Thompson Hall History

The Administration Building, now Thompson Hall, in 1908. Photo courtesy WSU Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections

Thompson Hall was built 1893-1894 and is the oldest standing building on the WSU campus. This building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It was known as the Administration building until April 1972, when it was renamed Albert W. Thompson Hall. Thompson served as Dean of Humanities in the College of Sciences and Arts. It is commonly said that one of the towers wasn’t finished in order to avoid paying the state for the building. However, this story is fiction and the original plans called for one of the towers to “terminate with a deck to receive the meteorological instruments.”

<gallery> Image:Thompson1898.jpg|1898. Photo courtesy WSU Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections. Image: Thompson1954.jpg|1954. Photo courtesy WSU Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections. Image: Thompsonretrocars.jpg|Photo courtesy WSU Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections. Image: Proposedthompson1892.jpg|Proposed sketch of the Administration Building that was dubbed "The Castle". Photo courtesy WSU Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections. Image:Thompsonentrance.jpg|The Administration Building as seen through the original welcome arch. Photo courtesy WSU Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections.