Ball State University Establishes New Design Hub, Community Collaboration Space in Downtown Muncie

The Columbia Theater Building at 306 S. Walnut Street in downtown Muncie. Photo provided.The Columbia Theater Building at 306 S. Walnut Street in downtown Muncie. Photo provided.

By Ball State University Communications—

MUNCIE, IN— Ball State University and its Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning (ECAP) have signed a two-year lease for the first floor of the historic Columbia Theater Building at 306 S. Walnut Street in downtown Muncie.

The space will serve as a new anchor for immersive learning, student design coursework, and University-community collaboration—bringing Ball State students, faculty, and research to the heart of the city.

Beginning this Fall semester, the site will house ECAP studio courses in landscape architecture and urban planning. The location—almost 5,000 square feet—will also support exhibitions, project showcases, and events that invite community engagement around planning, historic preservation, and design.

“We are grateful for this opportunity to deepen our connection with the Muncie community,” said Ball State President Geoffrey S. Mearns. “This project advances key goals of our strategic plan—including immersive learning, place-based collaboration, and regional revitalization—and reinforces our University’s long-standing commitment to Muncie and our region.”

Located in one of Muncie’s most iconic downtown buildings, the newly renovated space retains its character while offering flexible layouts for classroom instruction, public events, and evolving partnerships.

In addition to studio courses, the space will launch with the Urban Planning program’s new Discovery Center—designed to highlight community and regional design work through a visual, searchable GIS database. The Center for Historic Preservation and other University collaborators are also expected to maintain an active presence.

The project was made possible through support from the building’s owners, who recently completed renovations to restore the space. The University is also exploring potential façade improvements in collaboration with the building’s owners and the City of Muncie.

Plans for additional University and community use of the building are in progress and will be announced in the months ahead.

“This is more than just a space—it’s a statement about who we are and how we work,” said David Ferguson, ECAP dean. “We’ve long believed that Ball State should have a presence in downtown Muncie. This location gives us a platform for innovation, collaboration, and design that serves both our students and our city.”

The University is planning a grand opening for the Walnut Street location on Thursday, Oct. 2, during ArtsWalk—downtown Muncie’s special First Thursday celebration of the arts that also features the annual Soup Crawl. The event will showcase student design work and interactive exhibits, offering a first look at the space and its potential.

“This move brings students, faculty, and community members together in a space designed for creativity and problem-solving,” said Vicki Veach, executive director of the Muncie Downtown Development Partnership. “This partnership builds on the Columbia Theater Building’s remarkable history while opening new possibilities for downtown’s future.”

The Columbia Theater Building has played a central role in Muncie’s cultural life for more than a century. Built in 1913 by a group of local entrepreneurs invested in the emerging film industry, the structure originally housed retail storefronts, second-floor offices, and a single-screen movie theater, complete with a marble-clad lobby, pipe organ, and ornamental frescoes. It was once hailed by The Muncie Star as “one of the four most beautiful picture houses in the United States.”

Though the theater closed in the late 1920s, the building later became home to a Woolworth’s department store, a performance venue, and the longtime bar and gathering space known as the Mark III Taproom. Much of this history was recently chronicled by Chris Flook, senior lecturer in Ball State’s Department of Media.

 

About Ball State

Founded in 1918 and located in Muncie, Ball State University is one of Indiana’s premier universities and an economic driver for the state. Ball State’s 20,000 students come from all over Indiana, the nation, and the world. The 790-acre campus is large enough to accommodate first-rate facilities and 19 NCAA Division I sports, but our welcoming campus is small enough to ensure the friendliness, personal attention, and access that are the hallmarks of the University.