Brookings Hall is named for Robert S. Brookings. Completed in 1902, Brookings Hall was leased by the University to be the administrative center for the 1904 World's Fair and today serves as the administrative center of the University. Robert S. Brookings was born in 1850 and later came to St. Louis to work for Cupples & Marston, a woodenware and willowware wholesale business. He and his brother were eventually made equal partners in the business, and Robert took upon himself the responsibility of moving the University to its current location. His gifts to the University in his lifetime are usually estimated at $5 million. Brookings also was the founder of the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., and served as chairman of the University's Board of Trustees from 1895-1928.