Fifty Years of Progress at New Mexico State University

Quesenberry Field was added on the east end of campus in the early 1930s. It would become the future site of Aggie Memorial Stadium and Memorial Tower. Construction of Dove Hall started later this year. In 1937 the agriculture building, Wilson Hall, southwest of Goddard Hall, suffered a catastrophic fire.

Williams Gymnasium, north of Quesenberry Field, opened in 1938. Construction on Rhodes and Garrett halls was about to begin.

Rhodes Hall has been completed. Work on Garrett Hall was finished in 1942. The construction of a new student union, Milton Hall, started in 1941 but was not completed until 1947.

Hadley Hall, nearing completion, officially opened its doors in 1953. Built at the same time were Branson Hall and O’Loughlin House. Fabian Garcia Memorial Hall, now known as Garcia Annex, opened in 1949.

Continuing to expand its east and west borders, the Alumni Avenue dorms were built in 1961, the golf course in 1962, and an agriculture building, Gerald Thomas Hall, in 1963. Jacobs Hall and the Herschel Zohn Theatre, near the center of campus, were under construction.

Six major construction projects had been completed, were underway, or were about to start: Garcia Hall, Corbett Center Student Union, Pan American Center, O’Donnell Hall, Guthrie Hall, and an addition to the west end of Gerald Thomas Hall.

Additions were added to the north ends of the Chemistry and Biochemistry building and Gardiner Hall in 1969. Miller Field, the campus’ athletic field dating back to the 1890s, became a parking lot. Skeen Hall was erected on the site in 1999.

One of the oldest remaining buildings on campus, the Science Hall, built in 1897, was demolished in 1974. Residential neighborhoods near campus have grown.

The original Aggie Memorial Stadium was torn down, leaving only the Memorial Tower. The English and Speech buildings and Williams Annex were built on what was once Quesenberry Field. To the west, the Business Complex and the Music building were built in 1983.