Laboratory Row

Laboratory Row is a collection of buildings at Michigan State University's campus built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it comprises the oldest collection of buildings on campus. The site originally was dedicated to the schools first farming facilities, but as the college a outgrew its first buildings additional academic space was needed. In all, seven buildings were built of which six survive today. ^[1]

MSU's Laboratory Row in 1912 (left to right): Horticulture, Bacteriology, Botany, Dairy, Entomology, and Agriculture. All but Agriculture Hall have since been renamed.^[2][3]

Buildings

Agriculture Hall

Built in 1909, in a Neo-Classical design, it was the largest building at M.A.C when it opened and still houses the College of Agriculture and Natural Science today. In 1999, on New Year Eve, the building was subject to an act of eco terrorism when the building was set on fire by the members of the Earth Liberation Front causing more than $1 million of damage protesting research involving genetically modified crops being conducted at the university. In 2008 four people were arrested and charged with setting the fire and later convicted^{[4] [5]}

Cook Hall

Opened 1889 as the Agriculture Laboratory it was the first agricultural laboratory at M.A.C. It then became know as Entomology, the Department of Entomology occupied the space after Agriculture Hall opened in 1909 until 1948 when the Natural Sciences Building was constructed. The building is named after Dr. Albert John Cook a Professor of Zoology and Entomology at the schhol from 1868 to 1893, today it serves as office space for various departments within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Chittenden Hall

Formerly the Dairy and Forestry building it was constructed in 1892. It became home to the Forestry Department when a new Dairy building was built in 1912, forestry moved from the building in 1966 when the Natural Resources Building opened in 1966. The building is named after Alfred K. Chittenden a Professor of Forestry from 1914 to his death in 1930

Eustace–Cole Hall

Eustace-Cole hall is home to the MSU Honors College.

Formerly University College Building,Harry J. Eustace Hall, formerly Horticultural Laboratory is the only building on MSU's main campus that is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the third-oldest extant building on the Michigan State campus. Originally designed as a laboratory for horticulturist Liberty Hyde Bailey in 1888; it housed the horticulture department until 1924 when a the new horticulture building, now known as Old Horticulture, opened ^[6]. The building was renamed in 1961 after Harry J. Eustace who chaired Horticulture Department from 1908 to 1918. In 1999 the building underwent a $3 million renovation thanks to a donation by MSU alumni Jeffery and Kathryn Cole being was renamed in their honor. Eustace-Cole now serves as the headquarters of MSU's Honors College.^[7]

Marshall-Adams Hall

The Bacteriology Laboratory opened in 1902 housing the Department of Bacteriology and Hygiene now known as Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. The department would stay there until 1952 when it moved to Giltner Hall. The building was originally named Marshall Hall in honor of Charles Edward Marshall the first department head, in 2002 following a renovation funded by MSU Trustee Randall Pittman, Pittman requested that it be renamed for MSU President and Professor of Economics Walter Adams. The Department of Economics houses it offices in the building today.

Old Botany

Built in 1892 it replaced a Botany building located in the Beal Gardens that was destroyed by fire in 1890. ^[1]

Veterinary Laboratory

The Veterinary Laboratory was built in 1885 on a site just west of Agriculture Hall, it is the only building that was part of Lab Row to have been demolished. The lab was supplanted by a new veterinary clinic in 1913 and was torn down in 1930 when the new Anatomy Building, the first phase of what is now Giltner Hall, was built.^[8]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Forsyth, Kevin S,. "A Brief History of East Lansing, Michigan". A Brief History of East Lansing, Michigan. http://kevinforsyth.net/ELMI/. Retrieved 10 July 2011. 
2. ^ "Haines Photo Co., Conneaut, Ohio.". Library of Congress Prints and Photographs division. July 12, 1912. Accessed April 14, 2007.
3. ^ Forsyth, Kevin S. (2003). "M.A.C. – Laboratory Row". A Brief History of East Lansing, Michigan. http://kevinforsyth.net/ELMI/laboratory-row.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-11. 
4. ^ "Ag Hall arsonist sentenced to 21 years in prison". University Relations. http://news.msu.edu/story/5917/#. Retrieved 10 July 2011. 
5. ^ "Four Charged in 1999 Arson Fire at Michigan State University". Insurance Journal. 13. http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/midwest/2008/03/13/88205.htm. Retrieved 10 July 2011. 
6. ^ President McPherson Renovation Announcement, Archive
7. ^ History of the Honors College
8. ^ Forsyth, Kevin S.. "M.A.C. - Veterinary Laboratory". East Lansing History. http://kevinforsyth.net/ELMI/vet-lab.htm. Retrieved 10 July 2011. 

External links

• MSU Honors College
• M.A.C. — Horticultural Laboratory Building