It was Miami University's first gymnasium, and would serve as the main recreational center until the construction of Withrow Court in 1932, which led Herron to become a women's gym.

In the late 20th century its use diminished to AFROTC and men's intramural sports, and the gymnasium was demolished in 1986 and replaced with a parking lot.

After the change, students petitioned the board of trustees to rename the building Herron Hall, which they approved in June 1932.

[13] Van Voorhis Hall was added under its original name[14] to the National Register of Historic Places in November 1979, but was ordered to be demolished by an 8–1 vote from the board of trustees in 1986.

The former gym was replaced with a parking lot near the current site of Roudebush Hall, the university's administration building.

[15] Van Voorhis' daughter noted in a letter to the school that the gym, then Miami's oldest academic building "...stuck out like a sore thumb", and said her father would have wished to see it torn down.

[15] Sergio Sanabria, a Miami architecture professor, disagreed and called the push to demolish the building "irresponsible" as it was still structurally sound and the cost of renovation would have been comparatively inexpensive.