George W. Carroll Science Hall
GEORGE W. CARROLL SCIENCE HALL
CARROLL SCIENCE HALL WAS NAMED IN HONOR OF BUSINESSMAN AND PHILANTHROPIST GEORGE WASHINGTON CARROLL, WHO GAVE TWO SEPARATE DONATIONS OF $60,000 AND $15,000 TO BAYLOR UNIVERSITY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A HALL DEVOTED TO SCIENCE. IN 1902, THE UNIVERSITY’S SENIOR CLASS “AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED” THE YEARBOOK TO CARROLL, IN RECOGNITION OF HIS DONATION.
COMPLETED IN 1903, CARROLL SCIENCE HALL BOASTED THREE FLOORS AND A BASEMENT CONTAINING LABORATORIES AND CLASSROOMS FOR THE INSTRUCTION OF CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS, BIOLOGY, GEOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY, AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. THE BASEMENT SERVED AS ONE OF THE MANY HOMES OF BAYLOR’S MUSEUM. DESIGNED BY ARCHITECT S. WEMYSS SMITH, THE BEAUX ARTS STYLE BUILDING FEATURES LARGE RUSTICATED LIMESTONE BLOCKS WITH BEADED MORTAR JOINTS IN THE FIRST STORY AND BASEMENT, WHILE THE UPPER BRICK FLOORS MINGLE WITH LIMESTONE STRING COURSES, LINTELS AND SILLS. THE FRONT ENTRANCE INCLUDES FOUR IONIC COLUMNS ABOVE AN ENTRY PAVILION, WHILE THE REAR OF THE RECTANGULAR PLAN BUILDING HAS A PROMINENT ROUNDED EXTENSION.
AS BAYLOR EXPANDED DURING THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, CONSTRUCTION OF THE SID RICHARDSON SCIENCE BUILDING AND THE GOEBEL SCIENCE BUILDING IN THE 1960s LEFT CARROLL SCIENCE HALL WITHOUT ITS ORIGINAL PURPOSE. HOWEVER, A SERIES OF MAJOR INTERIOR RENOVATIONS BEGUN IN THE MID-1970s AND COMPLETED IN THE EARLY 1980s CHANGED LABORATORIES AND OTHER OUTDATED FACILITIES INTO TRADITIONAL CLASSROOMS, WHILE ADDING ESSENTIAL NECESSITIES SUCH AS CENTRAL HEAT AND AIR CONDITIONING. ALTHOUGH THE BUILDING IS NOW THE HOME OF THE UNIVERSITY’S DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, IT RETAINS ITS ORIGINAL NAME, FIRMLY ROOTING IT IN THE HISTORY AND TRADITIONS OF BAYLOR UNIVERSITY.
RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK – 2009.