In 1912 engineering students and faculty observed UT’s first Engineer’s Day by grading and constructing a new road (Estabrook Road) around the east side of the campus, for which the faculty and students had also done all the planning. A total of $600 of concrete and $400 in cash for the project were secured by Professor Charles Ferris by “rubbing his little book” (Manual for Engineers) to secure contributions to be repaid by advertisements in future editions.
The work began at 8:00 a.m., and members of the Domestic Science Department served lunch to the workers. The day was completed by a banquet at the Colonial Hotel, at which toasts were responded to by President Ayres, Dean Hoskins, and Professor Ferris, among others. The Engineering Alumni of 1911 and former classes donated funds for the entrance posts for this road, and students and faculty erected the pillars after the construction of the road was completed.
The road was widened to 30 feet in 1930 by using dirt excavated from the foundation of Perkins Hall as fill along the creek side of the road. The portion of the road between Neyland Stadium and Alumni Memorial Building was closed permanently in fall 1979 due to the stadium expansion.