For Springfield College, the history of Locklin Hall begins in 1966 when Howard J. Cadwell, Western Mass Electric Chairman, and Wilbert E. Locklin, president of Springfield College, announced that Springfield College had acquired 5.3 acres of property from the Western Massachusetts Electric Company. The land contained 5 buildings at the time of the purchase, including what is now the Towne Student Health Center. The largest building obtained was located on the northwest corner of Alden Street and Wilbraham Avenue, or 210 Alden Street. At this point, the exact date that the building was built is unknown, though it was there before the construction of Weiser began in 1921. An investment of $192,000 allowed the building to be made into an efficient academic resource, with the first floor becoming a site for classrooms, faculty offices, and lecture halls. Until 1985, Locklin was often called the Academic Building, the Maroon Building, and sometimes just 210 Alden Street. Though not known for sure, according to documents in this collection Locklin may have housed, for a short time, the Physiological Research Laboratory. In 1968, a request was made to name the Physiological Research Laboratory the “Peter V. Karpovich Biokinetics Laboratory,” once it was moved to the Maroon Building. In 1969, the request of naming was approved by the Public Affairs Commission and was forwarded to the College Council for action. Further research needs to be conducted to determine if the laboratory ever resided in Locklin.

The building was never fully renovated when acquired from Western Mass Electric, and initial renovations continued on through the summer of 1970. Further renovations occurred in 1984. Through a combination of P.P.D’s budget and a $10,000 grant from ARCO, renovations were made to the business department on the second floor of the Maroon Building. Six new classrooms were added, along with an office for each professor and a secretarial room for student aids to work in. The rehabilitated building also included six new offices, a seminar room, secretarial space and a small taping room.

It was shortly after these renovations, during the summer of 1985, that the building was finally renamed from the Maroon Building to Locklin Hall in honor of Wilbert E. Locklin, the ninth president of Springfield College, who was retiring after 20 years of leading the college.

During the summer of 2013, Locklin Hall was renovated yet again, though as in the past, only portions of the building were addressed. The renovations included the moving and widening of the stairwells, the addition of a Starbucks coffee shop, and the restoration of the classrooms and offices, in particular the office and classroom spaces of the Business and Management departments on the second floor.

Researched and written by Elise White, 2014

1966: Springfield College acquired 5.3 acres of property from the Western Massachusetts Electric Company. 210 Alden Street was named the Maroon Building

1968: Request is made that the Physiological Research Laboratory be named the “Peter V. Karpovich Biokinetics Laboratory” once it is moved to the new location in Locklin Hall

1969: Request of naming was approved by the Public Affairs Commission and was forwarded to the College Council for action

1984: Business center is created on the second floor of the Maroon Building, with renovation of the Rehabilitation Department on the first floor

1985: The Maroon Building is renamed to Locklin Hall after William Locklin

2013: Renovation of Locklin Hall

Researched and written by Elise White, 2014