Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History
Sauer, Anne
Branco, Jessica
Bennett, John
Crowley, Zachary
2000
Robinson Hall, 1900
Robinson Hall was built in 1900 to serve as a home to the Department of Electrical Engineering and to provide office and laboratory space for the Departments of Civil and Mechanical Engineering on the Medford Campus. It was named after Charles Robinson, longtime president of the University's Board of Trustees. | |
Robinson Hall was originally designed to serve as a permanent home for the departments of the College of Engineering. Its three stories and high basement contained equipment rooms, laboratories, classrooms, offices, and a large technichal drawing room for civil engineering. At first, the building facilities were used mainly for the Department of Electrical Engineering, although the Department of Physics also controlled a portion of the facilities. In 1937, the attic of Robinson was renovated to serve as a radio laboratory, and photo labs and dark rooms were also completed. In 1940, the Department of Electrical Engineering moved its facilities to the newly completed Hooper Laboratories. Mechanical Engineering also used laboratory space in Robinson until the completion of the Bray Laboratories in 1947.After most of the engineering departments had vacated the building, it was renovated to provide more effective facilities for the Department of Physics. By 1950, only the Department of Physics and the Department of Mathematics remained in Robinson Hall. | |
As of 2000, Robinson Hall houses the offices and classrooms of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. | |
Source: TW 1905, 1937; RNTB2 | |
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