The passage of the Million Dollar Bond Issue in 1917 by the Tennessee Legislature provided funds for the university to expand its buildings. President Ayres strongly advocated razing Old, East, and West Colleges to provide for a large, stately structure to crown the Hill, and the board of trustees adopted his plan. Alumni, among them UT graduate and architect John Fanz Staub, opposed razing Old College. The board compromised and appropriated $9,000 to move Old College, but it was determined that the bricks had deteriorated to the point that the building could not be moved. The trustees moved forward with the Ayres plan for a large main building that would house the administration, classrooms, and professors’ offices in the humanities disciplines. The cost of the project was $689,500, which included expansion of the heating plant and equipping the building. The trustees thought the cost was very high and blamed inflated construction costs following World War I.
The Hill was reshaped and lowered to the level of the floor of Jefferson Hall (the pavilion), and the 15,000 cubic yards of earth removed were used partially to create Shields-Watkins Field. Miller, Fullenwider, and Dowling of Chicago, working closely with Ayres, designed the building. The Miller of this firm was Grant C. Miller, who had designed the Carnegie Library (now Austin Peay) as the Miller in the firm of Patton and Miller. Ayres was originally designed to have an addition to the south, which would have required razing South College. But plans for expanding Ayres were laid aside during the Depression, and then they were dropped with the 1934 decision to retain South College. An annex to the boiler room of Estabrook Hall was required to hold a new 175 HP boiler capable of heating such a large building, and steam pipes had to be run from Estabrook to the top of the Hill.
During the laying of a trench for the steam pipes, six skeletons were found below the driveway just west of Barbara Blount Hall. While the remains could not be identified, they were believed to be those of Union soldiers killed during the battle of Knoxville.
At President Harcourt Morgan’s suggestion, the board of trustees named the building for President Ayres, who had dreamed of it and had worked with the architects on the design but who died before the first brick was laid for the structure. Ayres’s name is twice misspelled (as Ayers) on the building plaque. (The name of the building was misspelled Ayers in the 1934 Volunteer, as well.) The building plaque for Morgan Hall has Dr. Ayres’ name correctly spelled twice and additionally notes that he was deceased.
The Ayres building was taken out of service for a full renovation in 2008 and was returned to service in late 2010. The overarching historic renovation upgraded all building systems and bathrooms, installed three elevators, and fully air-conditioned the building while preserving significant architectural details, minimizing changes required to make the building fully functional for its purpose and meeting current building codes. The most significant historical artifact saved was the monumental stair. The signature terrazzo steps, along with its iron railing and heavy wood cap, Gothic windows, and flying arches, all remain intact and were restored to incorporate the architect’s original vision. Using the original architect’s plans, marble that was too costly for the original project was added in the renovation. The original floors were refinished and reused; only the fourth floor does not have original flooring. Benches were added in hallways to allow for student seating. The original terrazzo floors were repaired and retained.
The exterior of the building was not changed except for the addition of a patio (that appeared in the original architectural plans) on the Cumberland Avenue (front) side of the building, the addition of a small patio on the east side of the building, and the addition of clocks in the blank clock faces.
A major effort was made to proceed with the renovation in a manner that would result in LEED Certification by the Green Building Council. On July 5 Chancellor Cheek announced that Ayres Hall was UT’s first on-campus building to receive LEED certification—at the Silver Level. UT nominated Ayres Hall for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (along with Tyson House and Hopecote), and Ayres was added to the National Register in August 2012.