KALAMAZOO, MI -- What was once called the "Acropolis of Kalamazoo" is no longer deemed worthy of historic recognition after renovations to Western Michigan University's East Campus.

East Hall, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, and Western State Normal School Historic District, added in 1990, were stripped of their historic status by the National Park Service, effective March 7.

Rodger Parzyck, a Kalamazoo resident, former member of the Kalamazoo Historic Preservation Commission and owner of The Heritage Company, petitioned in March 2015 to remove the sites' recognition, feeling that renovations from 2013-14 destroyed their historic value. Historic preservation bodies at the local and state level agreed with the decision, supporting the delisting before it reached the National Park Service.

"It was such a jewel on the hill and (residents) were so proud of it," said Parzyck, who has lived in Kalamazoo since 1974. "What (I was) trying to do is let them know that after tearing down basically two-thirds of East Campus, and on top of that defacing the open gymnasium and Waldo Stadium, there's not much integrity left."

J. Paul Loether, chief of the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks, agreed in a letter sent to Parzyck dated March 8. The National Register of Historic Places is an official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation in the United States.

"Due to substantial alterations and extensive demolition, East Hall and the Western State Normal School Historic District ... have ceased to meet the criteria for listing in the National Register because the qualities which caused them to be originally listed have been lost or destroyed," the letter reads.

WMU Executive Director of University Relations Cheryl Roland said the university has viewed the designation as a benefit for the community, but remains proud of renovations made use of underutilized buildings in East Campus.

"We are disappointed the community will lose that benefit, but the change really has no significant impact on the University," Roland said in a written statement. "We will always refer to the area and original building as historic East Campus and historic Heritage Hall."

Built between 1904 and 1909, East Hall gained its historical significance through its example of the Georgian Revival style of architecture. Marked by a taste for symmetry and proportion, the style is based on classical architecture of Greece and Rome.

When East Hall was listed on the National Register in 1978, it included an addition built in 1947 that connected a training building, administration building and gymnasium into one 480-foot long structure.

In 2014, two-thirds of East Hall was demolished, including the gymnasium, training school and the 1947 connection. A new west entrance was added to the remaining portion of East Hall, re-named the Heritage Hall alumni center after a $24-million renovation.

Since 1990, the bulk of the Archives and Regional History Collections had been housed in the old gymnasium in East Hall until the documents were moved to the $8.7 million Zhang Legacy Collections Center on the Oakland Drive after it opened in 2013.

"The cumulative impact of this massive demolition and substantial alterations have destroyed the historic integrity of East Hall," Loether said in the letter.

The Western State Normal School Historic district, commonly known as East Campus due to its location, was listed for its significance in education, architecture and landscape architecture from 1903 to 1940.

It contained 14 buildings when it was listed, 11 of which were deemed historically significant. Only four of the 11 remain unaltered today.

West Hall, constructed in 1915, was demolished in 2013.

North Hall, constructed in 1924, was razed in 2014. Only a pavilion of the south facade remains.

East Hall was reduced in size by two-thirds and significantly altered.

The Speech and Hearing Building, built in 1939, was demolished in 2013.

The Oakland Gymnasium, built in 1925, had two-thirds of its original building removed in 2001 and was given a large addition. A Printing Services Building, built in 1941 but not considered historic due to its age, was demolished in 2001.

Waldo Stadium, finished in 1939, is also significantly altered.

Kalamazoo Historic Preservation Coordinator Sharon Ferraro said to be listed, properties must represent the history that took place inside them. The buildings need to physically bear a strong resemblance to how they looked back when they were built.

"What was accomplished here will never be erased, but the buildings are gone," Ferraro said.

History on the hill

Parzyck wanted to send a message that building over historic landmarks is unacceptable.

"They had destroyed basically the historic district," he said. "We wanted go through the process of delisting and send a message to Western that what they had done was wrong."

After Parzyck petitioned the State Historic Perservation Review Board in March 2016, Western Michigan University submitted its own request to update the historic listing to reflect the changes.

The new documentation was reviewed by the Kalamazoo Historic Preservation Commission and Mayor Bobby Hopewell before going to the state board.

The commission voted unanimously to oppose the documents, while Hopewell decided against signing a document that would have sent the decision straight to the State Historic Preservation Review Board.

"The history of the City of Kalamazoo and Western Michigan University are inextricably linked and this request is significant enough to WMU, to Kalamazoo and to the public-at-large that it deserves to be heard and discussed at a public meeting," Hopewell said in a letter response at the time.

The State Historic Preservation Review Board met again in May and decided to schedule a site visit to East Campus before their next meeting in September.

It was the first time in the history of the board that a site visit was conducted.

On Aug. 23, 2016, six members of the Board, WMU staff, representatives from the Friends of Historic East Campus and the Michigan Historic Preservation Network, historic preservation expert Gene Hopkins and over 12 other concerned local citizens toured East Campus.

In his career spanning more than three decades, Hopkins has overseen a number of projects involving national historic landmarks, including the Grand Hotel, Fort Mackinac, the Michigan State Capitol and Fort Wayne. He made a short presentation, saying the district retained its historic integrity and should stay listed.

Afterward, a motion was unanimously passed to deny the additional material.

Building on top of history

More than a century ago, the city of Kalamazoo donated 20 acres at the top of Prospect Hill, now known as the East Campus, to Western State Normal School.

The plot was designated for the state's fourth teacher-training school, what would come to be known as Western Michigan University.

In December 2012, the university announced in a press release that the institution's birthplace would be transformed into an alumni center. John Dunn, who is set to retire in June after 10 years as the eighth president of the university, said in the release that it would be too expensive to repair the decaying buildings on East Campus.

It cost $275,000 annually to keep the buildings standing, the release said. WMU also stated unless some action was taken, there would "no longer be anything left to save."

"That's such a lie," Parzyck said. "Those buildings were solid as a rock. They were built to last."

Previously, WMU sought proposals from private developers to resurrect the buildings using state brownfield redevelopment and historic preservation tax credits. At one point the plan was to create a boutique hotel and residential housing in the area, but when the credits were eliminated the development became untenable.

A feasibility study revealed little interest from private donors to raise the millions of dollars needed to preserve the buildings. WMU officials decided to focus preservation efforts on renovating the area instead, while trying to salvage architectural elements where possible.

The news was poorly received by alumni who have worked to preserve the historic district for years. Parzyck created a petition in 2013 demanding WMU seek alternatives to demolition which achieved 5,000 signatures.

"As a state institution, they should be responsible to the taxpayers," he said. "They didn't do that."

Though WMU's core mission is education, the release said it also wishes to add to the Kalamazoo community's historic portfolio. In this case, the university said it just wasn't possible.

Jan Van Der Kley, vice president for business and finance, said the historic significance of the site revolves around the community's efforts to secure it for what would become WMU. She said the site was carefully renovated to look and feel close to how it did when it was dedicated in 1905.

"The university is not a museum, nor did the city founders ever intend it to be," Van Der Kley said. "WMU is a living testament to the wisdom of the city leaders who made its foundation possible and expected it to grow and change. As change occurred, however, careful attention was always paid to both the spirit and original design of Heritage Hall and the other facilities that were part of the original East Campus historic district."

Parzyck agrees that the university should dedicate itself to education first, but also said they are charged with being responsible stewards of historic buildings paid for by taxpayers, alumni donations and the tuition of students. He said it wasn't impossible for WMU to find money to save the buildings.

"I wish I could respect the university but I just don't anymore," he said. "They don't respect their historic buildings. Its unfortunate."