As campus ages and develops, it’s only natural for some of the facilities and offices to move around. Oftentimes, these spaces are quickly replaced and filled with new offices or classrooms for certain departments. However, in some campuses such as Hamline’s, these spots remain strangely vacant, an open space devoid of any apparent purpose.

One of the most noteworthy of these vacant areas on Hamline’s campus is the previous Hall of Education in Drew Residence Hall. Once a busy place with plenty of employees constantly bustling about, Drew’s Hall of Education is now a dimly lit, locked off chamber. The empty offices are centrally located in the first floor of Drew Hall, with big glass doors, allowing anyone to peer inside and see its unsettling stillness.

“We are currently working with President Miller and her staff in putting together the final plan, with respect for the highest and best use for the Drew 66 suite,” said Lowell Bromander, the Vice President of Facilities Services on campus. “It will undoubtedly be used as office space.”

Beyond just the Hall of Education, however, many other strangely empty spaces exist around campus. Drew Hall’s basement is a treasure trove of unused classrooms and offices. Manor Hall’s basement is similar, with many rooms serving no purpose beyond extra space during certain events. Additionally, the old Human Resources office in Old Main is currently open, as are many areas of West Hall’s third floor. Beyond these, there are various storage places or other rooms in most of the buildings on campus that have been seemingly forgotten.

Bromander provided an explanation for many of these unused spaces. “When the Law School left campus and West Hall became available, the focus was to consolidate a number of Student Affairs offices and the School of Education into one space. Since that time we have continued to backfill open spaces and grow departments such as Digital Media Arts. This summer we continued the moving of offices and back filling spaces with the moving of over 30 faculty offices and relocating the offices of Human Resources, Payroll and Benefits to Manor Hall.”

With the renovations being made to the first floor of Sorin Residence Hall, even more spaces will soon be opened up. A multitude of facilities are planned to move to the renovated area, including Safety and Security. This will be the second time Safety and Security will be switching locations. The facility’s previous location in Drew Hall is currently mostly unused, adding to the list of Drew Hall’s strangely empty spots. This leads to some concerns on what will become of the current Safety and Security location in Bush Center.

“Several scenarios will be created that concern Bush Center and other spaces that will be opened up by the moves,” Bromander said. “Parameters for use of the space, given the long-term desire to turn this space into a ‘well-being’ center, will be to use it on a short-term basis, on an ‘as-is’ basis, without investing significant dollars.”

The idea that enough office space will be needed to fill all of the vacant areas seems questionable. If some of these spots remain unfilled, there are potential opportunities for student use.

“Suggestions for student organization uses for open spaces are possible and would need to go through [a] decision making process,” Bromander said.

It remains unknown when and if all of these areas will be filled. In the meantime, these spots on campus serve their own unique purposes, as areas for students to explore and ponder over, and as signs of Hamline’s growth and development as a campus.