Six Buildings Grew into a Landmark Campus

The school began as Texas Technological College. When it opened in 1925, the whole campus was six buildings and 914 students. That small beginning is easy to miss now, but it helps explain why Texas Tech feels less like an addition to Lubbock and more like one of the city's old anchor points.

Even the look was chosen for this ground. Campus architect William Ward Watkin based the Administration Building's front on a Spanish Renaissance university facade from 1553. He thought the broad tablelands around Lubbock shared the color and character of central Spain. Once you know that story, the pale walls, arches, and carved detail stop looking accidental.