Late June of 1925 saw the completion of an addition to Whitewater Normal School’s (now UW-Whitewater) Old Main building. The east wing was the last wing added to Old Main, and it opened for classes for the summer term of 1925.[1] Once the construction was completed the school enlisted the help of its students in moving equipment into the new wing. Students “gladly carried books and equipment into the new part [wing] for a chance to see what the interior… was like.”[2] The new wing featured an auditorium, new classrooms, and staff offices. The dedication ceremony for the east wing was held later that year on November 7th. The ceremony featured several speakers, including Governor John J. Blaine. The ceremony was well attended and many who went stayed for the homecoming football game that followed.[3]
Royal Purple, June 1925.
When Old Main Burned down in 1970, the East wing was the only wing that was not destroyed. The wing suffered water and smoke damage but was salvaged and renamed Hyer Hall, after President Frank S. Hyer who was president in 1925 when the wing was built. In 1997, University personnel decided to renovate Hyer Hall. This renovation lasted two years and cost $6.5 million.[4] In 1999, Hyer Hall reopened and now houses the Chancellor’s office, classrooms, and more.
UW Whitewater. Minnieska 1926, 96.
[1] “Use of New East Wing Features Summer School Session of 1925,” Royal Purple (Whitewater WI), June 24, 1925.
[2] “Locals,” Whitewater Register, June 11, 1925.
[3] “Dedicate New East Wing Saturday,” Whitewater Press, November 5, 1925.
[4] Kayla Edgar, “History Recalled,” Royal Purple (Whitewater WI), October 15, 2013.