J. M. McMurry albums and photographs of the University of Washington, approximately 1880s-1890s

In 1860, the Legislative Assembly of Washington Territory passed an act relocating the Territorial University in Seattle. The Territorial University of Washington opened on November 4,1861 in the Territorial University Building in downtown Seattle. This fledgling University was small and closed several times for lack of funds during its earliest years. By the time that Washington became a state in 1889, the University was firmly established as an institution of higher education. The growing enrollment and the larger campus made it necessary for the University to find another location, and in 1895, classes opened in Denny Hall, the first building of present University of Washington campus.

The architect Charles W. Saunders built Denny Hall, which contained two biology laboratories, four chemistry laboratories, and a physics laboratory, in 1895, as well as an Observatory behind it. A temporary gymnasium and drill hall was built in 1896.