Eastman Hall (1930)
Eastman Hall was the first campus building constructed to house physical education. St. Cloud State was small enough that the Old Main building housed nearly all academic functions. The campus was slowly growing, both physically and academically. Statewide, educational offerings at Minnesota state colleges were expanding. With an enrollment increase, the physical campus expanded, resulting in the construction of Eastman Hall.
Eastman Hall, 1930
Funding and Construction
The 1929 state legislature provided $225,000 “[f]or construction of physical education and classroom building and the acquisition by purchase or condemnation by the state teachers’ college board of such lands as the board shall determine to be necessary therefor, available for the year ending June 30, 1930”. The appropriation also provided funds to purchase additional land to add to campus. Property was purchased from the campus boundary just south of Riverview to 10th Street South on the east side of 1st Avenue South.
A home owned by J.E. Jenks stood on the property where Eastman Hall was to be constructed and moved just south of the Eastman Hall site in the fall of 1929. The home was renovated for $3,000 and named “Music Studio” to be used by department of Music.
According to a November 7, 1929, article in the St. Cloud Times, construction began that day. The building was designed by state architect Clarence Johnston, who also designed the second Lawrence Hall, Old Model School building, Riverview and Shoemaker Hall. Designed in the Moorish style, Eastman Hall was the final campus building designed by Johnston. According to that same St. Cloud Times article, a special bid was provided for "the use of special Minnesota clay brick for the exterior." That brick would also be ornamented in a "diaper pattern."
Construction contracts were awarded to A.G. Wahl and Sons (general), Charles Connor and Company (heating), and People’s Electrical Company (electrical).
The first floor featured classrooms / offices, men's and women's locker rooms, and a pool. The second floor contained the main gymnasium with seating and side gymnasiums, while the third floor featured main gymnasiums balconies and classrooms.
Groundbreaking and Time Capsule
According to a February 13, 1930, St. Cloud Times article, the cornerstone was laid the day before. Presiding over the ceremony was St. Cloud State president George Selke. Minnesota state senator J.D. Sullivan, who helped secure the appropriation, spoke at the cornerstone ceremony, praising the college and its soon to be completed physical education building.
A small copper time capsule box was placed underneath the cornerstone. Inside the box contained the 1929 St. Cloud State Talahi yearbook, St. Cloud Journal-Press final newspaper edition, a 1929 St. Cloud Journal-Press article about homecoming, a history of St. Cloud State, a roster signed by every current St. Cloud State student, and a St. Cloud State course catalog. The copper box was sealed by faculty member Marie Case. “Motion pictures” were taken by L.L. Williams – the fate of the film is unknown.
Naming
At the October 3, 1930, dedication, the building’s name was officially unveiled – Eastman Hall. It was named for Alvah Eastman, a prominent St. Cloud citizen who served as resident director twice, 1901-1908 and 1926-1933. A resident director served on the Minnesota state college board and represented the campus – Eastman served for St. Cloud State. Eastman also has owned and served as the editor the "St. Cloud Journal-Press" newspaper until 1929 when the paper merged with the "St. Cloud Times". When Eastman died in December 1939, he was referred to as “St. Cloud’s First Citizen”.
Alvah Eastman, no date
First and Last Men’s Basketball Game at Eastman Hall
Eastman Hall was also home to inter-collegiate athletics. The first basketball game played at Eastman Hall occurred on January 10, 1931. St. Cloud State defeated St. John’s University, 24-23. The last basketball game was played on February 20, 1965. Here St. Cloud State defeated Moorhead State, 78-73. According to a press release dated Feb. 15, 1965, special guests were members of the 1930 St. Cloud State basketball team who played in the first game, including former head coach John Weismann, Edward Colletti, Malcolm Doane, and Gene Rengel.
Changes at Eastman Hall
According to an article in the Chronicle’s January 26, 1940, edition, Health Services was first housed in Eastman Hall. Health Services moved to Hill Hall in the summer of 1973.
An article in the November 22, 1946 edition of the Chronicle reported the main gymnasium was a "temporary home of more than 100 veterans." The gym soon emptied in the next few days for basketball practice once the "new men's dormitory" (Brainard Hall) opened in the next few days.
More noticeable changes to Eastman Hall included the large west windows being bricked up in the spring of 1963 to “eliminate sun glare.” At the same time, the building’s four wooden doors were replaced with aluminum doors.
Halenbeck Hall opened in the summer of 1965 and became the new home for physical education. Eastman Hall would then serve as a fitness center, home for intramurals sports, faculty offices, and classrooms. Art, Student Teaching, ROTC, and, especially, English, were housed in Eastman Hall after 1965. The building closed sometime in 2012.
2019 Renovation
The 2017 state legislature provided $18.5 million to renovate Eastman Hall. Renovation began in the fall of 2017 and completed in the summer of 2019. Home to the Center for Health and Wellness Innovation, Eastman Hall includes the Medical Clinic (formerly Student Health Services), Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Recovery Resource Center, and the U-Choose program as well as others. A ribbon cutting officially opened the building on August 20, 2019, and a grand opening on September 29, 2019, all part St. Cloud State's 150th anniversary.
The blueprints for Eastman Hall, as completed in 1930, are available on the University Archives’ Search portal.
Architect's rendering, 1929
St. Cloud State basketball game at Eastman Hall, February 1964
Eastman Hall swimming pool, 1930
Eastman Hall, 1940-1959
