Academic Building - A Dome Built From Ashes

Photo: Srujan1001, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Texas A&M Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.

The building in front of you was completed in 1914 on the site of Old Main, the college's first building. Old Main was finished in 1875, a year before the college opened, and it held almost everything: classrooms, the library, the president's office. In the early hours of May 27, 1912, fire broke out on its fourth floor. Cadets and firefighters fought the flames, then turned to carrying out records as the building was lost. The cause was never determined.

Campus architect Frederick Giesecke and Samuel Gideon designed the replacement in reinforced concrete faced with brick, at a time when design standards for concrete were still experimental. The copper dome was once kept polished, but the practice stopped over concerns about glare near the local airport, and it has weathered to the soft green you see today.

If the doors are open, step into the rotunda. A one-ton replica of the Liberty Bell hangs there, a gift from Governor Allan Shivers honoring Aggie service in World War II, and the university seal is set in mosaic in the floor.

Getting here: Walk a few steps across the plaza to the front steps beneath the dome.

Did you know?: A light on top of the dome, nicknamed Prexy's Moon, once guided students at night. It was taken down in 1931 because cadets kept shooting at it, and it now rests in Cushing Library.

Photo op: Inside the rotunda, look straight up and frame the Liberty Bell replica against the underside of the dome.

More on Wikipedia: Campus of Texas A&M University · Allan Shivers · Liberty Bell

Academic Building - A Dome Built From Ashes

Stops on this tour