Letter from Charles W. Saunders, Architect, to University of Washington Museum Director F. S. Hall, regarding the poor condition of the Forestry Building in which the museum is housed, October 15, 1915

• Main Author: Saunders, Charles W.
• Other Authors: University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Subjects: Saunders; Charles W. > Correspondence; Hall; F. S. > Correspondence; University of Washington > Buildings; Building failures > Washington (State) > Seattle; Pacific; Union Bay; Yukon; Alaska
• Online Access: http://cdm16786.contentdm.oclc.org:80/cdm/ref/collection/pioneerlife/id/8147

The Washington State Museum was housed in the old Forestry Building that was built for he Alaska Yukon Pacfic Exposition in 1909. The collections remained there until about 1923 when the building was destroyed due to rot. Saunders is "convinced that it is very necessary that immediate action be taken to stop the evident decay of the columns throughout and in the case of the hemlock column, a substitution to immediately be made to prevent damage to the building from collapse." In 1854, territorial governor, Isaac Ingalls Stevens, suggested that a university for Washington Territory be established. The school did not officially open until November 4, 1861 with 30 students. In 1862, the Washington territorial legislature incorporated the school and appointed a Board of Regents. Throughout the university's early years, the university consisted not only of college curricula but also preparatory school curricula. The school faced constant changes in administration, enrollment and financial support in its first twenty years, often closing due to lack of students or funds. By the 1890s, the school had grown by leaps and bounds and exceeded the size of its original campus. A graduate of the school and later professor, Edmond Meany, served as head of a committee to choose a new site off of Union Bay, further north and east of its current site. In 1895, the school formally moved to this new campus. In 1902, the school numbered about 600 students but by 1913, there were about 3,340 students. From 1915 to 1926, Henry Suzzallo served as the University's president during which time the school underwent massive changes in new building construction. The current Burke Museum was originally founded in the late nineteenth century by members of the Young Naturalists Society on campus. The building contained their collection of natural history specimens. In 1899, the museum was officially designed as the Washington State Museum, gaining in its collections and research. From 1909 to the 1920s, Frank S. Hall served as the museum's curator and later, director. During his administration of the museum, he attempted to make the aims of the museum to represent Washington State, the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. In 1962, the museum was renamed the Burke Museum following a bequest from Caroline McGilvra Burke in honor of her spouse, Thomas Burke.