While students are shuffling off to class, heads down and phones out, they often look past some of the beautiful, historic buildings on campus. Director and Curator of the NMU Beaumier Heritage Center Daniel Truckey hopes to change that with his tour of campus, “Walking Through the Past: 70 Years of Architecture at NMU.”
The tour will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. this Saturday, April 13, and will begin at Cohodas Hall.
Designed to heighten students awareness about the history of campus, Truckey wants students to appreciate Northern’s campus and how its history has changed throughout the years.
“They will learn a lot about the history of Northern,” Truckey said. “Not only the past 70 years, but the past 120 years.”
The tour will start at Cohodas Hall, located on the east side of campus, and will tour almost the entirety of the school ending at the New Science building. Along the way, Truckey will highlight the significance and history of the buildings, including Lee Hall, the oldest structure on campus.
With a rich campus history, NMU, features many buildings advancing on becoming eligible to be on the National Historic Register, and others have been designed by well known architects. Alden B. Dow, a nationally renowned architect and Michigan native, was in charge of designing the Learning Resources Center on campus.
“We walk around this campus not even knowing these significant architects designed these buildings,” Truckey said.
Truckey hopes that with this architectural tour people gain more appreciation of the buildings that they walk past every day. “Architecture is a part of our heritage and our history,” Truckey said.
It is important that students do not take for granted the historic campus they live on, and understand the importance of learning about the history of Northern, he added.
If students are interested in architecture and or the history of NMU, there are classes offered in architecture, design and history. Truckey urged students to check out the Beaumier Heritage Center. The hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
