Frier Building

To accommodate growing enrollments, in 1948 Arizona State College built a science building directly south of Gammage Library. The last campus structure constructed primarily of sandstone, its Colonial Revival style is characterized by symmetrical wings. In 1961, the College renamed the building to honor locally prominent ranchers Della and Thomas Frier who had donated $150,000 to provide scholarships for junior year students dedicated to the scientific and social welfare of man.

From 1950 to 1962, professors of chemistry, earth, and biological sciences taught here. After the College completed a larger science building in 1962, Frier Hall became the home of the School of Forestry. After the 1992 completion of the the Southwest Forest Science Complex on south campus, the Geology Department relocated to Frier Hall.

Today Frier Hall houses classrooms and laboratories, research space, and offices for the School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, which includes Geology. First floor hallways house a small museum displaying minerals, fossils, and geologic maps of the area. Frier also holds the Mifflin Smith Seismic Observatory, which connects earthquake sensors across northern Arizona.