Not long after the election and inauguration of Franklin Roosevelt, Birdwell gave a program in Wednesday Assembly on the New Deal. He told the students: “We have been living in a period of depression for the past few years, but we are now living in a period of recovery.” He praised Roosevelt’s “clear concept of the conditions” and his plans for reconstruction. “The way for the American people to make this plan most effective is for everyone to get behind the government.” He also made sure that information on the National Recovery Administration was immediately made available in the Rusk Library.

Birdwell and J. H. Wisely, the Business Manager, immediately saw the possibilities for SFA in the New Deal programs. By the end of the year 1933, they were off to San Antonio to appear before the Public Works Administration Project Committee to secure funds for a men’s dormitory.

Plans for the dormitory date from 1933. They called “for a building to accommodate seventy students, two students to occupy each of the thirty-five rooms in the structure. In addition to the facilities for the accommodation of students rooming in the dormitory, there would be an apartment for the manager, a kitchen, dining room, and social and club rooms for the benefit of students.” The project was “self-liquidating” through the rental of the rooms. In 1934, the Board of Regents issued the bonds for $93,000.00, with the PWA lending the sum using the bonds for collateral. Construction finally got under way in 1935, but occupancy did not come until 1936. The construction of the men’s dorm was almost as troublesome as the construction of the Austin Building. It nearly worked Wisely to death; because of his work on this project and his long service to the school, the new men’s dorm was named Wisely Hall.

Before the Depression was over, SFA would have three major PWA buildings on campus: Wisely Hall for men, Gibbs Hall for women, and the Science Building (now Chemistry). These buildings will be talked about in next week’s edition in more detail.

Other Depression Buildings

Women's Recreation Center

A physical education building for women, requested as early as 1931, was again put on the agenda in 1934. Since the main architect who did the Austin and Rusk Buildings was occupied, Birdwell asked for permission to use a local architect, Mr. Hal Tucker, for the work. They had hoped to let the contract for the building in November, but the bids ran over and re-negotiation took until the spring of 1935. The Women’s Recreation Center cost $14,448.00 with additional amounts of $3,271.00 for heating and plumbing and $845.00 for the electrical work. The WRC was completed by the late summer of 1935. Birdwell referred to it as “a splendid addition ... to the social and recreational interest of the students.”

Home Economics Practice House and the “Band Shack”.

The college also projected plans for a Home Economics Practice House in 1934. It was not approved until 1935 or completed until 1936. It was built out of local funds at a cost of $10,000. The “Band Shack” was also planned in 1934. The buildings was constructed on the site west of Aikman, approximately where the University Police Station is today. It was a rather plain wooden structure build out of local funds.