Building 800 - Austin Hall Building 800 - Austin Hall is located in Montgomery , Alabama on the grounds of Maxwell Air Force Base . History . On January 25 , 1930 , President Herbert Hoover asked Congress to re - appropriate an additional US $ 100 , 000 for the main school building for the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field . President Hoover ’ s policy was to speed public works to offset unemployment . In February 1930 Congressman J . Lister Hill ' s resolution was passed in the House of Representatives , to add to Maxwell Field for expansion purposes . The bill carried an item for $ 100 , 000 for construction of a tactical school building with a total sum available of $ 136 , 000 . The actual cost of the building ended up being $ 132 , 034 . 14 . The construction of Austin Hall . George B . Ford and Frederick Law Olmsted , Jr . designed the overall layout of Maxwell for the Army Quartermaster Corps . Ford , an architect - trained city planner who had served as an adviser to the Army in the 1920s on all of its base construction projects , and had final approval of all post development plans between 1926 and 1930 , used an approach that clustered similar functions together . This technique provided plenty of open space and gave each cluster a distinct appearance . Construction plans were approved by Chief of the Air Corps Maj . Gen . James Fechet and Congressman Hill for a school house of approximately constructed of hollow tile and stucco , tile roof and walls with a white stucco finish . The expected operational date of the building was July 1931 . On September 15 , 1930 , Congressman Hill broke ground for the project . Rain forced abandonment of the outdoor ceremonies that were intended to mark the start of the project . Congressman Hill along with other national and local area dignitaries and post commander Major Weaver hurriedly transferred the ceremonies to the Maxwell Field officer ’ s club . Congressman Hill , the principal speaker , announced at the ceremony that the project was to be completed in 300 days at an approximate cost of $ 119 , 273 . Hill also announced that for the tactical school program there was $ 1 , 903 , 400 available of which $ 1 , 703 , 400 was to be spent on buildings . The remaining $ 200 , 000 was to be used for the appropriation of additional land . Hill added that he expected an additional $ 375 , 000 more for buildings with another $ 1 , 300 , 200 to be added soon afterward . Algernon Blair is credited for being the architect and A . C . Samford was the contractor for the construction project . There were complaints about using imported labor ; on April 4 , 1931 , Captain M . A . McFadden who was in charge of construction said at a local Rotary Club meeting that ninety percent of the labor employed in the construction was local labor . Montgomery area residents were understandably protective of all employment opportunities during this time period ; the payroll of workers at Maxwell Field exceeded $ 2 , 000 daily . Austin Hall opens . By August 28 , 1931 , sixty - four officers with spouses and other family members started to arrive at Maxwell Field in preparation of the grand opening of the school house . The school house was built in the Renaissance Revival style of architecture . Elements of this style were borrowed from fifteenth century Italian Renaissance merchant palaces and public buildings . The school house ’ s hipped roof , corner quoins , and classical entrance gave the feeling of both formality and elegance . On September 4 , 1931 , the school house ( Building 800 ) was formally dedicated in honor of First Lieutenant Charles B . Austin . Austin was an instructor at the Air Corps Tactical School when the school was at Langley Field . Lieutenant Austin was born in Vermillion Grove , Illinois , on January 7 , 1891 . Austin had graduated from DePauw University in 1913 . He was scholastically outstanding to the point where he was selected for a membership in Phi Beta Kappa . On October 11 , 1917 he enlisted as a flying cadet and attended ground school as a cadet at the University of Illinois . He received his flight training at Rich and Ellington Field s in Houston , Texas . On March 30 , 1918 , Austin received his commission in the aviation section of the Signal Officers Reserve Corps and was promoted to first lieutenant in the regular army July 1 , 1920 . Austin served in England ; Mitchel Field , New York ; France Field ; the Panama Canal Zone ; and Langley Field . First Lieutenant Austin served with distinction at Langley Field as an instructor at the Air Corps Tactical School and received a letter of commendation for his efforts . On July 27 , 1928 , Lieutenant Austin died following illness and a subsequent operation . Major John F . Curry , commandant of the Air Corps Tactical School thought all personnel associated with the school would profit by the example Austin set . Maxwell ' s continuous growth . On July 16 , 1933 , Congressman Lister Hill secured approval from the War Department for $ 1 , 650 , 075 for immediate spending at Maxwell Field . Hill ’ s request was justified by increased enrollment at the Air Corps Tactical School and the desperate need for employment for the local Montgomery population . At the start of October 1933 bids opened for four construction projects that were to start immediately ( 1933 - 1934 construction at Maxwell Field employed an average of 500 plus workers ) . The contract for the addition to Austin Hall was the last to be resolved . Bidding opened for the contract to construct Austin Hall on January 16 , 1934 . On January 18 , it was announced that the Algernon Blair Company of Montgomery had received the contract . Construction started on the project after the Air Corps Tactical School 1933 - 34 session closed in June . Blair made of all his company assets available to ensure the project was finished by the fall . On September 5 , Austin Hall was officially turned over to the Army Air Corps by the Algernon Blair Company ; even though some areas of the building had been in use since August 31 . The addition more than doubled the size of the original building to . The final cost for the construction for the additions to the south and front ends of the original structure was $ 107 , 627 . Because of the additions to Austin Hall it would not only include classrooms it would also be the new staff headquarters for the ACTS . The additions included executive offices , classrooms and assembly halls ; a library was located in the extreme southern tip of the building . Modern - day Austin Hall . As of July 8 , 1940 , Austin Hall was home for the Head Quarters of the Southeast Air Corps Training Center . The Southeast Air Corps Training Center was responsible for all pilot , navigator and bombardier training in the southeast . At one time during World War II the headquarters in Austin Hall controlled 30 plus major installations and 23 war service training organizations . Command jurisdiction for the Southeast Air Corps Training Center extended from Maine to Florida and from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi river valley . By the end of World War II more than 100 , 000 aviation cadets had received training from the Southeast Air Corps Training Center . Historical status . On April 2 , 1988 , Austin Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places . The period of significance for the placement of Austin Hall on the register was 1925 – 1949 . The historical significance of Austin Hall ’ s placement on the register was the movement of the ACTS as well as Austin Hall ’ s rich history through 1949 . Moreover , the Algernon Blair Company and Samford Brother ' s Inc . involvement for Architecture / Engineering are noted for their significant effort .