Today, Old Main serves as a symbol that the institution of Macalester has stood the test of time. However, its current appearance conceals its history. Looking at the building today, it is essentially impossible to see that East Old Main ever existed. Instead, the library stands in its place, and Old Main appears to be a complete building in its own right. At the time that it was built, the structure we know as Old Main was the result of poor financial planning, the opposite of the strong historical roots Old Main now implies. Old Main has seen many beginnings and endings— the beginning of Macalester College in the 1880s, its brush with an early death, the destruction of the East Wing in 1986, and a new beginning with the construction of the library in its place. Looking at the physical spaces that make up Macalester’s campus today, it can be hard to see how much has changed over time. Buildings can seem immutable, or immovable. The story of Old Main is clear evidence that buildings are not as set in stone as they appear.