Lost Campus Buildings
Item set
- Title
- Lost Campus Buildings
- Description
- Campus buildings that no longer exist or are no longer used by the institution.
Items
19 items
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In 1948, seventy year old President John Munson was looking to retire. The State Board of Education asked the long-time president of Normal College to begin plans for the building of a new president's house for the campus. President Munson had boarded at the Huron Hotel throughout his presidency. His predecessor, President Charles McKenny, had lived in the Post Mansion, located where King Hall now stands. McKenny died in office leaving his widow without a home of her own except the president's house on campus. Munson allowed Mrs. McKenny to remain in the house until her passing in 1939. Following Mrs. McKenny's death, President Munson decided that the location of the Old Post Mansion, situated in the heart of campus, would be better used for residence halls. The Post Mansion was demolished and the residence halls of King and Goodison were built. The school board elected to build the new house on an old farm site adjacent to Jones Residence Hall. Prior to the completion of the new house, incoming university President Eugene Elliot and his family were unable to settle in Ypsilanti due to lack of housing. President Elliot lived in an apartment in the Business and Finance Building for a brief period of time while the new house was being completed. the new house was completed in 1949, and Mrs. Elliot had asked that a garden be cut in the backyard to provide flowers for university functions. The large house contained 4,850 square feet with an attached breeze-way and garage. -
Brown Residence Hall, constructed in 1948, was named for James M. "Bingo" Brown, football and baseball coach 1923-1929 and first dean of men 1925-1962. The adjacent residence hall, Munson, contained 200 student rooms when it was built and Brown contained 250. Brown also had a kitchen and dining room attached. As of 2024, Brown and Munson have been demolished and are set to be turned into green space. -
From the mid-1930s through the early 1940s, President John M. Munson sponsored a wide variety of building projects on campus, including four dormitories, a new field house, and a new health building. Built at a cost of $60,000, the health center was intended to insure the good health of students. Glenadine Snow, who had worked at the college since 1915, took charge of the newly built college health center when it opened in 1939. The new health center featured ten patient beds, as well as offices and outpatient rooms. The first student to receive care was Irving Hooper, who suffered a dislocated shoulder. According to the student newspaper, some forty students sought medical attention at the new hospital in order to see the new facility and its features. One night, a student arrived out of breath, with a broken arm and without his trousers. The dedicated health center workers braced his arm, but did not offer him any clothing. This structure served as the Health Center (1939-1961) and then as the Music Building (1961-1984). From 1984-2003, the building housed payroll and other important financial services for the university. -
The second building to be erected on campus was the Conservatory. Originally intended for the use of the State Agricultural Society, and was to contain an agricultural museum. Its erection began in 1864, but it was not roofed until late fall, 1865. It remained uncompleted until 1869, when the legislature appropriated funds for its completion. Then in January 1870, the Board of Education accepted the building and changed its name from the "Normal Museum" to "Normal New School Building." It was devoted to the use of the Training School until 1882 and then was occupied by the Conservatory of Music. -
The Cooper Building was a 12,796 square foot office facility built in 1984. It was located immediately across the street from Westview Drive, with a view of Rynearson Stadium and EMU's athletic facilities. Originally known as Riverbend Office Building, EMU purchased the property in January. A lease agreement between EMU and The EMU Foundation was signed in 1996 stating that The Foundation offices will occupy approximately 5,648 square feet at an annual cost of $66,153. The Foundation made necessary improvements to the office space at their cost. Additionally, The Foundation was responsible for payment of utilities, custodial services and other related operating costs. When improvements to the office space were completed, the Foundation relocated the University's Give Records and Receipts operations there. The Cooper Building is no longer utilized by Eastern Michigan University. -
In 1986, the EMU Board of Regents authorized plans to construct Huron Golf Club and entered a 99-year grounds lease with Ypsilanti Township for 136-acres adjacent to Ford Lake at $1 per year. In 1989, the Huron Golf Club, designed by golf course architect Karl Litten, opened along with the Radisson Hotel and Corporate Education Center. The name changed to Eagle Crest Golf Club in 1991. The golf clubhouse was named the Eastern Michigan University Roy E. Wilbanks Eagle Crest Golf Resort Golf club in 2013. In addition, the Marriott named the ballroom the Roy E. Wilbanks Ballroom that same year. Due to a 2020 donation from GameAbove, EMU is working to construct a performance center for the EMU golf teams. In 2019, EMU sold the the Corporate Education Center at Eagle Crest to MFS Ypsilanti Holdings, Inc, which operates the Marriott Hotel adjacent to the center. University administration cited changes in corporate education instruction delivery as the reason for the sale. This sale did not change EMU's partnership regarding the Eagle Crest Golf Resort. -
Beginning in 1911, the Board authorized a Business Education Degree at the Michigan State Normal School. By 1929 the school offered a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. The College of Business (COB) moved to its current location in 1991. Today, the COB serves approximately 3,400 students. The COB offers thirteen majors and minors and five graduate degrees, and thirteen graduate certificate programs. The COB was initially located south of the main campus closer to downtown Ypsilanti, but returned to the main campus in 2019. At one point, students were able to take a shuttle from the main campus to the COB one way in under five minutes. -
Goddard and Jones Residence Halls were designed on the same plans as King and Goodison Residence Halls. Once again, two dormitories formed a square around an enclosed central courtyard. The interiors of King and Goodison, however, were slightly different. The architectural team based room designs in part on the preferences shown by students who viewed sample plans of dorm rooms on display the winter semester before. Each suite of rooms held four students and included a private bath for each unit. Wood paneling decorated the halls. Goddard and Jones accommodated 1,200 women, enough to make the new payment program viable. On February 1, 1964, the University opened the Instructional Computing Center in Goddard Hall. By 1980, it also contained classrooms for Industrial Education. Goddard and Jones were both made honors dorms in the 1980s. As of fall 2005 Goddard Residence Hall was closed as a student residence hall. Jones and Goddard have both been demolished as of 2024, and is set to be replaced with green space. -
Goodison Residence Hall and King Residence Hall were among the first dormitories built on Eastern Michigan's campus. According to a brochure describing the new housing, the buildings had been designed so that students may enjoy not only the modern conveniences, but also the atmosphere of a cultured home and a program of worthwhile activities. Photographs of the work in process show that they were built with Works Progress Administration labor. The WPA was established to bring the unemployed back to work during the Great Depression. Because of his influence, President John M. Munson was able to use WPA labor for a number of the necessary improvements on campus. These architects and laborers were instrumental in developing the brick and stone style popular on the southern side of the campus. These two dormitories, constructed as women's housing were designed in the shape of two opposing Us enclosing a private courtyard for recreation, similar to the one surviving in the Munson-Brown Apartments. According to the floor plans, architects created the first two-room dormitory suites in the state. Each suite included a bedroom with an adjoining study. Furnishings included a twin-sized maple bed for each student with mattress, box spring, and pillow; a built in dresser and closet; a bedside rug; and a dressing table. The study room contained a double desk with a shelf for a typewriter or books, a bookcase, study chair, and easy chair. Halls shared bathrooms that included an electric hairdryer. Other convinces included five date parlors,? and a laundry room with tubs, ironing boards and clothes dryers. The complex included a cafeteria and dining room for meals. Lunch was served cafeteria style but dinner was a more elaborate affair with assigned tables and a student hostess to oversee the meal at each one. The school attempted to create a sense of gentility in their dormitories. For all these amenities, room and board cost $144 per semester, payable in two installments of $72.00 each. -
Originally, this gable front Queen Anne home at 415 Perrin Street was used as the Health Cottage for ailing students. When the new health clinic opened the health cottage became a co-ed practice house where students were able to try their hand at home making. Under the direction of Miss Eula May Underbrink, associate professor in the Home Economics Department, students spent a semester living in (and caring for) the house . A group of six women resided in the home each semester, and the home duties were divided amongst the girls. With each woman fulfilling two weeks of service under each division. As an article in the Normal News (now the Eastern Echo) dated December 14, 1941 described: "The housekeeper is in charge of the lower floor and acts as the host at table, with the assistant housekeeper in charge of the upper floors and the bed-making duties. No one chances to offend the cook, for with her lies the control of the girls' appetites, and before a cook graduates from her position she must have successfully baked cakes, pies and yeast bread. The unpopular task tasks of washing dishes and making salads go to the assistant cook. To the hostess goes the cares and worries of shopping, keeping accounts, entertaining, and inviting for guest night once a week. The one remaining position is with the waitress who waits at table, dries dishes and does the ironing." The building was demolished in 1973. -
As the student body continued to grow following the second World War, the University realized the need for more housing. At the same time, funding remained tight. A slight increase in rent would cover the building of new housing. Jones and Goddard were built as part of the college's self-liquidating campaign and intended to be paid for and sustained by the revenue from dorm room rental. Combined with King and Goodison, Goddard and Jones accommodated 1,200 women, enough to make the new payment program viable. Like other residence complexes on campus, two dormitories formed a square around an enclosed central courtyard; however the interiors were slightly different. The architectural team, based room designs in part on the preferences shown by students who viewed sample plans of dorm rooms on display the winter before. Each suite of rooms held four students and included a private bath for each unit along with wood paneling as ornamentation. Goddard and Jones were both made honors dorms in the 1980s. In 1988, a resident advisor (who worked in a different dormitory) set fire to Jones Hall, causing $10,000 in damages. This was one of several fires that broke out in the dorms around this time. The perpetrator was convicted of arson and sentenced to 1.5-10 years in prison. Jones stopped being used for student housing in 2005, and over the summer of 2024 Jones and Goddard were demolished and the site will be transformed into green space. -
Morrison Hall was a house left to the University through the will of Affiah J. E. Morrison in 1919. A condition of the will stated that Morrison Hall was only to be used as a residence hall for incoming female students who were unable to pay for suitable housing elsewhere. Scholarships were given to six students, allowing them to live in Morrison Hall free of charge. The University released Morrison Hall in 1953.