EAST HALL

Late in 1903 the Board of Trustees requested $75,000 from the legislature for a new Creamery Building. The request included this justification and description:

The dairy interests of the State are second to those of no state in the Union, and our state annually manufactures nearly one fifth of all the creamery butter put upon the markets of our country; $75,000 is probably the least amount that would build a modern, well-equipped and substantial creamery building, suitable to the needs of the College for years to come, and a structure of an enduring and pleasing character and architectural design. A building of this kind should contain a modern ice manufacturing plant and it should be connected with the central heating plant of the College and the power obtained from the electric plant, thus avoiding the necessity of maintaining a separate ice-house and a boiler and engine in connection with the building. This building can be so constructed and located that it will be brought more prominently into the group of educational buildings on the campus and will present a pleasing view from every approach with no objectionable features.¹

In April 1904 the legislature appropriated $45,000 for the Dairy Building² and the architects were retained.³ Bids were opened at the June Board meeting and a contract awarded in the amount of $43,192.⁴

Contracts for plumbing ($3837) and heating ($2358) were awarded in November and $500 was allocated for electrical work by the College.⁵

The ISC Student, on Feb. 1, 1905, was able to report:

The exterior of the new creamery is now finished. The plumbing, heating and lighting is also practically completed and it is now ready to receive furniture and machinery. Our dairy students are looking forward with delight to the day when they can take up the work in one of the most complete and best arranged creamery buildings in the world.

In September 1905 the paper recorded that the building was complete and ready for use. The building is more fully described the following month:

…The outer walls of the building are of pressed brick, while the interior floors and walls of white tile, with the exception of a green border which extends about the upper part of rooms and hallways. The building is built fireproof throughout and everything is as sanitary as modern ideas can possibly make it.

One of the most important and interesting of the many new features to be found in the building is the new refrigerator machine, by which different rooms may be brought to the freezing point or below, as in the case of one room the temperature of which can be lowered to 10 below. There are four of these rooms for storing cheese and four for packing butter, the idea being to make certain tests as to the best temperature at which to store the above products…

On the first floor is a cream-testing room, wash room, toilets, lunch room and a laboratory for bottling cream. The second floor is given over to the testing laboratories and offices, while the third floor is taken up almost entirely by the Bacteriology department. The fourth floor is to be left for some time, on account of the lack of sufficient funds. There are also two rooms on the third floor which will remain in an unfinished condition for some time for the same reason… ⁶

The Biennial Report for 1906-08 reports the total cost of the project as $71,921.81. Dedication of the building was held on January 4, 1907. ⁷

The building continued in use for dairy activities, with some equipment and machinery changes, until 1928 when the Dairy department moved to the new Dairy Industry Building. Major changes were then made in the Dairy Building to provide “offices and classrooms (for use) by the Agricultural Economics and Vocational Education Departments.”⁸ The building then became known as Agricultural Annex.

The fourth floor was remodeled in 1948 and the basement in 1955.

The name East Hall was adopted in February 1961.⁹

The East Hall Addition is separately described.