Also known as the PUB, EWU's community center was first completed in 1970. It was renovated in 1985. The food services were redesigned and expanded, and a new sound system was added. The school also wanted to improve the quality of the food at the Alleyway Grille. Among the plans that appear to have been canceled were a spiral staircase in the PUB multi-purpose room. Despite the modifications, the PUB was still relatively cramped.

A second, more comprehensive remodel was begun in 1995. Office space and a new bookstore were added. The building's food services were expanded again. Today, it houses restaurants, a convenience store, computer labs, student lounges, meeting rooms, and a bus stop for Spokane Transit. The building was named for Omer O. Pence, an EWU alumni and faculty member.

Archival photographs of the PUB reveal a building that has externally changed very little since its construction, the notable exception being the addition of the bookstore. The grounds immediately surrounding the PUB have undergone significant modifications. Today, a brick walkway, like others seen around campus, lies in front of the PUB, connecting it to the rest of campus. When the building first opened, this space housed the parking lot and Spokane Transit stop.

For more (including 1 video), view the original article.

Download the Spokane Historical app for Android and iPhone
Find us on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube

Cecil Dryden Hall first opened in the fall of 1965. Like many of the other buildings on campus, it was originally constructed as an all-female dorm. Dryden has 129 rooms, and was built of reinforced concrete with stucco and brick veneer. The building was named for an associate professor of history emeritus who worked at EWU.

Professor Dryden wrote a history of the school that was published the year Dryden Hall opened. Today, Dryden Hall is a co-ed dorm. All the rooms are reserved for single occupants. The building's north wing houses residents aged 21 and over.

Like other buildings at Eastern (Monroe Hall, Senior Hall, etc.) Dryden has a ghost story. On the outer wall of the north wing, a mysterious screaming face can be seen. At first this was thought to be a trick of the building's exterior lights, as it can only be seen at night. The story goes that no matter how many times the groundskeepers changed the position of the lights, the face still appeared. The face provides entertainment for older students on the north wing who enjoy scaring freshmen who come to gaze at this urban legend. Squeaky windows on this old building aid in their endeavors.

For more (including 2 images, 1 sound clip and 1 video), view the original article.

Download the Spokane Historical app for Android and iPhone
Find us on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube

When Richard T. Hargreaves became President of Eastern Washington University in 1926, the school did not have its own campus library. Building one was a long-time dream of his, and became his most ambitious project. Construction on the campus's first library began in the late 1930's. Hargreaves never imagined the building would be named after him, but this is exactly what happened following his untimely death on March 4, 1939, halfway through construction. The building opened as Hargreaves Library in 1940.

Hargreaves Hall remained EWU's campus library until a 1960's remodel that turned it into a classroom hall. The rebuild had the unfortunate effect of covering over the building's original skylights and decorative ceilings. The quality of the newly-installed classrooms was also relatively poor. Another remodeling completed in 2009 restored Hargreaves' historic features and upgraded its classrooms to modern technological standards.

For more (including 2 images and 1 sound clip), view the original article.

Download the Spokane Historical app for Android and iPhone
Find us on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube

The building you are now facing is called Senior Hall. Unlike most of Eastern's facilities, Senior Hall is not named after any particular person. In its original design Senior Hall was very similar to Monroe Hall. Rapid growth of both the college and the surrounding community almost outpaced planners. Only a few years after completing the college's first dormitory, the Normal School soon found itself in need of another women's dorm. Construction of Senior Hall began in 1919 to meet this need, and the building was mostly completed the following year, although financial problems held up work on the third floor until 1925.

Senior Hall continued to be used as a dorm until the 1970s when it was repurposed to house Vietnam Veterans. After only a few years, Senior Hall was declared unfit for student housing due to old wiring, outdated fire safety measures, and an inability to keep up with modern building codes. In 2006 it received an extensive renovation largely focused on updating the interior.

There were male students at the Normal School from the beginning, but women were in the majority. Teaching was a unique field in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in that it was considered acceptable for women when other opportunities were limited. Although hardly uncommon today, this stood in stark contrast to many other professions at the time.

One of the enduring urban legends of EWU is the haunting of Senior Hall. People reported hearing creaks and groans in the hallways and rooms, especially at night. However, there is no evidence of deaths during construction or suicides by residents in the building's history, or indeed any kind of suspicious activity. Modern belief is that the sounds were simply those of an old building cooling down, which triggered overactive imaginations, particularly among overworked graduate students.

For more (including 7 images and 3 sound clips), view the original article.

Download the Spokane Historical app for Android and iPhone
Find us on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube