When William Loeffel was asked to join the Animal Husbandry faculty in 1919 he accepted on one condition--that there would soon be a modern meat research laboratory where he could conduct his research. Loeffel accepted the University's offer, and spent the next 35 years working in a makeshift laboratory while he waited for the promised new facility. Finally, in 1954, a new Meat Laboratory was dedicated "for more efficient production of beef, pork, and lamb".
The Meat Lab was constructed during the campus building boom that took place in the 1950s. The design of the building was developed by Linus Burr Smith, Chairman of the Department of Architecture, and member of the Board of Regents Building Committee. It is similar to other buildings constructed in the early 1950s in style and materials, although it is one of the few buildings on the farm campus constructed in red brick. The exterior of the Meat Laboratory was simple; the interior was highly specialized for meat research and instruction. It contained slaughtering equipment, a killing floor and cutting room, specialized laboratories, a kitchen, a smokehouse, locker rooms, and lecture halls. It was proclaimed to be "one of the finest meat laboratories in the country" by Nebraska Farmer. Loeffel retired from the University in 1959 and in 1967 the building was renamed in his honor.
In 1968 Marvel Baker Hall was completed for use by the Animal Science department (called Animal Husbandry until 1964) and located just north of the Meat Laboratory. In 1988 a new Animal Sciences building was constructed that joined Marvel Baker Hall and Loeffel Meat Laboratory. The exterior of the Meat Laboratory was altered slightly.
Source Information:
Bd of Regents, minutes, 1950-51; Frolik, Graham, The University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Agriculture : the first century; Nebraska Farmer, 1954.
