 f the exterior of Bolton Hall appears to mirror Nagle Hall (see
the Texas Aggie, January 1999), the similarity is not an
accident. It was designed to balance out the buildings
around Old Main, which burned during Bolton's construction.
Built in 1912, at a cost of $75,000 and originally known as the
Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Building. It has stood
the test of time to become one of the venerable buildings framing
the very heart of "old A&M"—the Academic Building. Bolton Hall's
stately design is an integral part of that ambience.
Like Nagle, Bolton's "fire
proof" construction is of steel and reinforced
concrete. Unlike Nagle Hall's rectangular design, Bolton
Hall was constructed in the form of the letter
"T." While the front of Bolton repeats the facade
of Nagle, the rest of the floor plan differs considerably.
The addition of the "stem of the T" to the design
provided much needed space for laboratories and lecture
halls. The front of the building is 125 feet wide. The
stem portion of the building provides a depth of 103 feet.
In 1989, the interior of the building was thoroughly modernized
and renovated to extend its life well into the 21st century.
Bolton Hall was officially named in 1939 in honor of Frank C.
Bolton, the "Grand Old Man of A&M." Students
and former students affectionately called him "Bear
Tracks" Bolton.
Bolton
Hall |
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Frank C.
Bolton
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He came to the Agricultural and
Mechanical College of Texas in 1909, just 26 years old and four
years to of Mississippi A&M (now Mississippi State
University). Immediately upon his arrival on campus, Bolton
became professor and head of the new department of electrical
engineering which was located in the old dining room in Gathright
Hall. In 1922 he replaced James C. Nagle as dean of the
school of engineering and in 1932 succeeded Charles Puryear as
dean of the college. In 1937 be became vice-president of the
college and served a year as acting president from 1943 to
1944. The Board of Directors appointed him president in
1948. Bolton stepped down from the presidency in 1950 and
formally retired in 1955 after 46 years of service to Texas
A&M. He died in 1961.
Over the years Bolton Hall has been home
to numerous departments. Electrical engineering held the
longest tenure. Mechanical Engineering moved to Fermier Hall
in 1920 leaving the building to be known for years as simply the
Electrical Engineering Building. After the departure of
electrical engineering for quarters in the new H. B. Zachry
Building in 1971, political science, sociology and anthropology
all made their home in the building. Currently, Bolton
houses the philosophy and speech communication departments.
during its lifetime the building has been the site of historic
events and important research. For years it housed one of
the nation's early computers in the Alternating Current Network
Calculator Laboratory.
On November 24, 1921 W. A.
"Doc" Tolson '23 and Harry M. Saunders '22 produced the
first live play-by-play broadcast of a football game (A&M vs.
Texas—see the Texas Aggie, November 1993 in
the State of Texas, the Southwest, and, in all probability, the
nation from wireless station 5XB located in Bolton Hall).
Bolton is located in front of and to the
north of the Academic Building.
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