In spring 1977 the State Building Commission approved razing Blount Hall. The building had been used by the Facilities Services Department for storage and by the School of Architecture for classes and projects. Chancellor Reese ordered the building closed and classes moved. One architecture lab class, through an informal arrangement with Facilities Services, continued to use the building, and Facilities Services continued to store items there. Three weeks before the end of the spring quarter, the architecture class was evicted by then-Director of the Physical Plant Clarence Lefler to allow razing of the structure, prompting protests from architecture students and renewing protests from students who had sought to have the building renovated and preserved.