In 1878, Fort Collins residents watched as Colorado Agricultural College took root — brick by brick — in the fledgling pioneer town.
The college, now Colorado State University, had been established eight years earlier as the state’s public land grant university. And, while a small shanty was constructed near the present-day corner of Laurel Street and College Avenue to solidify Fort Collins’ claim to the college in 1874, it wasn’t until 1878 that it started to feel like a proper campus.
That’s when ground broke on the university’s first main building. It was massive by the day’s standards — three stories constructed of hardy red brick, tall arched windows topped with stone lintels, and an imposing Victorian-esque bell tower. It opened to Colorado Agricultural College’s first class of students in September 1879…