Despite a few cracks in the windows and some dust on the floor, the Paolucci Building remains a vision of another time and lifestyle.

The 10-pane windows remain open to those walking past the two-level brick building, although students accustomed to historical buildings adorning their campus pass by unimpressed.

Ivy grows on the concrete steps leading up to the building's many entrances, lined by trimmed hedges. The doors are numbered — just like a house would be — and doorbells remain for visitors stopping by.

For 60 years, the Paolucci Building has remained a historical fixture on north campus. But vacant since 2001, its future is uncertain. As of now, it is scheduled for demolition by 2020, the result of a dated structure and a lack of accessibility.

Located at Collingwood and East Circle drives, the building has served as a classroom, laboratory and an office, but to those who knew it well, it was a home.

"It put you in the heart of campus," said Danny Layne, the network and publications administrator for the Julian Samora Research Institute, one of the last departments to use the building. "I just hate to see it go."

Days gone by

The building's namesake is Beatrice Paolucci, a faculty member for more than 25 years in the College of Human Ecology.

According to University Archives and Historical Collections, Paolucci began her career at MSU as a home economics professor in 1951. She entered the College of Human Ecology in 1953. Throughout her career, Paolucci served as chairwoman of the Department of Family and Child Services from 1967 to 1969, and was twice honored by the university as a distinguished faculty member. Paolucci also was presented with the Distinguished Services Award from the American Home Economics Association.

She died of cancer in 1983.

The building was constructed in 1947 for the now-defunct School of Home Economics. Designed as a home management center, the building came complete with kitchens, bathrooms and living rooms — all the comforts of home.

"People would laugh, 'My office is in the master bedroom,'" said Linda Nelson, a former faculty member who used the building.

Nelson, who lives in East Lansing, was an adviser in the School of Home Economics from 1954 to 1959. She lived on the premises with her female students in six-week increments as a requirement for the program. Women lived in the building to learn the basics of keeping house.

Nelson said during that time, women had curfews. Her job involved making sure all of the women came in on time each night.

The women learned to manage their money by working on a budget. Each woman contributed money to a general fund, and each week, a new group was designated to manage it. From the budget, menus were created for meals, chores were scheduled and social events were planned.

Home economics was the largest major for women at the time, Nelson said. It consisted of four departments — food and nutrition, institution administration, textiles, clothing and related arts and home management and child development.

Nelson was involved in the home management and child development program.

"The main purpose was management — learning how to utilize your resources and make decisions about them," Nelson said.

One of the features of the house was "work simplification." Nelson said the kitchens had countertops that were built at different heights, which allowed women to complete different chores comfortably and effectively.

The program ended in 1970 when the College of Human Ecology was created. The program separated into four new departments.

"One of the reasons that the program closed was that more students were getting married, and it was conflicting for them to be away from their own homes for six weeks," she said.

Nelson said she has memories of social events taking on a special feel in such a homelike environment.

"When it was used for a residence hall, I think some of the most fun we had was the use of the fireplace — it really was a homey feel," she said.

In its final years of use, the building housed the Julian Samora Research Institute, an organization that conducts research on the Latino community and the issues that affect it economically, politically and socially.

Layne said he remembers working in the west wing of the building. The institute occupied about 20 rooms in the wing.

He said the atmosphere of the building was created by its craftsmanship, both inside and out, and made for a welcoming environment for guest speakers and researchers who visited.

"No matter who came in, I think they were more relaxed," Layne said. "It seemed more like a retreat."

He described the building as being very compartmentalized, and that people could walk around all day and not see anyone else.

The institute's acting director, Francisco Villarruel, is a professor of family and child ecology who conducted research in the building before the College of Human Ecology relocated.

He said the east wing of the building contained mostly offices, as well as two-way mirrors in the marriage and family therapy clinic, which relocated to Olin Health Center.

"Each of the rooms were cut up into multiple offices, so the space was used optimally — unfortunately, it was too small for our needs," he said.

The institute moved to the Nisbet Building in 2001.

Over time, carpet was added and the lighting was updated, but many of the building's original features remain, including four fireplaces and three of the original kitchens.

What's in store

The Paolucci Building is under the care of the university's Physical Plant Division, which maintains the building and the grounds.

"The building is no longer in use because it can't be made accessible for persons with disabilities," said Jeff Kacos, director of campus planning and administration. "The interior is very compartmentalized, and the hallways are extremely narrow."

Gus Gosselin, director of the building services department, said the building's pipes and electrical systems are checked routinely.

"Right now, all we do is visit regularly to make sure nothing is freezing or going haywire," he said.

To prevent freezing, heat is left on until late spring or early summer.

University officials included the demolition of the Paolucci Building in its 2020 Vision plan, a master plan for campus development by the year 2020. It would be cheaper to construct a new building in the same spot than it would to renovate the Paolucci Building, Kacos said.

"The building was evaluated for renovation, but the cost of making it only marginally usable exceeded the price of building new," he said. "For these reasons, the building will be demolished when the site is needed for another use."

The building would need several updates to meet regulations for health and disability access. Gosselin said an elevator would have to be installed and duct work would have to be done to allow access to all areas of the building.

"When they transformed it into an office building, there weren't a lot of codes, so it wasn't a problem," he said. "One problem with trying to move someone in is that you have to bring it up to code. It is not just a matter of money, it is a matter of difficulty.

"It's a nice old building, but functionally, there isn't much we can do with it."

Asbestos also is a concern, Gosselin said. It was used in plaster, glues and tile — which can be found throughout the building.

"Back then, asbestos was a common building material," he said.

Several plans for the site are up for discussion, originally mentioned in the 2020 Vision plan, including a new alumni center or development office. Most recently, the idea of a new art museum was explored.

Bridget Paff, director of development at Kresge Art Museum, wrote in an e-mail that the MSU Board of Trustees approved the museum's request to plan a new museum that would be built on the current site of the Paolucci Building at its Dec. 8, 2006, meeting.

According to a memorandum from the Trustee Finance and Audit Committee, the current museum is too small and ill-equipped to accommodate the university's growing art collection and instructional needs.

As stated in the Arts and Humanities Update, the College of Arts & Letters' online newsletter, the proposed multistory, 45,000-square-foot facility would include a sculpture garden consisting of current trees on the site. The estimated cost for the plan is $30 million.

"There is some fundraising work going on at the university level — the university is talking with some potential donors at this point," said Mariah Cherem, events and communications coordinator for the museum.

But Cherem said exact plans for the site can't be finalized yet.

"We are looking to expand the site of the museum, but I wouldn't quote any exact square footage," she said. "There aren't any exact architectural plans at this point."

Benefits of the new site would include increased space for bringing in larger exhibits, creating adequate space for more contemporary exhibits and a more central location.

"Some of the prime benefits of it would be that that site is located at a campus entrance," Cherem said. "Likewise, being along Grand River will really serve as a destination point and a bridge between the university and the city itself."

Parking also has been a concern expressed by visitors of the museum, and a new central location could ease that, Cherem said.

Layne said he supports preservation, but understands the building would need extensive renovations.

"You hate to see one of those historic structures go," Layne said. "Change is inevitable. You preserve what you can, remember it and move on."