November 18, 2018
Then & Now: Wilmeth Active Learning Center
Purdue's sesquicentennial celebration provides inspiration to reflect on the University's 150-year legacy. How has the University changed over the years? Purdue Today will take a look through its new "Then & Now" photo series, which will highlight Purdue traditions, buildings, landmarks and more. This topic of the series is Wilmeth Active Learning Center, built on the former site of the north power plant and Engineering Administration Building.
In decades past, the power plant’s iconic smokestack could be seen rising high into the sky. Since the 1920s, the power plant and Engineering Administration Building were fixtures of Purdue’s skyline.
When the power plant and its smokestack were constructed, it was a necessity for heat and power for the growing university. Additionally, it was a leap into modernity for Purdue in an era of innovation.
The smokestack, completed in 1924, soared 250 feet into the air, and for more than 20 years, the power plant -- which later acquired the name Heating and Power Plant-North -- was the sole generator of heat and power on campus.
The Engineering Administration Building, formerly called the Service and Stores building, was constructed in 1928 directly north of the power plant. It served many purposes, first as headquarters for maintenance staff, then as the home of a defense program before World War II. In 1953, it finally became known as the Engineering Administration Building.
By the 1990s, the smokestack was no longer being used as the University was sourcing power elsewhere. Without use, facilities officials knew, the smokestack would begin to deteriorate. In 1992, it was demolished. After that, the power plant sat mostly unused for 25 years.
As plans began to be drawn up about what to do with the space the power plant occupied, there were considerations about refurbishing it. However, this proved to be an impossibility. Huge boilers supported the structure, and without them, it would not stand. In addition, asbestos was used to insulate boilers and pipes, which caused a hazard that made remodeling expensive and impractical.
The power plant and the Engineering Administration Building were demolished in 2014 to make way for the Wilmeth Active Learning Center, Purdue’s next giant leap in the education realm.
Construction began on the Wilmeth Active Learning Center in the summer of 2015, and it was opened in August 2017. Wilmeth Active Learning Center, at 164,000 square feet, consolidates six libraries, houses 27 active learning classrooms and is a daily academic destination for approximately 5,000 students, faculty and staff.
Wilmeth contains many nods to the old power plant. Its industrial look and feel are a tribute, as are many relics from the power plant that now serve as decoration within WALC.
Wilmeth Active Learning Center is named for a set of brothers who are both Purdue alumni. Thomas S. Wilmeth earned his electrical engineering degree in 1935, and Harvey D. Wilmeth earned his chemical engineering degree in 1940. They founded Scot Industries in Milwaukee in 1949, and it is now the worldwide leader in the specialty tubing and bar business. Thomas Wilmeth supported the University and Purdue Libraries for many years, since 1991, when he made a contribution to fund Libraries’ first electronic database.
Harvey Wilmeth died in 2007, and Thomas Wilmeth died in 2015 at the age of 101.
President Mitch Daniels endorsed the naming of Wilmeth Active Learning Center to honor the brothers for their leadership, vision and generosity. The Board of Trustees approved the naming in April 2015.
In 2017, Purdue University Press published “A Purdue Icon: Creation, Life, and Legacy” about the power plant and attached Engineering Administration Building. The book, edited by James Mullins, retired dean of Purdue University Libraries and Esther Ellis Norton Professor, contains seven essays about the history of the power plant and its demolition to construct Wilmeth Active Learning Center.
A Boiler Bytes video on WALC is available here.
In the photos
Then: In this 1931 photo, the power plant, smokestack, and Engineering Administration building were distinguishing features on the Purdue campus. (Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Purdue Libraries)
Now: Wilmeth Active Learning Center serves as a space for education and study. (Purdue University photo/Rebecca Wilcox)
Writer: Kelsey Schnieders Lefever, kschnied@purdue.edu
Sources: Teresa Koltzenburg, tkoltzen@purdue.edu
Adriana Harmeyer, aharmey@purdue.edu
Sammie Morris, morris18@purdue.edu
