Reminiscent of a Mediterranean church tower, 11-story Hardy Memorial Tower has been one of the most recognizable buildings on campus since its completion in 1931. Designed by architect Howard Spencer Hazen in the Mission Revival style, the tower was part of the new campus' main core and formed the northwest corner of the original quad. Though its design is aesthetically pleasing, the tower served a more utilitarian purpose: it camouflaged a 5,000-gallon water tank that supplied pressure for the campus' plumbing system.

On Christmas Day 1946, Senator and Mrs. Ed Fletcher donated the Fletcher Chimes to the university, which were subsequently installed in Hardy Tower. The chimes commemorated the 50th anniversary of the university and served as a memorial to all SDSU students killed in war. The daily ringing of the carillon has become one of SDSU's oldest traditions.

In 1976, the Board of Trustees granted permission for the campanile building to be renamed Hardy Tower in recognition of Edward L. Hardy, SDSU's second president. Currently, Hardy Tower houses the Graduate School of Public Health and its computer laboratories, the School of Nursing, a lecture hall, conference rooms, and nursing faculty offices.

The old library, which is west of Hardy Tower, is an L-shaped building with marble floors, rounded marble columns, wrought-iron fixtures, and beam ceilings. Only a few years after its opening, the library was chosen as the site for a unique series of five colorful frescoes painted by art students. The Social Realism-style murals were created during 1934-1936 by Genevieve Burgeson Bredo, Ellamarie Packard Wooley, and George Sorenson and depicted scenes of ordinary people involved in regional trade: fishermen, tuna cannery workers, lumber mill workers, sailors, and fruit packers.

At the end of the 1930s, the library held fewer than 70,000 volumes and subscribed to only 300 periodicals. However, by the end of World War II, it was adding around 8,000 books per year to the collection and was using a Quonset hut as a temporary annex. Library facilities in the late 1940s included the stacks, a 160-by-120-foot reading room, reference rooms, and periodical, reserve, and elementary school reading rooms.

In 1957, the library was moved to an addition to the west (now called the Professional Studies and Fine Arts Building). The old library building was remodeled in 1959, and unfortunately several of the WPA murals were painted over and others received damage during this renovation.

The old library's main hall currently is being used for storage. In August 2004, workers exposed remnants of two of the WPA murals while removing ceiling tiles. Plans are underway to restore the murals and relocate them to the current Library Addition and Dome.