Over the span of nearly a century…
The College of Design, Construction and Planning has grown drastically since starting as a school within a neighboring college. Ninety years later, we recount the intriguing stories and vital decisions made throughout the years that established DCP’s legacy.
It all began in 1925 when a renowned architect, Rudolph Weaver, was appointed director of the newly established School of Architecture at the University of Florida. SoA was placed within the College of Engineering and offered a four-year course leading to a Bachelor of Science in Architecture.
Four years later in 1929, the program grew apart from the engineering college and formed its own independent unit, known as the School of Architecture and Allied Arts.
Weaver, who remained as SoA director until 1944, earned a national reputation as the architect to the State Board of Control of Institutions of Higher Learning and was responsible for campus planning for educational institutions around the state.
Although little is known as to where the first architecture students claimed their spots on campus, documents found with the one below stated that summer school classes of 1928 were held on the third floor of Peabody Hall.
What do you know about the “Roaring Twenties?”
When you think about the 1920s, do you think of flappers, Henry Ford’s Model T automobiles and famous film stars such as Charlie Chaplin? All these iconic images help shape the dynamic decade into what we remember today.
Listed below are a few facts that helped shape the 1920s:
UF facts
- UF Presidents
– 1909-27: Albert A. Murphree
– 1927-28: (Interim) James M. Farr
– 1928-47: John J. Tigert - 1925: The first female, Lassie Goodbread-Black, enrolls at UF in the College of Agriculture.
Campus-wide student enrollment:
- 1925: 1,860
- 1926: 1,968
- 1927: 2,073
- 1928: 2,270
- 1929: 2,257
World events
- 1926: First female swims the English Channel: Gertrude Ederle
- 1927: Babe Ruth creates the Home-Run Record
- 1928: Sliced bread is invented
- 1929: Start of the Great Depression
Excerpt from the 1929 UF Yearbook, The Seminole:
”…For the first time the School of Architecture under the direction of Dr. Rudolph Weaver is sending out a group of graduates in architecture. These men too will soon take their place with other Florida graduates as leaders in their profession and an honor to one of the largest colleges of the University.”
(Photo of Rudolph Weaver courtesy of Pete Prugh, all other from UF Archives.)