In the mid-1920’s President Marquis initiated a school improvement program. One item on the list was the construction of a swimming pool. Plans for the pool were prepared by a committee that included Hugo J. P. Vitz, an industrial arts faculty member, J. W. Smith, P. E. McDonald, and L. T Millican, a contractor. This… Read more »
In 1951, the university invested in expanding and improving the facilities for the Departments of Biology and Chemistry with the opening of Masters Hall. The three-story structure was designed by architect George L. Dahl and stood on the west side of Ave. B and Sycamore (now the site of the Life Sciences Building Complex). It… Read more »
Valentine’s Day has been part of the college experience for decades. Both faculty and staff were part of the celebrations over the years at UNT. In 1920, the Woman’s Faculty Club met for a club meeting, conducted the club’s business, and then made cards for students in the Normal Hospital. In 1926, the Women’s Faculty… Read more »
The University of North Texas is known for the beauty of its campus. In part this is due to the long pedestrian malls on campus that allow students to walk from one building to another without having to cross busy streets. This was not always so. Talk to alumni who were on campus before the… Read more »
From the 1920s to the 1960s the Stage Band provided a reliable source of entertainment on Saturday nights on the North Texas campus. They were also known across Texas and in surrounding states. The Stage Band was formed in 1927-1928 and led by band director Floyd Graham. Graham, who grew up in Denton, was the… Read more »
Mrs. Pearl McCracken was the first college librarian at UNT and was responsible for building the foundations of a growing and vibrant library system at the University of North Texas. The library started as a room in the Normal Building, next to President Kendall’s office, which housed a small collection of books. In 1903, Pearl… Read more »
UNT Special Collections recently acquired the papers of Paul Kruse, a former professor of Library Science here when UNT was still called North Texas State University. Kruse was a professor, a Fulbright Scholar, an actor, a bibliographer, and a librarian. His papers give insight into his full life including his stint in North Texas and… Read more »
This is a guest post, adapted from an essay commissioned by the UNT Art in Public Places Program. 1935 Mural represents a specific historic and cultural moment for the University of North Texas, known in 1935 as North Texas State Teachers College. The campus, then part of the rural community of Denton, was greatly impacted by… Read more »
Today a new historical plaque commemorating the former location of the Harriss Gym was unveiled at the southwest corner of the Hurley Administration Building (near the main entrance to the Union). Along with being the site of women’s athletic events, the Harriss Gym served as the site of many social events on campus from the 1920s… Read more »
The student body at the University of North Texas grew to a whopping 37,000 during the 2015-2016 school year. Considering our humble beginnings offering courses to 70 students in a rented space above a hardware store in downtown Denton over a hundred years ago, our journey from the Texas Normal College and Teacher Training Institute to the… Read more »
