| Eastern Illinois University’s campus architecture tells us about
past generations’ tastes, values, and aspirations. Not least of all,
it tells us that they cared enough to invest in the future. The challenge
of preserving the past while planning for the future will remain as long
as the university continues to be a vibrant community. Preservationists and
campus planners must work together to meet that challenge. Historic landscapes
and buildings can be preserved and adapted to modern needs. |
Construction of Pemberton Hall addition.
1961, from the collection of Nancy Easter Shick
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Greenhouse (right) and original power plant.
1903, EIU Archives
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Over the years the university has adapted old buildings to new uses. For
example, Old Main originally housed classrooms, the library, an auditorium,
laboratories, a museum, and administrative offices. Imagine attending class
in Old Main’s tower. Today, many of those departments occupy their own
buildings and Old Main functions primarily as an administrative center, and
only secondarily as a setting for instruction. |
Lincoln Field "Trailerville."
Current site of Stevenson Tower (detail below, Stevenson Tower
construction) and Lincoln Douglas Halls.
1950, from the collection of Nancy Easter Shick
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Construction of temporary barracks buildings, looking
north towards what is now the softball field.
1946, from the collection of Nancy Easter Shick
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| Currently, Booth Library is undergoing a two-year renovation that will
increase accessibility to the library’s collection and meet new
technological needs. The renovation of Booth Library is an example
of the desire to respect the past and to respond to contemporary needs. |
Buzzard Hall before rennovation (above, 1959) and after (below,
1998).
1998, from The Warbler
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The continued growth of Eastern Illinois University is a testament to the
success of its past. The Gothic architecture of the late nineteenth century
has given way to new ideals in education, design, and construction. As the
school has expanded its mission and its campus, it has seen fit to plan for
the future with periodic updates to its master plan. |
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Booth Library before addition.
c. 1955, EIU Archives
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“I am convinced that the most valuable contributions to my education
were made by this small teacher-training school. . . . the physical setting
of the school fostered an appreciation of the beautiful. I can yet see the
campus and the Normal School building as they appeared to me, a raw country
school teacher. . . . To some a medival castle may seem out of place at the
edge of an Illinois prairie, but its appeal to the fancy of youth is, I am
sure, more uplifting than that of our modern utilitarian
structures.”
“Letter from an Alumnus,”
Teachers College News,
May 23, 1933
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