Lea Hall

Lea Hall at ENMU was constructed as a National Youth Administration project under the New Deal in 1936. The Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) provided a $46,000 loan and $37,636 grant for the project, whose total cost was $85,034 (P.W.A. Docket No. N.M. 7048). Two additional wings were later added on in 1947 to enhance the structure.

Eastern New Mexico University's Lea Hall was constructed for the purpose of serving as a men's dormitory. It was built by members of the National Youth Administration (NYA), a WPA program to employ young men and women of a certain financial bracket to assist them in paying for higher education.³ Floyd Golden explained that "the college set up an NYA resident training encampment to accommodate sixty boys who made concrete bricks and tile and constructed the first men's dormitory where young men could bring food from home to contribute to their financial support".⁴

By July of 1941, the building was nearly finished, with the Portales Tribune reporting that the dormitory was expected to be finished by January 1.⁵ By November, the building was in its "last stages of completion," according to the Portales Daily News. The NYA boys who were working on the building moulded the cement bricks themselves, built the cabinets in the building, and completed interior decorating.⁶ In February of 1942, the Portales City Council was reported to have approved a water main extension so that it can serve the dormitory, indicating that the building was nearly finished.⁷ By April, the Portales Tribune published a photo of the nearly completed dormitory, alongside photos of a few of the NYA men working on the building.⁸

Two additions were made to the building in 1947 on the North and South ends of the building, and it was later renovated in both 1973 and 2000. An elevator was installed in the building in 1992.³

The building currently houses the Department of Communicative Disorders, the Department of Social Work, the Post Office, and the Blackwater Draw Museum.

1. Public Art and Architecture in New Mexico 1933-1943: A Guide to the New Deal Legacy, compiled by Kathryn A. Flynn (pg. 105)
2. National Archives: Record Group 135: Public Works Administration; Projects Control Division; Entry 52: Indices to Non-Federal Projects; Report No. 5: Status of All Completed Non-Federal Allotted Projects, page 173.
3. Pearson, James. "ENMU New Deal." 2008.
4. Golden, Floyd. Whisenhunt , Donald W.. Eastern New Mexico University: The Golden Years. Eastern New Mexico University, 1975.
5. "Price Rises Force Board and Room at ENMC Up to $24." The Portales Tribune, July 11, 1941.
6. Portales Daily News, November 28 1941.
7. "City May Buy $20,000 in Defense Bonds." Portales Daily News, February 26 1942.
8. The Portales Tribune, April 24 1942.