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This collection includes aerial photographs, building photographs, related documents, and a newspaper article documenting CMU’s buildings and campus. Materials relate to CMU’s planning, land acquisition, development, and building construction.

This collection includes aerial photographs, building photographs, related documents, and a newspaper article documenting CMU’s buildings and campus. Materials relate to CMU’s planning, land acquisition, development, and building construction. Photographs in this collection include the construction process of Anspach Hall, the 1966 addition to Grawn Hall, the groundbreaking for Wightman Hall, the exterior of the first and second heating plants, the Power House, the exterior and interior of the Physical Plant, students inside Finch Fieldhouse, a house on the site of what is currently the North Art Studio, and aerial views of various sizes of campus. Additionally, there is a letter from CMU to Roger Allen and Associates, Grand Rapids, CMU’s long-time architectural firm, summarizing a meeting, two campus zoning maps, and presentation drawings by the firm of campus buildings including the University Center and South Quadrangle. There is also a newspaper article (copy) about how CMU was preparing for the 1960s by planning and building new infrastructure.

The collection includes materials related to Dow/Veit’s Woods and Wendrow Estates. There are four site maps of the Dow/Veit’s Woods area and three Surveyor’s Certificates (copies) for Wendrow Estates.

A significant portion of the collection is a series of aerial survey photographs (in the boxes) from between 1970 and 2002. These were taken by Abrams Aerial Survey Corporation, Air-Land Surveys, Inc., and Advanced Mapping Technologies. Each folder corresponds to a single flight line. Notable landmarks or roads were noted on the back of the first photograph in each folder by the student processor to assist researchers. The series is incomplete. The following photographed sections are missing; DEL 2, DDT 4, 16, 17, 46, FYS 21, JMK 1, 4, 11, 12, 18, KMU 4, 12, 18.

Oversized aerial photographs by Abrams Aerial Survey Corporation are in the oversized folders. There is one from 1942 and a series of eight from 1984.

Access to the digitized architectural CMU buildings and grounds records will occur in the future.

Researchers may be interested in other Roger Allen, CMU buildings, and campus aerial collections in the Clarke Historical Library.

Processing Notes:

During processing a handful of newspapers and duplicates were withdrawn. Acidic materials were photocopied, and the originals were retained in the collection. One brochure was added to the CMU Vertical Files.

The collection includes blueprints and drawings of Central Michigan University buildings, 1946, 1995.

This collection includes blueprints and drawings of Barnard Dining Commons, Barnard Hall, Preston Apartment Building, and Tate Hall at Central Michigan University (CMU). They are all in very good shape and vary greatly in size and composition. This is the only extant blueprints and drawings for these buildings.

Barnard Hall was named for Anna M. Barnard, who was the head of the Department of Foreign Language, 1899-1944. Barnard was the fourth dormitory built at CMU and the first one on campus designed by architect Roger Allen of Roger Allen and Associates. Barnard opened before it was completed on September 23, 1948 due to the high demand for housing. It cost $1.4 million and housed 400 students, although it was usually filled beyond capacity. Until 1973-1974 it housed women, after which it became co-ed. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt stayed in Barnard’s guest room when she visited CMU in 1955. Barnard’s adjoining food commons seated 600 students from Barnard, Sloan and Ronan halls, and was the first of its kind.

Tate Hall was named for Rachel Tate, an instructor in the Department of English and a part-time women’s dean, 1897-1916. Also designed by Roger Allen, Tate Hall opened in September of 1956, although it was not dedicated until January 19, 1958. Tate cost $1.14 million to build and housed 300 women from 1956 to 1972, after which it became co-ed. Like Barnard, Tate was demolished in 1997.

Preston Apartment building, also called Preston Court Apartments, housed married students. It was built by Roger Allen in 1955 and demolished in 1999 to allow for the expansion and reconstruction of the Park Library Building.

For additional information on Tate and Barnard see the Clarke’s website on CMU buildings that no longer exist.

The collection documents the reconstruction and new addition of the CMU Park Library building and temporary redesign of Finch Fieldhouse. There is also one set of blue-line drawings of the old Park building.

Architectural materials collection, 1966, 1997-2001, 2005. The collection includes blue-line prints, Dec. 1966, by Roger Allen and Associates of Grand Rapids (Mich.) for the original Park Library. Architectural drawings for the renovation and addition to the Park Library include: a milestone schedule, concept drawings, site layout plans, an artist's renderings of interior and exterior views of the new building, a presentation drawing, composite floor plans for four floors, and a vendor sample board of office furniture for staff, 1997-2001, by Greiner and Associates of Grand Rapids. Some of the drawings are mounted on foamcor board. The collection documents various stages of the planning process for the new building, as well as the furniture, shelving, signage, and electricity plans for it, and the landscaping and planting around it. Lighting fixture drawings were created by H.M. Brandston and Partners, Inc., 1999. Custom furniture designs by Blanton and Moore, LLC are for maple study carrels, 2001, and exhibit cases, 2005. Also included is a three-dimensional model of the new building with a wooden base and clear plastic cover. The model measures 28x35x8 inches and includes the building, people, cars, trees, sidewalks, and Preston Street. The model is composed of carboard and plastic in red, white, blue, green, brown, and black. The collection is organized by format, size, and chronologically.

Researchers may also be interested in additional architectural materials documenting the addition which are found in the CMU. Park Library New library collection, 1996-2008, which is also housed in the Clarke Historical Library. This collection includes final drawings, which came to the archivist after re/construction was completed. The collection also documents the open house events and other events held in the new building. Collections documenting the history and functions of the library are also housed in the Clarke.