{"id":795,"date":"2026-03-25T16:20:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T16:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/kirkbuilding\/?page_id=795"},"modified":"2026-10-08T20:24:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T20:24:22","slug":"events","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/kirkbuilding\/about\/events\/","title":{"rendered":"Events"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2>\n\t\t\tHistorical Highlights: Events &#038; Activities\t<\/h2>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/kirkbuilding\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2026\/04\/Kirk-Aud-Band-Concert.jpg\" alt=\"Photo from behind rows of people sitting for a band concert in Kirk Auditorium.\" title=\"Kirk-Aud-Band-Concert\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/kirkbuilding\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2026\/04\/19350801-Kirk-Aud-Bartered-Bride-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of Kirk Auditorium stage with women dressed up for the Bartered Bride.\" title=\"19350801-Kirk-Aud-Bartered-Bride\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/kirkbuilding\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2026\/03\/19450524-Convocation-02.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of above view of Convocation in the Kirk Auditorium.\" title=\"19450524-Convocation-02\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/kirkbuilding\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2026\/03\/Undated-Kirk-Auditorium-04-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of students playing a basketball game with people in stands of Kirk Auditorium.\" title=\"Undated-Kirk-Auditorium-04\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/kirkbuilding\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2026\/03\/1960s-Presidents-Reception-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Photo in people of large main hallway for the President&#039;s Reception in the Kirk Building.\" title=\"1960s-Presidents-Reception\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/kirkbuilding\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2026\/03\/19381130-Unveiling-Pickler-Portrait-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Close up view of unveiling of the Pickler portrait on Kirk Auditorium&#039;s stage.\" title=\"19381130-Unveiling-Pickler-Portrait\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<h2>\n\t\t\tRich Campus History in One Building\t<\/h2>\n\t<p>The Kirk Building hosted many important activities on campus, mostly in Kirk Gymnasium and the main hallway on the first floor known as Sociability Hall.<\/p>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tSociability Hall\t<\/h3>\n\t<p>Before the Student Union Building, the large hallway on the first floor of the Kirk Building was known as the social hub of the university. Students would hang out, study, and eat in the attached lunch room.<\/p>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/kirkbuilding\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-07-143718.png\" alt=\"Photo of person standing in largest Kirk Building hallway to entrance.\" title=\"Screenshot 2026-04-07 143718\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tGym\t<\/h3>\n\t<p>Prior to the construction of the Pershing Building and Baldwin Hall Auditorium, Kirk Gym functioned as both an auditorium and gymnasium. Sporting events, theatre productions, student assemblies, annual meetings of the Northeast Missouri State Teachers Association, commencement programs, high school graduations, and college dances, operas, and band concerts were held there. Several inaugurations of the college president and the funerals of Presidents Emeriti Kirk and Fair took place in the gym. It also served as a barracks for members of the Air Force who were on campus for special education work during World War II.<\/p>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/kirkbuilding\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2026\/04\/Undated-Kirk-Auditorium-01-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of slight top view of empty Kirk Auditorium facing the stage.\" title=\"Undated-Kirk-Auditorium-01\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/kirkbuilding\/events\/\" target=\"_self\">Back to Top<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Historical Highlights: Events &#038; Activities Rich Campus History in One Building The Kirk Building hosted many important activities on campus, mostly in Kirk Gymnasium and the main hallway on the first floor known as Sociability Hall. Sociability Hall Before the Student Union Building, the large hallway on the first floor of the Kirk Building was&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"parent":501,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-page-builder.php","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-795","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Events - History of the Kirk Building of Truman State University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/kirkbuilding\/about\/events\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Events - History of the Kirk Building of Truman State University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Historical Highlights: Events &#038; Activities Rich Campus History in One Building The Kirk Building hosted many important activities on campus, mostly in Kirk Gymnasium and the main hallway on the first floor known as Sociability Hall. 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