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Architect: Lundeen & Hilfinger, Bloomington,
Illinois; Addition: Schaeffer, Wilson, & Evans,
Bloomington, Illinois
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 The
last event of the Centennial year was the opening of
the cornerstone of Old Main on December 17, 1957. The
leaden box was chiseled from the foundation of Old Main
where it had been since September 29, 1857. The contents
were taken to the University vault for safe keeping
until they were placed in a new vault along with similar
twentieth century documents in the cornerstone of the
new Centennial building on November 22, 1957. The Centennial
Building would replace the space when Old Main was demolished.
Rather than the classically ornamented architectural
exteriors of the past, Centennial West’s "ornament is
the student activity within," visible through the
broad expanses of glass on the façade. Like other examples
of modern architecture, it reflects the dominant character
of engineering, materials, and structure. Yet there
are elements of classical form that remain. The materials
are red brick and white trim.
The building was occupied in the fall of 1959. The two
buildings originally housed Schools of Art, Music, and
Theatre. Currently, the School of Art resides in the
CVA Building.
Centennial West includes Westhoff Theatre, 370-seats
including a balcony, used for the main stage productions
and dance concerts each year. 
It also contains the Allen Theatre, a 130-seat theatre:
the Studio Theatre, a 100-seat arena theatre used for
small productions: CW 207, a 50-seat experimental black
box theatre and various shops including scenery, costume,
painting, electrical, and storage areas.
At the southeast corner of the Centennial buildings
are two metal sculptures by Barry Tinsley, former faculty
member of the Art Department. The larger sculpture,
erected in 1973, is dedicated to former and late Illinois
State University student, Janice Louis Moorhous.
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