The Robert Reid Lab School started as a training school in 1908 where college students did student teaching with elementary students from the community. This was important because the normal schools purpose was to train teachers. In 1937 when Martin Hall was created the elementary school's name was changed from Training School to Laboratory School. In this lab small groups of students could go in the classroom and observe the teacher in their practice.

In 1959 the modern building was completed and named the Robert Reid Lab School after their former principal. The labs had one way mirror glass in the classrooms. College students would sit on the other side and observe an elementary school teacher at work. This way large numbers of college students could learn from a single classroom without disturbing the teacher.

Lab schools like Reid were once common on college campuses. John Dewey started the first lab school in Chicago in 1894, and from there lab schools spread throughout the country. Dewey did not see his lab school as a place for merely teaching, but also for educational experimentation and innovation. In the 1980s though, when laboratory scandals like the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment got out to the public, the idea of Laboratory Schools fell out of the public’s good graces. Parents didn’t like the idea of their kids being observed in this way, therefore many lab schools across the country were shut down.

The Reid Lab School would meet the same fate as well, and by the early 1980s it began to lose support. The school was expensive to operate, especially with features like one way microphones. In 1985 the EWU Board of Trustees voted to close the lab school, stating that "it believed that the campus training school concept was not currently widely used in teacher training, and it was an expensive anachronism.”

1985 marked the end of the lab school era, but Robert Reid Elementary would survive for another 24 years. As time went on the school needed major maintenance repairs that the university was unwilling to pay for. In 2009 the lab school was officially shut down and finally demolished in 2015. Now the only remains of EWU's teacher training program is in the form of statues memorialized between Huston and Martin Hall. The statues include a little girl and boy who are reading a book and using a laptop, symbolizing and honoring the schools past.

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Like many of the commercial structures in downtown Cheney, the Masonic Temple has had many tenants and uses over the decades.

Two influential architects of the 19th century, Kirtland Cutter and Karl Malmegren, designed the building in 1910 for the National Security Bank. The neo-classical design, with decorative brick work and classical stone trim is unique compared to the other buildings on Main Street.

The original building housed several businesses, including the National Security Bank, Cheney Light and Power and Cheney Telephone Company. In 1924 the Masons added a two-story extension to the original building that was used for their meeting and also by the Cheney Free Press. In 1939 the National Security Bank absorbed its competitor, The National Bank of Cheney, and moved its business to the bank across the street.

Today the old building is home to a branch of the Masonic Lodge, a fraternal organization that meets on the upper floor. The Masons originated in England, and in the late 18th century spread to America. Masons are people who work with stone to build structures, but very early on the Lodge has accepted many people of different trades. The Masons planted their roots in Cheney in 1883, and moved into their current temple in 1924. One of the notable local Masons was W.J. Sutton who was the president of the National Security Bank.

Masonic lodges like this were often building blocks of small towns and communities. The organization has contributed 1 billion dollars across the world in philanthropic pursuits, with 750 million of that being invested in the U.S, including support for libraries and museums. There have been many famous and influential masons including 14 United States presidents and 35 Supreme Court justices. The Freemasons have been around for generations and have been a major contributor and influence to American society.

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