See Western Michigan's Bernhard Center through the years

KALAMAZOO, MI -- For decades, the John T. Bernhard Center on Western Michigan University’s campus was a place for eating, studying, lounging, reading and even bowling.

The 65-year-old building has long served as WMU’s student center and home to the campus bookstore, a dining center, a McDonald’s restaurant and, at one time, a bowling alley for students.

With work nearing completion on a new student center at Western, the Bernhard Center will soon pass the baton to its successor before the building is demolished.

Related: After 65 years as a hub for students, Western Michigan’s Bernhard Center will be demolished

The Bernhard Center was built in 1957. The three-floor building is about 239,464 square feet overall, according to WMU facilities records.

Students shop at the Bernhard Center Bookstore at Western Michigan University in 1973. (Kalamazoo Gazette archive photo)

The price tag of the Bernhard Center was only $2.5 million when it opened in September 1957, according to a 1958 article in the WMU News Magazine. The building included a snack bar, an eight-lane bowling alley, a game room and student offices, the article said.

The center also included a faculty lounge and nearby music room where students could listen to records, according to the article, which was provided by the Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections.

Fast forward over six decades, the Bernhard Center still is a place for students to eat, study and lounge. But look south from the entrance of the Bernhard today and you can see a brand new student center under construction.

Students at a dining center table at the Bernhard Center at Western Michigan University in 1995. (Photo provided by Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections)

The university’s newest campus addition will be a three-story student center with restaurants, shops, gathering spaces, lounges and even an on-campus brewpub.

Related: Take a visual tour of the new $99M student center at Western Michigan University, ahead of fall opening

The center will include a dining center featuring eight micro-restaurants with cuisines ranging from traditional to international selections, the university said. The center will also include a Starbucks location, personal pizzas from Mi Pi, the Latin restaurant Fuego Verde and Re-Fresh Market for on-the-go options.

Aside from a large selection of food and drink, the center will also include the campus bookstore, a PNC bank branch, a FedEx print and ship store, the admissions welcome center, a commuter resource center, a parents’ room, game room, 12 meeting rooms, a student art gallery, seven lounge spaces and a meditation room.

The new center’s expected price tag is $99 million, WMU spokesperson Paula Davis said.

Take a walk back through time with the photographs below, provided by the Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections, that show moments from the Bernhard Center’s decades as a hub for student activity and recreation:

Students at the Bernhard Center at Western Michigan University in 1979. (Kalamazoo Gazette archive photo)

Students outside the Bernhard Center at Western Michigan University in 1960. (Kalamazoo Gazette archive photo)

Students order from the snack bar at the Bernhard Center at Western Michigan University in 1958. (Photo provided by Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections)

Students bowl at the Bernhard Center at Western Michigan University in 1965. (Photo provided by Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections)

Students shop at the Bernhard Center Store at Western Michigan University in 1990. (Photo provided by Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections)

Students at the Bernhard Center at Western Michigan University in 1979. (Kalamazoo Gazette archive photo)

Relive 9 decades of Kalamazoo State Theatre history as the iconic local venue is added to National Register

10 years after Kalamazoo bakery burned, Judy Sarkozy reflects on community that saved it

New student center with brewpub, micro-restaurants will open at Western Michigan University this fall

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 5/1/2021).

© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.