Some campus sites, such as Old Main and Pemberton Hall, never escape Eastern residents’ curiosity. Other pieces of university history, such as G.I. trailer park, Campus City and romantics hotspot The Passion Pit have instead slipped from the general public eye.

Both the popular and obscure pieces of Eastern’s history were put under scrutiny and officially opened on display in the Historical Administration Graduate Program’s latest annual exhibit, “Building Memories: Creating a Campus Community,” with a ceremony in Booth Library on Thursday.

History professor Debra Reid said the program’s work with Booth Library marks a shift to a more professional and prestigious partner from the traditional exhibition platform the Historical Administration program has worked with in the past.

“Booth library has sponsored national museums and Smithsonian traveling exhibits. Those are professional and packaged as traveling exhibits,” Reid said.

Allen Lanham, dean of library services, said he would enjoy having the historical administrative students return at a future date, especially after seeing their work with Eastern’s own history and the interest the exhibit artifacts drew from library patrons.

“I congratulate the scholars on studying a subject so near to us,” Lanham said.

Alan Hanson, a historical administration graduate student, said part of the appeal of the exhibit lies in its ability to draw similarities between the past and present.

“It’s a way to connect between current students and former students and alumni,” Hanson said. “A lot of what we look at focuses from the university’s founding to its present. So a lot of the stories are interwoven that tell EIU’s story.”

Even parts of Eastern that are more familiar to students have histories forgotten by students.

Anna Studstill, a historical administration graduate student, explained that Eastern’s first library was housed in Old Main.

“It had 2,500 books in two rooms,” Studstill said. “Today, Booth has over a million items.”

The exhibit as well as the opening ceremony, which was forced to standing room only, drew history academics, as well as more casual participants alike.

Reid said she has already seen the exhibit having an engaging effect on people passing through the library, possibly out of recognition of their own place in Eastern’s history.

“I’ve just been in the foyer and people walk in and they just start looking at the exhibits and making comments,” Reid said. “I think because they feel they own the content.”

Andrew Crivilare can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].