The Cougar Den was the first campus hub at UH

Like many other universities around the country, the fledgling University of Houston was severely impacted by World War II. UH’s enrollment plunged as men entered the service (from 2500 in fall 1941 to just 1,015 by spring 1944).

Before Pearl Harbor, the Navy was already conducting vocational classes at UH, but the events of that infamous day helped speed along another project. Using mostly Navy money, forward-thinking president E.E. Oberholtzer agreed to build a rec center to train recruits in war production. The new building would also provide logistics for physical education and meals.

In early January 1942, construction crews began working 24 hours a day to finish the new UH Rec Building. On March 12, just 60 days after construction started, the Navy moved into the rec and began using it for a new crop of recruits that had arrived on March 2nd.

For 4 years, the Navy occupied 95% of the building, leaving only a small amount of space for student organization offices. But after victories on two continents and an end to hostilities, the Navy no longer needed to be at UH. Shortly after V-J Day, the Department of War made plans to withdraw its large presence from campus.

When the Navy left in 1945, UH gained control of the building and put it to the use they had always intended. The school named it the Cougar Den, and it would become a student lounge and gathering spot. Thanks to the GI Bill, returning vets flooded the campus and made quick use of the Den. By the fall of 1946, enrollment had soared to over 10,000, including over 6,000 veterans. UH had become the 2nd largest university in Texas.

For 25 years, the Den served as the hub of the University. It housed a bookstore, cafeteria, student activities offices, the school’s jukebox, and hosted thousands of events – from concerts and dances to pep rallies and more. Campus life revolved around the Den.

New buildings went up all over campus rapidly through the 1950s. Largely because of the fast-paced construction, the Den did not receive the maintenance it needed, and the building began to deteriorate around 1960. A few years later, construction began on the new University Center to replace the Den. The UC opened in the summer of 1967.

From servicemen to the children of working-class Houston, the Den was the place to be on campus. I went through 25 years of Houstonian yearbooks and dozens of articles in search of photos for this story. Find our full gallery of Cougar Den photos below.

The Cougar Den 1942-1967

UH gains Board approval after construction had begun

The Navy gets 95% use of the Rec

construction of the Rec Building in February 1942

The Cougar Den nearing the end of construction in early March 1942

The rec building opened to students on April 30, 1942

Naval recruits eat below as civilians look on from up top

Before the 60s, the Cougar Den was primarily a place to drink coffee, play bridge, and socialize.

Freshman dance - 1943

Bowtied student getting a milkshake and others served in the cafeteria

Coach Yeoman speaking at a Den pep rally

commons area of the Cougar Den

Cougar Den backside

Cougar Den in 1965

Cougar Den inside

Cougar Den serving line

1942 Co-Ed-Ettes Dance

A pep rally in the Den from 1963

Fraternities often advertised events in the Den

dancing the tango at the Den: 1950s

Eddy Arnold playing at the Den. Arnold put 147 songs on the Billboard country music charts, second only to George Jones, and sold 85 million albums.

Fraternity brothers looking down into the Den commons area.

Front of the Cougar Den - early 1950s

corner view of the rec building circa 1943

Fraternity and sorority pledges gather in front of the Den to learn our gameday cheers

Governor John Connally visited the Den in October 1963, just weeks before he’d be shot in Dallas.

The Den jukebox was the only one on campus. So here's a woman and her dog checking out the tunes.

Henry Hitchens and Louis Benoist boxing outside Cougar Den. May 1943

lunchtime at the Den

Manager of Cougar Den food services.

Once upon a time, vending machines were new technology.

Because there were so few buildings on campus, the Houstonian Yearbook often showed photos of each building. Here's the Rec in 1946.

Kitten Alley was the unofficial name of the Den patio area

From the 1947 Houstonian

Pikes 100 year anniversary party at the Den

Women bid in an auction in order to dance with actor John Saxon at a Frontier Fiesta dance circa 1960

"Rice doesn't want you" painted on the side of the Den, 1963.

Shasta I in her habitat outside the Den

Students obtain signatures to ban Elvis records from the Den juke box and school dances.

students playing bridge in the Den, 1950s

From 1963 as students await the new UC

The Den would be replaced in 1967 by the UC

The UC – 9-7-1967 Daily Cougar