Carman Hall celebrates its 50th anniversary on Eastern’s campus this year, having gone from a bustling building that housed mainly freshman students to a resident-less building used for storage.

Carman Hall opened Sept. 4, 1970 and was officially completed Nov. 14, 1971.

The hall was described in the 1992 Warbler as something better understood by those who lived in the building:

“Inside Carman Hall may seem like a zoo to some, but to those who live there it is a place where many friendships are made that last throughout their college years.”

Carman Hall closed in 2013 due to decreased enrollment and has remained closed besides for the use of storage and for various needs throughout the year such as ROTC training.

The residence hall housed mostly freshman students, something Director of Housing and Dining Mark Hudson says helped foster strong friendships between residents.

“In that (year students lived in Carman Hall), holy cow did they make some fantastic friendships because, imagine everyone in the building was new, 95 percent of them were brand new so they had a bond,” Hudson said. “I think that’s the legacy of Carman, that bond that people made with each other because there was such a large number of incoming students.”

Hudson was a student in the early years of Carman Hall and said he has fond memories of visiting friends in the building.

He said during his first visit to Eastern he stayed in Carman as a part of a program that gave potential students a closer look at Eastern’s campus.

During his visits with friends in the hall after becoming an Eastern student he said he always found the building to be buzzing with energy compared to the hall he lived in which was known to be more quiet.

Beyond the memories made by the students who lived in Carman Hall, the name behind the building also holds significance for Eastern.

Ruth Carman was the first former Eastern student to have a building named after her at Eastern.

At the dedication of Carman Hall was Nov. 14, 1971, Carman’s close family was in attendance.

Carman was a Charleston resident born in 1892 and had a relationship with Eastern from a young age.

She was a student of the then normal school’s model school beginning in fourth grade until she became a student of Eastern State Normal School, the first name given to Eastern.

Following her time at Eastern she went on to the University of Wisconsin in 1912 where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in German and minored in Latin while also graduating as a member of the honor society, Phi Beta Kappa.

Later she earned a Master of Arts degree in Latin from the University of Illinois in 1925.

After receiving her degree from the University, she became the first alum to return to Eastern to teach after being selected by Eastern President Livingston C. Lord to teach foreign languages where she taught from 1914 until 1953, a total of 39 years.

Corryn Brock can be reached at 581-2812 or cebrock@eiu.edu.