DBU John G. Mahler Student Center

Dallas Baptist University was founded in 1898 as Decatur Baptist College. The main campus sits approximately 15 miles southwest of downtown Dallas and overlooks scenic Mountain Creek Lake. In 1992, the John G. Mahler Student Center became the first building constructed on the Dallas Baptist University campus in more than 20 years. The building houses the campus financial offices as well as student government and the registrar’s office.

When Dallas Baptist built the student center they sought to pattern the building after the architectural details of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Independence Hall is known as the location where the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution were signed and is pictured on the back of a $100 bill. For the clock and bell tower the University needed a durable long lasting material to recreate the original towers carved wood and stone details. Wood would have required constant maintenance and painting and the cost of carved wood details was prohibitive. They needed a better solution.