Murrow Hall History

Edward R. Murrow '30 in London, 1940. Photo courtesy WSU Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections.

Completed in 1900, Murrow Hall was originally known as Science Hall. It was built to serve the biological sciences and geology, to house the museum and provide a temporary home for the Departments of Agriculture, Horticulture, and Veterinary Sciences. When its science functions were taken over by a new Science building in 1935, the building became Arts Hall. By the 1960s it was home of WSU’s Radio and Television Services, with transmitter and studios of KWSC-TV and antenna atop Bryan Hall tower. Collegiate training in radio broadcasting began at WSU; KWSC is one of the oldest of educational broadcasting stations. In 1973, the Fine Arts Department moved to a new facility on campus and the building was transformed into the university’s communication center. In that year the building was renamed the Edward R. Murrow Communication Center after one of WSU’s most prestigious alumni.

Today, Murrow Hall still serves as the Edward R. Murrow Communication Center as well as classrooms for other majors.