Davis Hall
Davis Hall was built in 1952 and was the home for the Technology Studies program at Fort Hays State University. In this department, students learned about Communications Systems; Power, Energy and Transportation; Engineering Graphics; Wood Processes; Furniture and Cabinet Construction; and Computer-Aided Drafting. The Home Economics department was also housed in this building until that curriculum was discontinued. President Hammond recommended that the Kansas Board of Regents discontinue the Department of Home Economics in 1993. (This information was taken from Fort Hays State University Archives, Forsyth Library, and provided by David Obermayer, Archivist.)
The building was located just north of the Memorial Union. Classrooms, hands-on shop areas and offices made up this 47,450 gross square foot building. It was torn down in the fall of 2017 to prepare the site for the new Art and Design Facility.
The building was named for Edwin Davis, who served the university as a woodworking instructor and as chair of the Industrial Arts department during the period from 1916-1957. Times were hard in the 1930s and federal funds provided many types of jobs for students at Fort Hays Kansas State College. One type of employment was bookbinding under the supervision of Ed Davis. Mr. Davis passed away in 1967.