Hilgard Hall
historic place
Hilgard Hall, a historic place in Berkeley, California, was completed in 1917. The building is named for Eugene W. Hilgard, who served as the first dean of the University of California College of Agriculture from 1874 to 1904. Hilgard also founded the University Agricultural Experimental Station. Architect John Galen Howard designed Hilgard Hall in a Neo-classical and Northern Italian Renaissance style. Originally, granite cladding was planned, but economic constraints during World War I led to the use of cement-washed concrete. The building was specifically intended to support agricultural studies, housing seven divisions of the College of Agriculture. Hilgard Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 25, 1982. A prominent inscription on its west elevation states: 'To Rescue for Human Society the Native Values of Rural Life.' This structure remains a key part of the University of California, Berkeley's agricultural and architectural heritage.