BUILDING 'B'

The Forge Shop built under a contract for $4444.44, executed in September 1906 with Western Steel Construction Co. of Des Moines.¹ It was completed and put in use in 1907. Thirty forges were installed.² Cost of completed building and equipment was $5518.77.³

Improvements made in 1930 were reported in the September 27 issue of the Iowa State Student:

During the summer months the mechanical engineering forge shop realized several much needed improvements. The main room is now lighted by 12 110-watt bulbs with new reflectors. A new 36 foot line shaft was installed overhead. The additional equipment consists of a new surface grinding machine. The big improvement, however, is a 30-inch ventilating fan which was reclaimed from a junk pile where it had lain for two years. It was installed near the roof in the south end of the shop by the forge instructors.

At the Board meeting of Dec. 11-12, 1958, authorization was granted to construct an $8000 addition to the building for the Engineering Experiment Station. On November 7, 1959, the student paper reported that a west enlargement of the building was for Bituminous Research Laboratories.

Building “B” is still in use by the Engineering Research Institute, the successor to the Engineering Experiment Station.