Northwest gives 100-year-old Martindale Hall $17.5M makeover

MARYVILLE, Mo. (KQTV) — Northwest Missouri State University invites the community to celebrate the reopening of Martindale Hall.

The building first opened in 1926 and served as the university's primary gymnasium for decades until the Lamkin Activity Center opened in 1959.

Martindale Hall was renovated and repurposed for academic programs around 1973.

The hall now serves as Northwest's School of Health Science and Wellness. After a two-year, $17.5 million renovation and expansion project, the building features a well-being lab, a sports science lab, classrooms, collaboration spaces and lounge areas.

A new food and nutrition lab replaces the former lab in the Administration Building.

A room on the lower level that once housed a pool now serves as a dance studio and meeting room.

The Missouri General Assembly provided $8.5 million for the project, which aligns with the university's efforts to strengthen its programs.

In recent months, Northwest has announced plans to establish a Center for Rural Health and to launch a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in fall 2027.

Community members are invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. Friday outside the south entrance of Martindale Hall on Fourth Street.

Following the ceremony, attendees can tour the building and view presentations and demonstrations of the new equipment.