Places
Fisher Building to School House Lofts
Hallways retain many of their features, including lockers, classroom doors, and the trophy case.
1929 President’s House
This Georgian Colonial style house was completed in 1929 for President, Richard T. Hargreaves and his wife, Edna "Rose" Morrow Hargreaves. The home was occupied by succeeding school presidents until 1987. It then became a faculty club, as well as a special events venue for the college and community. Weddings, receptions, and other special occasions were held in the renamed University House until 1998. That summer, President Stephen Jordan and his wife, Ruth, moved into the President's House, returning it to its original use.
The two-story red brick house is 47 by 30 ...
1916 Monroe Hall
Monroe Hall was the first dormitory built at the Normal school. It was dedicated February 4, 1916, and housed about 90 women. At this time, the majority of students were women, as teaching was one of the few professions open to single women.
Monroe Hall featured a dining room and laundry facility for its residents. Prior to this, all students boarded in private homes, boarding houses, clubs, and “light housekeeping” rooms. People who made a living from providing room and board to students saw this new dormitory as the of killing private enterprise by the state. It ...
1948 Memorial Field House
Another ghost on the campus. This one loomed large in folks memories, not only for the many sporting events they attended there, but also its spectacular end.
After World War II, the government had surplus buildings available. One of those was a drill hall at Camp Walgreen at Farragut Naval Training Base north of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Some local boys, including Chuck Shepard were stationed at Camp Walgreen for training in the early days of the war.
In April 1947, Eastern Washington College of Education, as it was known then, acquired the building. Gaasland ...
1888 Red Barn
The barn was built about 1888 by William Bigham for David Hutchinson, the father of Nellie G. Hutchinson. She was a teacher at the Normal School who married William J. Sutton March 3, 1897. A month before their marriage, he had resigned as President of the Normal School and she resigned as head of the Training Department.
The barn became part of their farmstead. Sutton had extensive land holdings and oversaw a large farming operation, as well as breeding race horses. Mr. Hutchinson continued to make his home with the couple until his death.
William Bigham is ...
1937 Martin Hall / Lab School
The new Laboratory School in Martin Hall was a cutting edge facility with the most modern equipment when it opened in 1937.
The number of students enrolled in the elementary grades at the Training School continued to grow. By 1930, the Board of Trustees was looking for funds to replace the old 1908 school. However, the Great Depression meant there was no money available from the state legislature. But in 1935, the federal Public Works Administration approved the Trustees' proposal, and work began on a new school.
Martin Hall was dedicated to Cheney native, Governor ...
1915 Manual Arts / Huston Hall
This, very plain, functional styled building was erected in six months at a cost of $12, 295. It opened in the fall of 1915 housing the Manual Training department and Physical Training. From manual arts to maintenance, to Information Technology, the building has housed many unglamorous, but essential functions of the college.
The building you see today, barely resembles the original. The interior has been completed gutted and remodeled, while the exterior has additional wings, as well as other changes.
You might expect manual arts to include woodworking, but it also ...
1923 Sutton Hall
An influx of male students after World War I, meant the Normal School needed additional housing for men. A group of Cheney businessmen used private bond funding to erect a new men's dormitory. In honor of the service William J. Sutton had given to the school and the community, they dedicated the new hall in his name on September 21, 1923.
Women students had always outnumbered the men in the early days of the Normal School. There were enough male students by 1899 to field football and basketball teams, but their numbers meant they could easily find places to live in ...
1929 The Philena
This faded gem was built by businessman and mayor, Clarence D. Martin in 1929, named in honor of his mother, Philena. It was erected as housing for single faculty members of the Cheney Normal School.
Mr. Martin chose Spokane architects Archibald and Roland Vantyne to design the 3-story building in a Romanesque style. The brick building has striking arched windows and terra cotta decoration. The front door was originally flanked by two concrete pedestals that held decorative wrought iron lamp posts.
The rich interior originally had hardwood plank flooring and painted ...
1892 Land Given for City Park
One hundred twenty-five years ago, in 1892, the Northern Pacific Railway Deeded Block 7 parcel of land in Cheney between C & D and 5th & 4th streets to City to be used as a park for the enjoyment of the citizens. Ten years passed before the women of the Tilicum Club and men of the Commercial Club organized to raise funds and provide the labor to make the block useable as a park. It was called City Park, now renamed Veterans Park.
For the first three decades, the members of the Tilicum Club planted flowers and shrubs each year and those plantings were watered ...
