∙1967∙ RENOVATIONS AND CAMPUS BUILDS CRABBE LIBRARY A linchpin of then-President Robert Martin’s drive toward academic excellence, a $2.8 million renovation of the John Grant Crabbe Library in 1967— the equivalent of $21 million today — quadrupled the facility’s size, enveloping the existing structure to include a new front facade and an additional floor. It brought the library’s total capacity to approximately 3,000 patrons and 500,000 books. More importantly, it brought readers and books closer together. Little wonder that EKU President Emeritus Doug Whitlock (2007–13) once called the library expansion “transformative.”
WALTERS HALL Walters Hall is unique among EKU buildings, as it honors a community leader whose contributions predated the establishment of Eastern Kentucky State Normal School in 1906. Singleton P. Walters was a major benefactor of Central University and the namesake of the institution that bridged Central and Eastern, Walters Collegiate Institute. Originally housing only women, today Walters Hall is a coed facility that is home to the new American Sign Language Living Learning Community. It was extensively renovated in 2010.
COMMONWEALTH HALL The 20-story Commonwealth Hall originally housed only male students and later included several specialized communities, including Education, Outdoor Pursuits, Health and Wellness, and ROTC. It was said in the mid-1960s that President Robert R. Martin was in a race with his counterpart at the University of Kentucky to see who could build the most high-rise buildings. Commonwealth was repurposed in 2015 as an office building, with five floors (15–19) housing the quickly growing e-Campus operation. Parking and Transportation Services are located on the second floor, with various other offices on other floors.
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