East Campus
1949
Florida Southern College experienced an explosive jump in enrollment in 1948, partly due to servicemen returning from World War II as well as the introduction of the GI Bill. With the rise in students came a need to house them on campus, so the College commissioned designs for a new complex from Miami architect Robert Law Weed. The plans included eight dormitories for men, three sorority houses, six apartment buildings for faculty and married students, and the Commons, which consisted of a large dining hall, a student lounge, and a soda shop. The men's dormitories, named Wesley, Emory, Trinity, Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, and Asbury halls, stood between Columbia Way and Harvard Road. Ground was broken on the East Campus in 1948, and by the spring of 1949, all of the new structures had been completed. While only the cafeteria stands today due to updated building codes and technology, the creation of the East Campus stood as a milestone for the College in its development.
