LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Texas Tech University’s Administration Building, the first and oldest structure on campus, has been designated a Registered Texas Historic Landmark.
Texas Tech and the Lubbock County Historical Commission made the designation official during a Texas Historical Marker Celebration Friday. The designation is the highest honor the State of Texas gives to historically and architecturally significant buildings.
The Administration Building was constructed between 1924 and 1925, after Texas Technological College was founded in 1923. It became the second structure on campus to receive the designation, joining the Dairy Barn, which was designated in 2015.
“For more than a century, generations of Red Raiders have passed through these doors and gathered around this building for some of the most important moments and traditions in the life of our university,” Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec said. “The Administration Building has become a timeless and iconic symbol of Texas Tech, even as the university has grown and changed around it. This designation recognizes the important place it holds in our history.”
Three other buildings on campus have received Texas Historical Markers: the Human Sciences Cottage (2026), the Judging Pavilion (1982) and the McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center (2019), which once served as the home of the Texas Tech president.
As the first building on campus, the Administration Building housed all four original schools — Agriculture, Engineering, Home Economics and Liberal Arts — along with administrative offices, classrooms and the campus library.
Then-Texas Gov. Pat Morris Neff took part in the ceremony that laid the building’s cornerstone on Nov. 11, 1924.
“When you look at the Texas Tech Administration Building today, it’s easy to think of it simply as the university’s most recognizable and historic building,” said Sean Cunningham, a professor of history and associate dean for administrative affairs in the College of Arts & Sciences. “But its significance goes beyond its architecture. For more than a century, the Administration Building has been a physical witness to the development of Texas Tech and the growth of this beautiful campus.”
The building’s façade was modeled after the 1553 redesign of the Universidad De Alcalá De Henares in Spain by Spanish architect Rodrigo Gil De Ontañón. The school’s opening event and student convocation took place on the building’s south lawn on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, 1925.
In addition to housing colleges, offices and classrooms, the building has hosted annual commencement ceremonies, recognition ceremonies, student convocations and musical performances.
The east and west wings were added in the early 1950s. Since 1959, the annual Carol of Lights celebration has marked the start of the holiday season, featuring holiday lighting and carillon music from the building’s west tower.
The east tower features the Victory Bells, which are rung after every Texas Tech athletic victory and during other celebrations, including the ring ceremony. The traditional Double-T bench, donated in 1931, and a statue of former Gov. Preston Smith are located in the building’s courtyard.
Copyright 2026 KCBD. All rights reserved.