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Reconstructing A F Founding Members B ild C di M b Build Campuses and the P f i d th Profession M arch 23, 1914 shone cold and clear as nearly a dozen university representatives gathered at the University of Chicago for the organizational meeting of what would become APPA. John M. Fisk, superintendent of grounds and buildings at the University of Iowa, convened the meeting, having written his Midwestern colleagues in late January to suggest the benefits of such a gathering.1 Fisk's proposal had met with "hearty approval" from his peers. Ohio State College (now University) Superintendent William C. McCracken's response was typical: . . . while we are all trying to do practically the same kind of work, we are probably each one doing it in a different way and by . . . exchanging our views, it may be possible . . . to gather information which will be of great value to our institutions and help solve problems which are continually arising, probably finding a more economical way than if we solved the problems ourselves. Others were enthusiastic about an organization directed at 18 | september/october 2013 | Facilities Manager By Peggy Ann Brown, Ph.D. university superintendents, finding the newly established Building Owners and Managers Association too focused on skyscrapers and offices. Clyde M. Douglas, of the University of Chicago, volunteered to host the meeting, suggesting the group stay at the Sherman House. His recommendation suited men knowledgeable with the inner workings of power plants and intrigued with engineering advances. Opened in 1911, the luxury 15-story hotel boasted the latest in fireproofing, mechanical equipment, and plumbing systems.2 The 12-year-old University of Chicago itself may have been a draw. Founded by the American Baptist Society with generous funding from John D. Rockefeller, the campus featured collegiate gothic architecture, reported in 1910 to be "superior to that of any university."3 APPA Emeritus Member John M. Casey described the years from 1914 to 1926 as APPA's "hidden beginnings," in his 1994 dissertation on the association. Prior to 1926, the association did not maintain formal records. Details of the association's