Designed in 1911 by the New York architect Cass Gilbert, Battle
Hall is the only academic building on campus listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. As University Architect
(1909-1922), Gilbert was given carte blanche over the design for
what was to be the University of Texas first library building.
His design credentials included designs for the U.S. Supreme
Court Building, the Minnesota State Capitol, and the Woolworth
Building in Manhattan. On Battle Hall, Gilbert excluded all
ornamentation indigenous or identifiable to Texas and instead
adopted a Spanish-Mediterranean revival style, in place of
Collegiate Gothic, as that which best suited the image of the
fledgling university as well as the Texas climate. This style
became the model for future buildings on campus, including
Sutton Hall (1918), Gilbert's only other structure at The
University. Gilbert's building served as The University Library
until the Main Building's completion in 1937, at which time it
was also used for fine arts classes an