Wilder Hall Enters Second Phase of Renovation

Construction at Wilder Hall, Oberlin’s historic student union building, resumed in July and will continue through summer 2026. 

The project, which is the second phase of a comprehensive multi-year renovation of the building, will focus on upgrades to the third floor. While all but the west end of the third floor will be closed throughout the 2025-26 academic year, most of Wilder will remain in use during this period.

Highlights of Phase II include:

• Creation of new offices and furniture for the office of Student Leadership and Involvement, with a 16-person conference room equipped with enhanced technology

• New space—including two new offices—for Concert Sound

• New office and furniture for the Student Senate and the Student Finance Committee

• New office and furniture for the Sexual Information Center, Craft Room, Film Co-op, and ExCo

• New, reservable spaces for student organizations

• Creation of an esports arena, with the capability to host group gaming events and one-on-one play

“Wilder Hall is the center of student activity on campus, from the many student organizations and Student Affairs offices housed there, to the virtually nonstop activity on every floor each day of the year,” says Karen Goff, Oberlin’s Dean of Students. “Wilder is an essential pillar of our campus, and these comprehensive renovations are intended to honor its remarkable beauty and ensure its vitality for generations to come.”

To make way for construction, several Wilder Hall offices have been relocated for the coming year. They include:

• Student Leadership and Involvement to Daub House (145 W. Lorain St., next door to Wilder Hall)

• Student Finance Committee to Daub House

• Concert Sound to Wilder Hall Room 212

• ExCo Committee to Kade House (104 S. Professor St.) Room 104

Previously renovated meeting spaces on the west end of the third floor will remain in use this year; most other areas of the building will be unaffected by the construction.

Wilder Hall’s comprehensive, multiyear renovation began in January 2023. Its first phase focused on the west side of the building, with emphasis on enhanced safety and accessibility features, improved student experience, utility infrastructure (including HVAC installation and tie-in to Oberlin’s new geothermal energy system), and structural repairs. Phase I was completed in spring 2024.

In the years ahead, additional phases of Wilder construction will include renovation of the lower level and the first and second floors.

About Wilder Hall: Designed by Chicago architect Joseph Lyman Silsbee—who also designed the Memorial Arch on Tappan Square—Wilder Hall opened in 1911 as a men’s residence. In addition to providing housing for undergraduates, the building was conceived as a meeting and performance space, and has evolved over time into Oberlin’s student union.