March 21, 2014

WSU Alumni Association

Washington State University alumni and friends are invited back to campus to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the opening of the landmark Lewis Alumni Centre with a public open house beginning at 4:30 p.m. March 28.

The 25th anniversary event will feature refreshments, displays depicting the center's history and future, and conversations with Alumni Association volunteer leaders and other WSU dignitaries, including members of the original building committee and former Alumni Association Executive Director Keith Lincoln.

A landmark structure on the Pullman campus, the Lewis Alumni Centre was originally a barn designed in 1922 and constructed as a training and activity center for a variety or agricultural activities and programs. But following decades of use for a variety of purposes by WSU students and faculty, the barn fell into disuse and was slated for demolition. Prior to the scheduled demolition of the facility, however, a group of WSU alumni convinced the university to spare the building and instead renovate as an alumni center.

The resulting renovation commenced in 1983 at a cost of $4 million, all of which was raised among Cougar alumni and friends, who also donated carpeting, artwork and countless hours of sweat equity to the project. When the building re-opened as the Lewis Alumni Centre in March of 1989, the new structure featured the original massive beams of the old barn and a converted loft that now serves as the center's Great Hall.