East Campus (Western Michigan University)
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East Campus is a collection of buildings and facilities situated on the 60-acre hilltop campus that is the original site of Western Michigan University. It includes some of WMU's athletic facilities including Waldo Stadium, Hyames Field, Ebert Field and the Donald Seelye Athletic Center. The campus sits on the top of Prospect Hill, which overlooks the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Although most of the academic and administrative functions of the university have moved to West Campus, East Hall houses the Western Michigan University Archives in the old school gymnasium. There was little to no renovation for the original gym, as the original floor is intact, along with fitness ropes that still hang from the ceiling. WMU has found limited uses for East Hall and the rest of historic East Campus. However, some of the space was used by university's Art Department for studio use and occasional faculty office space. Walwood Union was renovated in 1992 and converted into administrative offices.
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[edit] Buildings
The campus includes the following buildings (erection date in parentheses):
- East Hall (1905)
- West Hall (1915)
- North Hall (1925)
- Walwood Union (1938)
- Speech and Hearing Building (1939)
- Vandercook Hall (1940)
- Spindler Hall (1940)
- Oakland Recital Hall (1942)
[edit] History
The original tract of land on which the Western State Normal School was built was donated by the City of Kalamazoo. It consisted of 20 acres on Prospect Hill, overlooking the city, accessible either by walking up from Davis Street on the east or via Asylum Road (now know as Oakland Drive). The first building, the Administration Building (East Hall), was completed and occupied on September 1, 1905. John Charles Olmsted of the renowned Olmsted Brothers landscape firm had devised a landscape and planting plan for the new campus. The plan was well received, but financial considerations prevented it from being implemented. By 1909 two wings had been added to the first building.
Further buildings were erected on the Prospect Hill until the university began to construct its West Campus in the late 1940s. Many aspects of East Campus were left "as is" during the move to the West Campus, with many undesirable items simply left behind. This includes anything from old announcements and bulletins left hanging on the walls to old audio/visual equipment. The 1970 campus plan's only defined plan for East Campus was for the maintenance and athletics facilities along Stadium Drive and for “park areas” along Davis Street.
East Hall was listed with the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, and the East Campus was placed on the register in 1990 as the Western State Normal School Historic District.
The Friends of Historical East Campus is attempting to save the original buildings on Prospect Hill which are not used to capacity and require critical and costly renovations. In 1998, the university estimated that it could cost up to $60 million to renovate East Hall and the other East Campus buildings.
[edit] Western Trolley
From the beginning, access to the Prospect Hill site was an issue because of the steep grade elevating it above the city. In 1907, funds were appropriated for an electric railway. “Normal’s Railroad”, or the “Western Trolley”, carried people up and down the hill from its base on Davis Street to the summit at the grassy lawn between East and North Halls. It operated until 1949, by which time the campus was moving in new directions and the automobile was making inroads as the preferred method of travel.
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