he oldest buildings on the Texas A&M campus are Nagle hall and the Analytical Services Building.  Nagle hall began its service as the Civil Engineering Building.  In 1929, it was renamed for James C. Nagle, first dean of A&M's school of engineering.  Although revolutionary in structure, the building was more evolutionary in style.  While it was the first campus building to be constructed of steel and reinforced concrete, its design reflected that of Goodwin hall (1908-1990).  IT is clear that the designers were attempting to maintain the campus' distinct architectural style.  Nagle Hall was also the first campus building to make extensive use of cast stone in the columns, belt courses, cornices and balustrades.  The use of a greyish-brown brick gives the structure a prosaic appearance in comparison with the other structures on the central quadrangle.  
     It is interesting to note, considering the history of fires on the campus, that Nagle was the first structure on campus listed as "fire proof" in the college catalogues.  

Nagle Hall

The 125x73 foot building contained nine lecture rooms, five laboratories and four drawing rooms in addition to offices and storerooms.  Originally, its four stories, including basement, housed civil engineering, architectural engineering, drawing, and physics.  at various times in the nearly ninety years of its existence, the Departments of Economics, History and Government, Geography, and Journalism have all made their home in Nagle.  The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences is currently headquartered there.
     The Analytical Services Building opened the same year as Nagle.  Originally called the Experiment Station Building, it furnished badly needed offices, laboratories and storerooms for the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.  Like Nagle Hall, the building has been home to a variety of tenants including the Department of Agronomy as well as the offices and laboratory of the State Chemist.  IT was even known for a while as the State Chemist Building and later as the "Old" State Chemist.  The 115x61-foot structure has little to recommend it architecturally.  The late archivist and architect Ernest Langford '13 described it as a red brick building "trimmed in cheerless gray cast stone."  Its most interesting architectural detail, the cast stone portico over the main entrance, was removed in one of several renovations.  Now the building's exterior is slathered in institutional beige paint, rendering the structure even more architecturally nondescript.  
     For the campus visitor, the two buildings are located in close proximity.  Nagle Hall is to the south of the Academic Building. The Analytical Services Building is approximately one hundred yards to the east, just south of the west wing of the Biological Sciences Building