In 1926, Dr. George H. Hart was appointed head of the Division of Animal Husbandry, where he shifted the focus of the University to agricultural research.

[3] The building was designed by William Charles Hays, the supervising architect for the Davis campus in a Spanish Revival style.

It is a roughly U-Shaped "pinkish-beige" building made of reinforced concrete, and is located on a corner of the UC Davis Quad.

[3][4] In 1985, an application prepared by Robin Elisabeth Datel was filed to include the building on the National Register of Historic Places.

[7] In 1992, Hart Hall finished an $8.9 million renovation to prepare for it being used by social science programs.