Bearkat Plaza is the open, outdoor mall area in the central part of campus. It is boardered by the Lowman Student Center (LSC), Smith-Hutson Business Administration Building, Drain Academic Building, and Marks Administration Building.
The land east of Avenue J was first used by the university for the Sam Houston Efficiency Apartments, built in 1945, and later the Rix, Wilson, and Frels apartment buildings.
The first signs of a mall area came in the early 1980s when roadways and surface parking were eradicated from central campus: Avenue I no longer ran uninterrupted through the middle of campus, Avenue J was removed altogether, and the small stretch of 19th Street in front of the Lowman Student Center was made a pedestrian walkway. Also during this time, the large parking lot east of the Administration and Education buildings was removed for creation of the first phase of a campus mall area. These beautification efforts created areas often referred to as the LSC Mall (between the LSC and Frels Building) and the Lee Drain Building (LDB) Mall (between the Drain and Wilson buildings).
The Alumni Fountain was installed at the western end of the LSC Mall area in the early 1980s.
An Alumni Garden was added between the Alumni Fountain and LSC in 2002.
During summer 2005, the Blatchley Bell Tower was built east of the Administration Building.
The Frels, Wilson, and Post Office buildings were razed in December 2006 to prepare for the mall extension project, the next phase in the enlargement of the original mall areas. Bearkat Plaza officially opened in November 2007. In August 2008, the Telephone Services building was removed thereby fully completing the expanded mall area.
