It was during Robert Freeman's long tenure as director that the Eastman School of Music witnessed the largest expansion of its presence in downtown Rochester since the 1920s. The school and theater had opened in 1921 and 1922 respectively, the annex on Swan Street and the dormitories on University Avenue several years later. Between those years and the opening of Eastman Place in 1989 the only new construction project was the Sibley Music Library building on Swan Street, which opened in 1939. But following the long and contentious process in the early 1970s concerning the school's future location, there were two major construction projects, Eastman Place, which opened in 1989, and a new Student Living Center, which would open in 1991. Although the two projects overlapped one another, the planning and construction of Eastman Place occurred during a time of positive economic growth and lower inflation in the early 1980s, while the planning and construction of the Student Living Center took place amid the increased economic uncertainties of the late 1980s. Therefore the two projects have very different histories.

The original Eastman School dormitories on University Avenue were constructed to provide housing for approximately 210 female students. The complex consisted of three adjoining buildings facing an internal courtyard. Although the buildings were named for important American musicians—Francis Hopkinson, Edward Mac-Dowell, and Stephen Foster—they were more frequently identified by most students simply as “A House,” “B House,” and “C House.” These buildings were constructed in 1927 and 1928 adjacent to what was then the University of Rochester's campus. The university at the time maintained separate colleges for men and women, but it was busily preparing to move the Men's College to the new Rive Campus, which opened in 1930. The Women's College remained on Prince Street for the next twenty-five years.

Rush Rhees was the president of the university from 1900 to 1935. Although he provided inspired leadership in most areas, he was opposed to the idea of dormitories for women students, believing that the enrollment of women at the university should be restricted to local residents.