Latham Hall (1948)

By August 1945, architects were working with the plans for these facilities. The two-story Arts and Industries Building would be approximately 240 x 60 feet. The first floor would be for industrial arts and the second for art. 

However, postwar inflation and building supply shortages delayed construction. President Price asked for an increase in funding, and the legislature responded with a 40% increase from the $905,000 appropriated earlier for all capital projects. Because of the greatly increased postwar enrollment and need for more classroom space, the Arts and Industries Building took priority in construction. The now $366,000 project was designed by Morgan and Gelatt Architects of Burlington; Kucharo Construction of Des Moines was the general contractor. The target completion date was September 1948. 

Excavation for the building began on October 11, 1947. Footing work started October 17. Foundation work was complete by January 1948, but the project stalled until structural steel was delivered to the site in April 1948. Although the contractor believed work could be completed on schedule if they could get a large bricklaying crew for the exterior, by September the completion date was moved to January 1949. However, by spring 1949, only three art classrooms were ready and little equipment had been delivered. 

Both the Art Department and Industrial Arts Department appreciated the new facilities. Professor Harry Guillaume, head of the Art Department, believed elementary-level art education was critical to human development. He said the new building enabled his department to design new courses and hire new faculty. Professor Harold Palmer, head of the Industrial Arts Department, said the new facilities enabled his faculty to prepare citizens for useful lives in an increasingly technical society. Their curriculum expanded from three areas of study to 14. Gordon O. Wilbur, a visiting expert in industrial arts, found the new building one of the finest in the United States.

In 1959, as part of a building program that resulted in Russell Hall, a new health center, and an expanded power plant, the General Assembly appropriated $209,250 for an addition to the Arts and Industries Building. In July 1959, Morgan and Associates of Burlington was again selected as the architect for the work, which would include classrooms and a home for the safety education program. In February 1960, preliminary plans and specifications were approved for the now $235,000 project. The addition would go on the south side of the existing building. The project was completed by September 1961. 

The Department of Art and the Department of Industrial Arts (later Industrial Technology) continued to share the Arts and Industries Building until Industrial Technology moved to the new Industrial Technology Center in August 1975. The Department of Art expanded its work into some of the now-open space. Art students Bill Boss and Laurie Harn suggested and then developed a Student Art Gallery in the building. A student committee scheduled both competitive and individual shows for the gallery. After a $54,000 remodel, in 1976 the Graduate College and Alumni Affairs offices moved into the building as well. 

On August 26, 1980, the Board of Regents approved renaming the Arts and Industries Building to Latham Hall in honor of Orval Ray Latham, president of UNI from 1928 to 1940. Traditionally, UNI has named one campus building for each of its presidents. O. R. Latham Stadium was named after President Latham, but had been razed in 1976 following completion of the UNI-Dome.

By late 1984, the Kamerick Art Building was nearing completion. Once finished, the Department of Art would relocate there from Latham Hall. The university administration planned to renovate the building for the Department of Earth Science and the Department of Home Economics and asked for $3 million to fund the project. However, funding was delayed, and Latham Hall continued to serve as the office area for Personnel Services and the Graduate College. Some classrooms were also used, but they were in poor condition. Director of Planning Leland Thomson said, "We are trying not to use it, because the building in its present form is not efficient… We're just sort of limping along at the present time with the present building."

President Constantine Curris made Latham Hall his top priority for capital improvement. In 1987, $3 million was appropriated for the renovation. The project would improve the mechanical, electrical, and HVAC systems in the building as well as make interior and exterior modifications. Bids were awarded in October 1988, construction began in November 1988, and work was completed in November 1989. The architects were Grimes, Port, Jones, and Schwerdtfeger of Waterloo. Except for stairways and load-bearing walls, the interior was stripped and re-built into labs, classrooms, and offices. Deteriorated exterior awnings were removed. The Department of Earth Science occupied the first level, and the School of Applied Human Sciences the second. Classes were held for the first time in the renovated building in spring 1990.