Annex I, also known as the Student Federation Building, was the original prefab building built in 1957 in the parking lot at Waterloo Lutheran University (now Wilfrid Laurier University) as part of the newly established Waterloo College and Associate Faculties. The building held the first classrooms for students until construction began on campus. The building cost $19,000 to construct. By 1967, the building was repurposed and held the offices of the Federation of Students and the student newspaper, The Chevron, as well as the Campus Shop, and health services. The building was demolished around 1968.

The Campus Shop was a store open to all students on the University of Waterloo campus in the 1960s. The shop was run as a service by the Circle K Club and profits from the store were used towards specific projects on campus. The store was located in the Student Federation Building (also known as Annex I) that was located by Laurel Creek. Examples of items sold in the store include jackets, sweatshirts, running shoes, toiletries, candy, pipes, cigarettes, and cards.

The Dana Porter Library officially opened on October 23, 1965 as the Arts Library Building. It was designed by Toronto based Shore and Moffatt and Partners and was built between 1964 and 1970. The 10-storey building had floors added over time, with work on the final three beginning in 1969 by Hamilton-based Eaglewood Construction.

The opening of the building in 1965 was marked by a special convocation ceremony during which honorary degrees were presented to Bertha Bassam, Robert Harold Blackburn, and Jack Ernest Brown. Afterwards, the academic procession proceeded directly from Convocation to the main entrance of the Arts Library Building. The Arts Library Building was dedicated to and named after Dana Harris Porter, the first chancellor of the University of Waterloo, on October 27, 1967.

The Bombshelter Pub, commonly referred to as "the Bomber," opened in January 1975 inside the Campus Centre (now the Student Life Centre) at the University of Waterloo. Initially known as the Campus Centre Pub or CC Pub, the establishment briefly underwent a name change to the "Orange Bombshelter" on May 29, 1976, before adopting its contemporary name.

The pub was initially owned and managed by the University of Waterloo. The university's leadership had expressed interest in establishing a campus pub as far back as the 1960s. However, regulations at the time prohibited universities from obtaining permanent liquor licenses, limiting alcohol service to special occasions. In 1969, the University formally petitioned the provincial government to revise these regulations. By 1975, the legislation was amended, and the University was granted a permanent license. This license permitted the serving of alcoholic beverages exclusively to students, faculty, staff, and registered guests. An area inside the Campus Centre was renovated to create space for the pub, which was scheduled to open on January 20, 1975.

Ownership of the pub was transferred to the Federation of Students (now the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association, WUSA) sometime between 1976 and 1978. Throughout its years of operation, the pub hosted many musical performances, became well-known for trivia nights, and served as a popular meeting place for members of the university community.

In 2018, WUSA announced that the pub was not financially sustainable, and the business was closed permanently after more than 40 years of service.