On March 30, 1968, Marbeck Center opened its doors for the first time, welcoming students and providing a place of community. 2018 marks the 50-year anniversary of the building.
Over the past 50 years, Marbeck has undergone multiple changes. Mark Bourassa, the director of the university event complex, has witnessed a lot of them over the past 22 years in his role.
The first significant alteration Bourassa remembers occurred in 1997, with the addition of multiple food stations in The Commons. The most noted change was painting the beams on the ceiling purple and adding the mission statement.
“When the beams in The Commons were painted, it was the first use of purple anywhere on campus,” said Bourassa. “At that point we hadn’t chosen a specific purple by a number, so we actually used a purple napkin to base the paint off of.”
Bourassa said a few years later the beams were repainted with the official Bluffton purple.
2003 was the year of the largest transformation of Marbeck Center. This was the opening of the addition that includes the clubhouse area of Bob’s Place, President’s Room, the Kreider Room, downstairs restrooms and the renovation of what is now called the 1899 Room.
Before the renovation, the 1899 Room was actually a space for students to hang out. At the time, it did not have any doors and included a pool table and arcade games, but the space was small and therefore encouraged the addition of Bob’s Place.
Before 2003, Bob’s Place was known as The Barn, because of beams that were displayed on the walls. The beams were removed as part of the renovation, and the search for a new name began.
Bourassa said the idea behind Bob’s Place was to create a location for students to hangout, where they could be comfortable. He and two other students on the committee came up with the idea of the name “Bob’s Place.”
“At the time the TV show ‘Cheers’ was popular,” said Bourassa. “A famous part of the theme song sang ‘a place where everybody knows your name.’ We decided to create a fictional character ‘Bob,’ that would welcome everyone to this place. Bob was based off Robert Kreider, Bluffton’s first president.”
Bourassa went on to conclude why some signage contains the signature of “Bob,” to create this welcoming feel.
After the 2003 expansion, Marbeck saw a few other changes, such as the 2004 addition of Red Hot, a new food station in The Commons, and then another complete renovation of stations in 2010, adding The Grill. 2006 included the transformation of the front desk and mailboxes.
Bourassa said the additional mailboxes were crucial. At the time, some students’ mail was collected in file folders because they ran out of mailboxes due to the rapid growth of students.
“My favorite memory in Marbeck is performing with Brent Schroeder in our band ABP (Anabaptist Bestiary Project),” said Kevin White, assistant director of the University Event Complex and 2011 alumnus. “We were asked to perform a few concerts in Bob’s Place and played once at Cabaret for a Cause.”
Kevin White and his band ABP perform in 2011 in Bob’s Place. Pictured from left to right: Brent Schroeder, Kevin White, Zeke Tracy, Blake Zickafoose, Chris Jennings, and Trevor Bechtel. Photo provided
Another one of White’s favorite Bob’s Place memories was watching 21 Pilots perform.
Bourassa associates his favorite memory with relationships rather than a specific place in Marbeck.
“My favorite memory in Marbeck Center is the relationships I have built with students and student workers,” Bourassa said.
Marbeck Center will hold events all week to celebrate the anniversary. The first was Cabaret for a Cause Friday night, and others included a showing of “The Incredibles,” Marbeck Bingo, a historical look at Marbeck and trivia night.
The Commons will host a special anniversary dinner starting at 5 p.m. tonight, and a presentation of Dueling Pianos will continue the celebration at 9 p.m. in The Commons.
