The first two decades of the twentieth century witnessed a sharp increase in Spanish enrollments at both the secondary and post-secondary level of instruction. This first "Spanish Boom" created opportunities for professional growth; yet, its very suddenness also highlighted numerous structural and institutional obstacles that hindered a coherent strategy for the greater integration of Spanish into academia. This article explores the historical, political, and social factors that created the boom, as well as the ill-reflected professional responses that accounted for the eventual bust. It asks readers to reinstate the past as an optic through which to examine current trends and "crises." (Contains 13 notes.)