{"id":129732,"date":"2026-01-20T01:07:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T01:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/129732\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T01:07:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T01:07:11","slug":"farish-halls-demolition-leaves-behind-bittersweet-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/129732\/","title":{"rendered":"Farish Hall\u2019s demolition leaves behind bittersweet memories"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tUniversity of Houston students watch as the demolition of Farish Hall begins on Monday, Nov. 25, 2025 in Houston, Texas. | Raphael Fernandez\/The Cougar<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tFarrish Hall demolition continues on Friday Jan. 16, in Houston, Texas. | Raphael Fernandez\/The Cougar<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tFarish Hall\u2019s demolition begins on Monday, Nov. 25, 2025 in Houston, Texas. | Raphael Fernandez\/The Cougar<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tFarrish Hall demolition continues on Friday Jan. 16, in Houston, Texas. | Raphael Fernandez\/The Cougar<\/p>\n

Farish Hall has officially bid farewell to the campus right before students begin their spring 2026 semester.<\/p>\n

Described as a Brutalist structure, the building was designed<\/a> in the late 1960s and early 1970s by Morris Architects and was first occupied<\/a> in 1970.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, barren land stands in the place where this building once served as UH\u2019s College of Education for more than 50 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an education major who is now without a designated building, it is disheartening to know that we no longer have a space of our own,\u201d said teaching and learning junior Lylian Mai. \u201cAll of our classes have been relocated to either the science building or McElhinney. In a sense, it feels as though we have lost a building to call \u201chome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mai expressed that the demolition is inconvenient, especially since there is already a significant amount of construction happening around the campus, making navigation a hassle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During her freshman year, Mai had just one class in the building, but things changed in spring 2025 when all her classes were held in Farish Hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite room was the Kiva, as the layout of the classroom was ideal for group work,\u201d Mai said. \u201cThe classrooms were also small enough to allow students to get to know one another, which helped create a stronger sense of community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Creating a way for the Centennial Plaza to celebrate UH\u2019s 100th year anniversary, the location will now serve as a green space and pedestrian walkway.<\/p>\n

Adding a new space with greenery reduced the heartache of losing a building filled with memories for students like Mai.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea of adding a green space is something the campus truly needs. While there are a few areas on campus suitable for studying outdoors, they lack natural elements and greenery,\u201d Mai said. \u201cIncorporating this green space would make the campus feel more welcoming and provide opportunities for campus organizations to host outdoor events.\u201d<\/p>\n

While most students have a bittersweet response to the demolition, the fact that it was a huge part of UH\u2019s history remains true.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Students believe that there could have been a better way to preserve the history, while also making way for the new project.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s a way to respect the past by keeping key mementos and making a display of what was once laid upon the foundation of the newer buildings,\u201d said marketing senior Tierre Landrum. \u201cUH could make the first floor a memorial for the preceding generations so that each student recognizes the past as they proceed forward into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Landrum\u2019s opinions were shared by many students, especially alumni who expressed similar thoughts and have shared some sweet moments they have had in the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s funny I never actually took a single class in that building in four and a half years, but I was involved in an on-campus group and we\u2019d have after-hours meetings in some of the empty rooms,\u201d said hotel and restaurant management 2020 graduate Joel Calvin. \u201cIt was a decent building from what I saw, but really the biggest memory I had was watching The Mandalorian in it with friends!\u201d<\/p>\n

Students like Mai, who had regular classes at Farish Hall, do agree that the classrooms lacked natural lighting and the exterior of the building was unappealing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile part of me wishes that UH had found a way to preserve it, I am glad that the University is beginning to modernize the campus one step at a time,\u201d Mai said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

news@thedailycougar.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"University of Houston students watch as the demolition of Farish Hall begins on Monday, Nov. 25, 2025 in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129733,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[55640,55641,31778,55642,55643,56,58,57],"class_list":["post-129732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-100th-anniversary","tag-centennial-plaza","tag-college-of-education","tag-demolished","tag-farish-hall","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129732\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}