Hargis Hall is a traditional towered landmark on the Auburn campus. Built in 1887, it served many purposes over the years, including duty as the university Music Building, and later as oil painting studios for the Art Department. It currently serves as the Graduate School offices. The hall was named in honor of the late Estes Hargis, an alumnus of the class of '17 and a Birmingham physician. He established an endowment in 1964 for Auburn University's first endowed professorship, and his widow, Florence Parker Hargis, made a gift in his memory toward renovation of the building following a fire in the late 1970s.

Both Samford and Hargis Halls were built in the Georgian style of architecture with ornate elements of Greek and Roman revival styles. Design elements found in both buildings include flower motifs, in addition to bas-relief sculptures describing a flowered area beneath the gables. When Samford Hall was rebuilt in 1888, the existing motifs of Hargis Hall were no doubt repeated in the new building. The towered structures of these and similar designs were typical of academic institutions built in the late 19th century.

Towers may have been included on Ross and Ramsay to emulate the two older buildings, according to AU Architect Charles Muller. Buildings with towers were not generally part of the architectural style used when the engineering facilities were designed. In the 60s and 70s, architects moved away from the traditional style for academic buildings and designed more modern structures. But the trend over the past decade has been to maintain universities' historic atmospheres.*
*AU Report, April 10, 1989



**Special Collections and Archives, Auburn University Libraries