The Lincoln Building is known for its parking lot on North Lincoln Street. It’s prime parking for those students who frequent Franklin and Rockwell halls, and it’s just a brisk walk across Main Street to the bus stop.

But no one really knows what the building itself houses or why it’s separated from campus.

For now it’s vacant but is used as a “swing space building as we renovate offices on campus,” said Tom Euclide, the vice president of facilities planning and operations. Euclide oversees all building maintenance and upkeep on campus as well as planning and renovations of buildings when departments move.

Lincoln Building was built in 1966 as an office building until the university bought it and used the space for a variety of occupants.

“All upkeep is done through our general funds,” Euclide said. “So I would say there’s very little upkeep but to check on it periodically.”

The Liquid Crystal Institute was an early occupant of Lincoln Building until those in charge built their own building. Following that, regional campus management offices moved into the space in the early 1990s for about 10 or 15 years, Euclide said, but moved into the Michael Schwartz Center in mid-2005 when they went through a reorganization of the program.

The School of Pan-African Studies also occupied the building for a short time, but the Liquid Crystal Institute and regional campus management were the two primary occupants during the past 30 years until Information Services moved in.

Debra Dobrilovic, administrative assistant for enterprise support and application services, said she started working in Lincoln Building in August of 2009. Her duties included secretarial work, contracts, scheduling and assisting the director of the department. In February 2011 her department moved to Stewart Hall, which was renovated for Information Services to put the majority of the department under one roof.

In 2011 there were discussions of the Kent State University Foundation moving to Lincoln Building, according to an article on Kent Patch. Those plans haven’t moved further, Euclide said.

“It’s just a resource for the university to have,” Euclide said. “It’s key for smaller offices that don’t interact with students but because of its location it’s not a primary location for teaching and student use.”

Contact Courtney Kerrigan at [email protected].