Roy G. Cullen Memorial Building

Infobox Modern building

---

caption = The Roy G. Cullen Memorial Building across from the Cullen Family Plaza
name = Roy G. Cullen Memorial Building
location_town = Houston, Texas
location_country = United States
coordinates =coord|29.72002|-95.34478
architect = Lamar Q. Cato
client = University of Houston
engineer =
construction_start_date= 1938
completion_date = 1939
date_demolished =
cost =
structural_system =
style = Art Deco|

The Roy Gustav Cullen Memorial Building, also known simply as the Roy G. Cullen Building, is the oldest building on the present-day campus of the University of Houston. It is believed to be the first building on a campus of higher education in the United States with air conditioning. [cite web |url=http://info.lib.uh.edu/sca/digital/time/buildings_large.html?ID=62&type= |title=Roy Gustav Cullen Memorial |work=UH Through Time: Buildings |publisher=University of Houston Libraries |accessdate=2008-05-30] Construction for the building began in 1938, and was completed the following year.

History

From its inception in 1927, the relatively young University of Houston did not have a dedicated campus. In 1936, when the university was still located at South Main Baptist Church, Houston philanthropists Julius Settegast and Ben Taub donated conjoining pieces of land totaling 110 acres (0.45 km²) to the university. This land was to be used as a permanent campus for the University of Houston.

Although land had been donated to the university, it was not until two years later that the university was able to actually build anything at the location. Hugh Roy Cullen, a wealthy businessman, and his wife Lillie Cullen donated a combined $335,000 dollars for the first permanent building to be built at the campus. The building was named the "Roy Gustav Cullen Memorial Building" as a memorial to the Cullens' only son who had died in an oil field accident two years earlier. H.R. Cullen would later serve as Chairman of the Board of Regents for the university, and before his death in 1957, had donated over $11 million dollars to the University of Houston. [cite web |url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/fcu6.html |title=Cullen, Hugh Roy |work=Handbook of Texas Online |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |accessdate=2008-05-30]

References

External links

* [http://www.uh.edu/campus_map/buildings/C.php Official building profile]