Today in NC State History: A cafeteria opens in Pullen Hall
Few buildings at NC State have enjoyed a more storied history than Pullen Hall.
Built in 1902, it was named for R. Stanhope Pullen of Raleigh, who gave the state 62 acres in 1887 to build the new North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.
It has served as a chapel and an assembly hall, a library and the site for the first NC State basketball game played on campus. It has seen pigs roam outside for an agricultural fair and a bear locked inside as part of a student prank/protest against mandatory church services. In 1965, the building was destroyed by a fire.
And on this day in 1925, a new cafeteria opened in Pullen Hall. Students could receive a month of meals for $25.
It was, according to the Agromeck, a popular spot for students.
“The dining hall is by far the most popular place on the campus if popularity may be measured by punctual attendance and undivided attention to the subject at hand,” reads a passage in the Agromeck from that year.
The yearbook credited Lillian Fenner, the university’s dietitian, and Louis H. Harris, the dining steward, for their work on behalf of the students.
“They have done much towards keeping our bodies in a healthy condition,” read the yearbook. “And have satisfied our ravenous appetite.”
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