Work started in 1911 and by September of 1912 the various departments were able to occupy the new Engineering Building that would later become known as Gundersen Hall, named after mathematics head Carl Gundersen (pictured in series).
The final costs, including new equipment, reached $100,000 for the 34,000 square foot building. Laboratories for testing heavy equipment occupied the first floor, along with several classrooms, a ventilation room to help circulate air in the building, and offices for the Division of Engineering.
The second floor included a laboratory for the physics department, additional classrooms, an engineering library, and offices for the physics and civil engineering departments. Much of the third floor was designated for use as drafting rooms for the departments of mechanical and architectural engineering.
Every engineering graduate for 29 years had been in at least one of Gundersen’s classes by the time he died in 1938.