Lathrop Hall is named for Austin E. "Cap Lathrop, a Fairbanks businessman who served as trustee for the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines and regent for the University of Alaska.

Austin E. "Cap" Lathrop was born in 1865 in Michigan. He dropped out of school in the ninth grade and made his way to Alaska in 1895. Lathrop was, for a time, Alaska's wealthiest resident. His holdings included the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, a chain of movie theaters, the first two radio stations in Alaska, two banks and the Healy River Coal Corp. In 1924, his Alaska Moving Picture Corp. produced The Chechahcos (sic), the first feature-length film shot entirely in Alaska.

He was named to the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines Board of Trustees in 1933, a position he held until his death in 1950. He served as vice president of the board from 1933-50. In 1935, when the college was renamed, the college's board of trustees became the UA Board of Regents.

Lathrop was active in the financial dealings of the university. In 1948, when the university was badly in need of funding, Lathrop helped secure $200,000 in interest-free loans from private businesses. Lathrop died in 1950 when he fell beneath the wheels of a railroad car at his Healy coal plant.

Lathrop Hall
The Austin E. Lathrop Residence Hall opened in 1962 as on-campus housing for 134 male students. The $750,000 building was financed by the sale of revenue bonds authorized by the 1961 Alaska Legislature. Olsen and Sands of Juneau designed the building and the general contractor was Helbb and Narodick of Seattle.

Lathrop Hall today is coed by floor. In 1995, Lathrop was renovated and equipped with new furniture and wiring for cable television and high-speed Internet connections.

Sources: “The Cornerstone on College Hill “ by Terrence Cole; “Austin E. Lathrop Residence Hall Open House” program, Sunday, May 27, 1962, “University of Alaska Special Events Collection,” UAF Alaska and Polar Regions Archive; Nathan Platt, Residence Life, 2002.
"The People Behind Campus Names" On these pages, you will find the stories of the people behind the names. Who are they and what did they contribute to the University of Alaska?