In 1974 UT placed a double row of white trailers behind Ayres Hall, between Ayres and South College. The eyesores were necessary to house temporarily UT’s research animals until the Walters Life Sciences Building was completed. UT had been informed by the federal government and the National Institutes of Health that its facilities were in violation of laws governing facilities for animals used in research—adequate washing facilities were required, and the animals could not be housed in areas used for other purposes—so the trailers became a temporary solution. The trailers were said by the Microbiology Department to be able to house as many as ten thousand rodents for research. Animals required by the Departments of Psychology, Biology, Zoology, and Microbiology were housed in the units.
The trailers also housed the control hamsters used in the research of Dr. Joseph Coggin, who discovered the “UT Virus” that contaminated a laboratory facility in Hesler Biology Building and apparently was transmitted through the air. Following completion of Walters, UT granted Coggin’s request to have the trailers moved to his new location at the University of South Alabama.
In fall 1986, caused in part by having to take South College out of service because of structural problems, heated and air-conditioned modular classroom buildings were placed on the Hill behind Ayres Hall. Those trailers were removed over the winter break following the fall 1995 semester. The Student Government Association was instrumental in having the land left as green space.