THE CREATIVE ARTS BUILDINGS were installed on campus in the World War II era and were originally intended to be temporary structures. Refurbished several times, the five buildings housed much of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts for many years. The department is now located in the Visual and Performing Arts building which opened in the fall of 2003.

Four of the five original quonset huts were razed in 2004 to make way for the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering. Creative Arts Building 3 (CA3) remains standing and is home to Purdue Theatre's Black Box Theatre.