In 1985, the president of Macalester College received a letter from engineer Elmer J. Kopp summarizing his evaluation of the East Wing of Old Main. College leaders had originally hoped that they could preserve the structure of East Old Main by using it as the basis for the new library. However, Kopp concluded in his report that it would be “extremely difficult, if not impossible, to save” the East Wing of Old Main.¹ Renovating the building would mean gutting it— the interior walls, floors, and roof system would have to be replaced, leaving only the weakened exterior walls intact. Additionally, the vibrations from construction would further damage East Old Main’s exterior walls, while also posing a danger to West Old Main by potentially dislodging the mortar in the stone foundation.² A month later, another report to the library architects from a separate engineering firm confirmed that diagnosis.³ The building would have to be demolished.

What did it mean for Macalester’s original building to be razed? Of course, this impending change had implications for the physical environment on campus. The building was vacated and a fence was placed around it during the months leading up to the demolition.⁴ Many offices had to be relocated elsewhere, including Residential Life, the History and Political Science departments, and Admissions.⁵ But the demolition also had more emotional and symbolic implications: the Mac community would have to say goodbye to the college’s most iconic building. The college chose to mark the impending demolition with a decommissioning ceremony in the spring of 1986, and carefully designed the event.⁶ Professor of history Yahya Armajani was invited to speak about the history of the building, with a focus on the people and the tradition of teaching in Old Main, so as to emphasize the learning that occurred within the building rather than the building itself. Professor Armajani’s talk was followed by a speech by the college president outlining the plans for the modern new library that would take East Old Main’s place.