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EMU's continued growth during the 1960s drove building projects under Presidents Elliott and Sponberg. In 1967, Sponberg arranged for the construction of a new science building. An appropriation from the state legislature provided the funds for the $8.25 million building. The new building contained 180,000 square feet of space divided among five stories plus a "penthouse" and basement. It was constructed of poured-in-place concrete with exterior walls of brick with stone trim. Inside, Mark Jefferson was fully air-conditioned, and the main floor contained four lecture halls and six large classrooms. Other floors had modern laboratories and facilities for research as well as faculty offices, reading rooms, and on the third floor, a museum. When it was built, the Mark Jefferson Science Building was intended to provide space for crowded departments. In 2011, The Mark Jefferson received a major renovation and a 5-story, 86,000 sqft. addition. The project linked Mark Jefferson with Strong Hall creating the Mark Jefferson Science Complex. The Complex includes a variety of classroom layouts including traditional classrooms, labs, lecture halls, a planetarium, a green house, and an observatory deck complete with telescopes.

Marshall Building

Architects designed the new building for the College of Health and Human Services to be environmentally friendly. Tables are made of soybeans, newspapers, and wooden pallets. Chairs and fabrics are made from recycled pop bottles; floors from straw cork, recycled tires and bamboo; ceiling tiles inhibit harmful molds; and low-odor, solvent-free paints help ensure air quality. Following the principles of universal design, the building has wider doors and adjustable desks among other modifications to ensure that everyone, regardless of age, size or disability can be comfortable in the building. The building was funded by state and university matching funds, including a donation from Professor Emeritus Everett L. Marshall.

McKenny Hall

Michigan State Normal College was the first teachers' college with a social center. In 1924, President Charles McKenny proposed the idea of a Union to student leaders. That year the Alumni Association set out to raise $500,000. For the first time the university funded a building campaign by soliciting money from alumni. Later on, money was pledged by the Student Council and by faculty. By 1928, the school had pledges for $350,000, unfortunately due to the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the following Great Depression, the school had only collected $130,000 in cash by 1930. Construction began in 1931 with less expensive, plan. Difficulties in paying bonds on the building lead the state to take control in 1937, drawing the cost of the debts from the student programming fees. The building was named for Charles M. McKenny, President of EMU 1912-1933 and the man who first proposed the idea of a student union. During the housing crunch of the 1950s, the third floor and basement of McKenny became student housing, dorm rooms were set up for those who worked in the student union. Today, McKenny houses a wide variety of resources, such as classrooms, transfer admissions, and the University Advising and Career Development Center, or UACDC. The UACDC provides resume building, mock interviews, job and interview placement assistance, and advising for all of our students in the Exploratory major. McKenny is also home to our on campus Chick-fil-A.

Morrison Hall

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.

Munson Residence Hall

Munson Residence Hall was built during the construction campaign of President John M. Munson. The new building was intended to be the men's residence hall and named for President Munson. Munson contained 200 student rooms when it was built and the adjacent residence hall, Brown, contained 250. In 1943, Munson began to house soldiers in the Army Specialized Training Program. These 300 soldiers, selected from camps around the nation, collected at Michigan State Normal College to form Company H of the 3651st Unit of the A.S.T.P. At Normal these soldiers were given basic academic training, called Basic I, which would allow them to enter more advanced leadership roles in the military. Munson was demolished in 2024, and is set to be turned into green space.

Normal Gymnasium

The Normal Gymnasium was constructed in response to the 1871 fire of the school's original gymnasium and the formal addition of a department of physical training. The groundbreaking took place in October of 1892, after appropriations of $20,000 were used for the construction cost. The building was on a 250 x 275 ft lot on Cross Street across from Welch Hall. Originally built with two main rooms, one for men and another for women, one was equipped with a running track, the other with a gallery on three sides. The basement included a swimming pool and locker rooms equipped with showers.

Oestrike Stadium

Named after EMU Hall of Fame Coach Ron Oesterike, Oestrike Stadium was constructed in 1971, the year following Eastern Michigan's NAIA Collegiate National Championship and four years before its back-to-back NCAA Worlds Series appearances. Improvements to the stadium have been ongoing since 1988 to ensure it is always up to excellent playing standards. On October 6, 2008, musician Bruce Springsteen performed here in support of Presidential Candidate Barack Obama. To this day, Oestrike Stadium remains the home of the EMU Eagles baseball team.

Old Main Building

Originally used for all administrative functions until Boone Hall was built, also provided classroom and library space. The original building was a brick structure three stories high, with a recessed front door and an ornamented cornice. All windows feature simple upper and lower pediments. The first floor provided a room for the model school, one for the department of Physics and Chemistry, a small reception room and library. The second floor features were the recitation rooms and the main school room. One large room and a number of smaller rooms were on the third floor.

Olds / Marshall Track

When graduates from Eastern Michigan University gather and reminisce about teachers and coaches who influenced their lives, one of the first names to be mentioned is that of Lloyd Olds. Olds taught at Eastern Michigan University from 1921 to 1963. Recollections and stories of Olds usually revolve around his career as a track coach and director of the intramural program.

Olds-Robb Rec/IM

Olds-Robb Student Recreational/Intramural Complex was first named for Lloyd W. Olds. Student tuition and bond sales paid for the $16.5 million construction of the building. When it was built, the building contained the largest indoor swimming pool in the state, pool depth varied from 3 to 17 feet. The old varsity pool was converted into a club pool with a sauna facility connected. Today, the building serves about 500,000 people each year and offers swimming, racquetball, volleyball, basketball, aerobics, billiards, table tennis, free weights, and other fitness machines. On the third floor is a gymnasium able to accommodate four basketball courts or twelve volleyball or badminton courts. Viewers can see it from the fourth floor track that runs around the perimeter of the room.

Pease Auditorium

Music has held an important place at Eastern Michigan for over one hundred years. In 1881, Michigan State Normal School established the Normal Conservatory of Music; the program grew rapidly and by the beginning of the twentieth century was in need of further facilities. The new auditorium was constructed in 1914. Originally, the building was named after John D. Pierce, but in 1915 was renamed Pease Auditorium after Frederic H. Pease, who served the Normal between 1858-1909 as a Professor of Music and the Director of the Normal Conservatory once it was established. Frederick Alexander, a Professor of Music in the first decades of the twentieth century, had hoped to have an organ installed when the auditorium opened in 1915. Due to lack of funds, the school could not afford to place an organ in Pease, so, upon his death, Alexander donated $85,000, for the university to build a new organ. Erich Goldschmidt, EMU Professor of Organ (1955-1978) designed and voiced, or tuned, the Frederic Alexander Memorial Organ for its home on the stage of Pease Auditorium. It took Goldschmidt an entire year to tune the pipes properly in his workshop, located in the basement of Pease. Its first performance took place in 1960. The organ was restored between 1993 and 1999. Pease has been renovated on several occasions, but received its most extensive remodel between 1993-94 so the building could be brought up to code, and made accessible for people with physical disabilities. Performances are still held in Pease Auditorium to this day, and comfortably seats 1,700 people.

Phelps Residence Hall

Residence hall adjacent to the Eastern Eateries, Sellers Hall, Walton Hall, and Putnam Hall, also known as the First-Year Center.

Pierce Hall

Pierce Hall replaced Boone Hall as the central administrative headquarters for the university when it was constructed in 1948. Pierce Hall was completed in 1948 as part of President John M. Munson's building campaign. Munson, oversaw the building of 13 buildings on campus during his tenure from 1933-1948. Pierce was among the last buildings to be completed before Munson left the presidency in 1948. Pierce Hall was dedicated as part of the centennial celebrations of the Normal College in 1949. Even the name fits with this retrospective theme. Pierce Hall commemorates John D. Pierce who was the first State Superintendent of Public Instruction (1836-1841). The design of Pierce Hall was a modern interpretation of the Old Main Building. Though very different in design, the building retained certain nostalgic features including the large bell tower that dominates the facade. The residents of Ypsilanti donated money to construct the 120-foot tower, in the tradition of Old Main. In June 1950 the school installed the Alumni Memorial Chimes, donated by the alumni and dedicated to those who died in World War II. Pierce served as the administrative building on campus until those services were moved to Welch Hall in the late 1980s. Pierce now houses several different student support services, including Swoops Food Pantry which provides free food to students in need.

Pine Grove Terrace Apartments

President Eugene B. Elliott constructed Pine Grove Apartments as part of his expansion plans. The apartments were reserved for married housing, housing that would appeal to GIs with families returning from the Korean War (1950-1953). Pine Grove #1 opened with thirty-six completely furnished apartments earmarked for married students. A one-bedroom apartment cost $60 a month and a two-bedroom apartment cost $70 a month. Furnishings included a Youngstown kitchen in dawn yellow and meridian blue with a gas range and an electric refrigerator. A living room, bedroom, bathroom, and heating unit were all included in individual units.

Pittman Residence Hall

Hill, Hoyt and Pittman halls were constructed in 1969 to house ever-growing numbers of students at the university. The University funded the $6.25 million project through the sale of self-liquidating bonds. These 11-story structures stand taller than anything on or near campus except the city water tower. Designers built the residence halls to house a total of 1,404 across the three dormitories. Hill and Hoyt were originally dedicated to women while men lived in Pittman. Like many of the other dormitories on campus, the buildings surround a courtyard. The fourth side of the court is closed by the Conference Center which contains Dining Commons #3.

Porter Building, College of Education

In May of 1967, the new library building, five times the size of the former Clyde Ford Library, opened on the campus of Eastern Michigan University. Built with a combination of federal and state funds for the cost of $2.68 million, it contained 133,500 square feet of space for collections, services and study. By the late 1980s the student body was asking for a new library to be built. Once the Bruce T. Halle Library was opened in 1998, the old library building was remodeled to house the College of Education and was renamed the John W. Porter building for Dr. Porter who had a distinguished career as a teacher and administrator in the K-12 schools of Michigan before becoming the Michigan State Superintendent of Schools, and then President of Eastern Michigan University from 1979-1988. The renovated building was designed to provide a variety of teaching/learning environments, including extensive technology capability, for the preparation of school personnel and professionals in related areas. The College of Education's move to the renovated building created a new environment for students in the disciplines of Teacher Education, Special Education and Leadership and Counseling. The John W. Porter Building was reopened on October 8th 1999. The total cost of renovation was $13.8 million.

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