Roy G. Cullen Memorial Building

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Roy G. Cullen Memorial Building
The Roy G. Cullen Memorial Building across from the Cullen Family Plaza
Building Information
Name	Roy G. Cullen Memorial Building
Location	Houston, Texas
Country	United States
Coordinates	29°43′12″N 95°20′41″W / 29.72002, -95.34478
Architect	Lamar Q. Cato
Client	University of Houston
Construction Start Date	1938
Completion Date	1939
Style	Art Deco

The Roy Gustav Cullen Memorial Building, also known simply as the Roy G. Cullen Building, is the oldest building on the present-day campus of the University of Houston. It is believed to be the first building on a campus of higher education in the United States with air conditioning.^[1] Construction for the building began in 1938, and was completed the following year.

[edit] History

From its inception in 1927, the relatively young University of Houston did not have a dedicated campus. In 1936, when the university was still located at South Main Baptist Church, Houston philanthropists Julius Settegast and Ben Taub donated conjoining pieces of land totaling 110 acres (0.45 km²) to the university. This land was to be used as a permanent campus for the University of Houston.

Although land had been donated to the university, it was not until two years later that the university was able to actually build anything at the location. Hugh Roy Cullen, a wealthy businessman, and his wife Lillie Cullen donated a combined $335,000 dollars for the first permanent building to be built at the campus. The building was named the "Roy Gustav Cullen Memorial Building" as a memorial to the Cullens' only son who had died in an oil field accident two years earlier. H.R. Cullen would later serve as Chairman of the Board of Regents for the university, and before his death in 1957, had donated over $11 million dollars to the University of Houston.^[2]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official building profile