most historic buildings. “This building from the first stirred the soul of Dr. Atherton as nothing else had done during his administration,” Fred Lewis Pattee once remarked of the building. In fact, President George Atherton was so eager to get the building completed in time for the 1903 commencement that he had the construction site covered with a wooden shell and heaters installed so that construction could continue throughout the cold winter.

The class of 1903 did meet in Schwab Auditorium that June for commencement, thanks in part to President Atherton’s persistence. Atherton is buried in the shadows of this historical edifice on the walkway just outside of the building that helped transform his vision.

The 900-seat auditorium is the first Penn State building to be financed by a privategift. Steel magnate and University trustee Charles Schwab donated the $150,000 needed to fund the project — part of President Atherton’s resurgence plan to emphasize liberal arts curriculum at a once exclusively agricultural institution.

The Schwab Pipe Organ is the result of the Class Gift of 1936. The class also funded a telescope atop Buckhout Laboratory and a made contribution to each of the Renaissance and Library scholarship funds. It is fitting, perhaps, that Charles Schwab was very fond of the instrument and often hosted musicians in his mansion to play on his personal pipe organ.

The pipe organ has been stored under the stage for quite some time now as it is not in working order. Renovation plans have been set for Schwab this spring, and the organ will