University of Idaho Campus Photographs Collection

History

The Administration Building, originally and still sometimes called the “New Administration Building,” was constructed to replace the university’s original 1892 structure (Old Admin), which was destroyed by fire in 1906. The loss was a devastating blow to both the university and the Moscow community, but their resilience prevailed. The Lewiston Morning Tribune urged hope, predicting that “upon the ruins will rise a statelier edifice,” a vision that came true. ¹

Today, the New Administration Building is the most recognizable symbol of higher education in Idaho, a dominant feature of Moscow’s skyline, and the University of Idaho’s “most enduring icon.” ²

In 1911, Theodore Roosevelt delivered a speech in front of the building, standing atop a platform of wheat sacks to address a crowd of thousands. He planted a tree nearby, beginning the tradition of the campus “Presidential Grove.” The choice of location underscored the building’s symbolic role as Idaho’s leading educational beacon. ³

Since opening in 1909, the New Administration Building has served as the university’s nerve center—housing administrative offices, classrooms, study labs, and a grand auditorium. It also held the university library until 1957. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. ⁴

Design

Designed by Boise architect John E. Tourtellotte, the University of Idaho’s Administration Building was praised as the first fireproof building in the Northwest. Constructed in four phases between 1907 and 1937, the U-shaped, three-story structure was built in the Collegiate Gothic style, a popular academic architectural form at the time. Its exterior features red pressed brick with buff-colored Boise sandstone trim, a medium-high gabled roof with dormers, and a symmetrical east-facing primary façade.⁵

Each addition served a growing university: the central and east-facing middle sections were completed in 1909 for $140,000 and originally housed most of the university’s academic departments. The north wing—home to the Administration Auditorium and its stained-glass windows—was finished in 1912 at a cost of $75,000. The south wing followed in 1920 ($90,000), and a library extension was added in 1937 ($110,000). An elevator tower was added to the south wing in 2000. The building’s defining feature is its central tower, modeled after England’s Hampton Court Palace.⁶

This Collegiate Gothic centerpiece includes a cast-stone Tudor-arched entrance with decorative pilasters, a battlemented parapet, and four projecting octagonal turrets. Other notable features include crenellated chimneys, arched window arcading, and concentric Tudor archways at side entrances. Tourtellotte’s attention to ornamental detail is visible throughout, from arch-radiating voussoirs to label-style window trim. Ivy still climbs the façade, adding to the building’s iconic appearance atop the university’s “crested hill,” as President Alfred H. Upham called it in his 1920 inaugural address, “ . . . to which the entire State should look for intellectual leadership”.⁷

Physical Description

The Administration Building stands at 109,824 square feet, with much of the interior minimally altered since its original construction. The structure includes a natural-faced sandstone foundation and consists of two above-grade floors and a full basement (excluding an unexcavated portion beneath the north wing). Its fenestration includes multi-sash windows with transoms, recessed arches, and occasional stained glass. While some original wood windows remain, many have been replaced with aluminum.⁸

In 1950, the Administration Annex was built in the west-facing crux of the U-shape and later replaced in 2002 by the J.A. Albertson Building. Outside the main entrance, a flowerbed and flagpole now occupy the space once held by a campus fountain—removed in the 1940s due to the “Dunking the Frosh” tradition, in which underclassmen were tossed into the icy water by upperclassmen. The original fountain was topped first by a cupid, then a seahorse, which was promptly stolen.

North of the flowerbed sits the “I” Bench, a concrete senior bench shaped like the university’s initial. Breaking its unwritten rules often led to a dunk in the now-absent fountain. To the south are the Memorial Steps, built from salvaged stone of the original 1892 Administration Building, which burned in 1906. The steps—sixteen in all—were installed thanks to Congressman Burton French and President Mervin G. Neale. Atop them sits a stone engraved with the Idaho state seal, flanked by two benches designed by Professor Theodore Pritchard. Nearby are additional benches made from stone salvaged from the Old Engineering Building, demolished in 1951 for the construction of the Niccolls Home Economics Building.

Notes

Images of Administration Building (New)