor are two large drafting rooms, blueprint room and small auditorium with a seating capacity of approximately three hundred."
    In style the building is out of place with the neighboring structures.  There are no massive decorative columns, pilasters or belt courses.  Ernest Langford '13, architect and archivist, described the building in his notes on campus architecture as "rather severe" but with some "redeeming" features.  Small decorative columns and an ornate entrance were of particular note.  As a whole the building echoes the Romanesque style of the "agricultural quadrangle" that was never built (Texas Aggie, November 1999).  Unfortunately, two small decorative towers at the front of the building were removed during one of the several renovations.
    In 1940, the Board of Directors named the building for the highly respected Emile Jerome Fermier, head of the department of mechanical engineering from 1906 until his death on December 19, 1927.  Professor Fermier, a graduate of Valparaiso and Purdue University , brought both dignity and practicality to the young Texas A&M. 
    Fermier Hall is now home to Engineering Technology, Industrial Distribution, the Thomas A. Reed Center, the Center for Telecommunication, Technology Management, and the Semiconductor Systems Laboratory.