» University Archives & Special Collections

Fire and Growth

Disaster struck in 1979 when a fire ravaged the Administration Building.

The Deerwester Theater in the Administration Building along with other areas of the building were destroyed by the fire.

The KXCV radio station, which was located in the Administration Building, was severely damaged during the 1979 fire. The radio station eventually relocated to Wells Hall.

The Administration Building was rebuilt after the fire, although its interior walls looked dramatically different and several offices and services that it once housed were moved to other areas on campus.

The Administration Building, a symbol of the campus for decades, was rebuilt and remodeled without the Deerwester Theater, which was destroyed by the fire.

A devastating fire in 1979 severely damaged a campus icon, the Administration Building.

The aftermath of the fire could have crippled and even crushed Northwest, but – like the legendary Phoenix – the University rose from the ashes to soar into a new millennium with a commitment to quality, increased enrollment, a winning football team, an innovative notebook computer program and unstoppable optimism.