North Hall

User Note: Follow the sidewalk from the staircase to this site. Feel free to explore the site and walk through the doorway.

The third building constructed atop Prospect Hill was the Library Building, which is now known as North Hall. This building provided expanded space for the library that was previously housed in the Administration Building and gymnasium addition, as well as contributed to the forming quad that would serve as the heart of Western’s campus. The Library’s most prominent feature was the two-story reading room that included a 7 seven-ton limestone fireplace as the centerpiece. Once the new library was built on West Campus, the building was renovated to house the College of Business and was officially renamed North Hall in 1966.

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Prior to this building’s construction, the library was housed in renovated classrooms in the Administration Building and later in the gymnasium. In 1923, architects Henry H. Turner and Victor E. Thebaud broke ground and construction began for the expanded library. At just under 34,000 square feet, the building incorporated some exterior design elements of the Administration and Science Buildings, including a stone portico, arched doors, and columns.

It consisted of three floors that were used for library space, staff workrooms, classrooms, lecture rooms, and storage. A large part of the building was utilized as the reading room, which featured arched windows, vaulted ceilings, and decorative pilasters, as well as paintings and other artworks from Albert M. Todd, the founder of the A.M. Todd Company.

After around two decades, the library collections started to outgrow the Library Building and a new library was constructed on the West Campus in 1958. The original Library was renovated for the College of Business, which resulted in the infilling of the reading room to create space for classrooms and offices. In 1966, the building was officially renamed North Hall and was still partially utilized as a library, as it contained the College of Business’ collections. North Hall continued to be used for classes until the 1990s when it was utilized by other departments before falling into disrepair.

In 2013, new plans for the renovation of East Campus began to form, which included the demolition of North Hall. The front façade of the building, along with the reading room’s fireplace, were salvaged and continue to serve as a reminder of Western’s first library.

Diekema/Hamann Architects Incorporated. Rep. Building Audit of North Hall. Kalamazoo, MI, 1996. 

University Libraries. Rep. Campus Building Inventory - Yearly Summary, n.d. 

Carlson, Sharon; Glatz, Jason, WMU Facilities Management. “WMU Campus History” [storymap], https://campus-history.library.wmich.edu/index.html. (Accessed February 17, 2022) 

“Guided Tour Binder.” Kalamazoo: Heritage Hall Alumni Center, n.d. 

Knauss, James O. The First Fifty Years: A History of Western Michigan College of Education, 1903-1953. Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan College of Education, 1953. 

Miller-Davis Company. Letter to A.N. Langius. “Notice of Completion of Contract Work.” Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan University, September 12, 1958. 

“Same Doorway -- New Tenant.” WMU News Magazine. 1959, Vol. 17, #1.