1920 Senior Hall
Introduction
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Images
Senior Hall opened in 1920
Remodeled Senior Hall front 2010
Second floor lounge in 1947
Senior Hall 1959
Backstory and Context
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The hall opened in
1920, but the third floor work was not completed until 1925 due to financial
problems.
Senior Hall was
built as a three-story brick, U-shaped design with two entrances with cast-iron
canopies at the front, very similar to Monroe Hall. Within the U, was a
sheltered courtyard.
During World War II,
Red Cross bandage rolling rooms were located in Senior and Monroe Halls.
Eastern Washington College students established a bandage rolling, all-campus,
organization in January 1943, under the direction of Miss Cecil Dryden. Student
organizations and community clubs competed to roll the most bandages per
quarter.
In 1959, room and
board at Senior Hall was $140.00 per quarter for a single, $132.00 per quarter
for a double, and $125.00 per quarter for a triple room.
The building was
declared unfit for student housing because of outdated wiring and fire safety
measures in 1971 and converted to office space.
In 2006, Senior Hall
underwent an extensive renovation, that filled in the U at the rear of the
building with classrooms. That renovation added a new front entrance, but kept
most of the other exterior features of the original hall. Much of the interior of
the building was altered in the remodel and modernization of the building,
though historical elements can be found throughout.
The renovation did
restore much of the elegant second floor lounge with its maple floors, wood
paneled entries, and wood arch. The original hearth with brick fireplace and
wood mantle was restored. Below the
mantle is a plaque inscribed In memory of Mary Newton - 1964 - Afternoon
literary of Tilicum.
Sources
Historic Preservation Commission; Guide to the Eastern Washington University Campus Historic District; 2003;
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Cheney Washington 1916-1940;
The Southwest Spokane County Historical Society photograph collection