The Sherman Memorial Gymnasium (aka “Sherman Gym”) was built on the Michigan Technological University (at the time, Michigan College of Mining and Technology) campus in 1949 to replace the college’s former club house, now being utilized by the ROTC. Designed by Malcomson, Calder, and Hammond of Detroit, the building was constructed out of brick by A.H. Proksch of Iron River and featured distinctive, high windows. Ground breaking began in 1946 and upon completion the new facility was named in honor of the university’s former athletic director, Don Sherman, who had recently and unexpectedly passed away earlier that year from a heart attack.

For its first forty years on campus, the original building served as the campus sports facility and included racquetball courts, a wood gym, and swimming pool. According to newspaper clippings from 1948, the building also included laundry facilities in the basement, dressing rooms for visiting and home teams; as well as private lockers for faculty and coeds. Other highlights included a training room, fastenings for a portable boxing ring, and a special varsity club room complete with easy chairs and couches. Offices for the athletic department and a lecture room were also included in the building's original plans.

By the late 1970s, the Michigan Tech student body had exceeded the capacity of Sherman Gym. In 1980, a new sports complex was established on campus and with the opening of the Student Development Complex (SDC), replacing the Sherman Gym as a sports and training facility. The unoccupied building was remodeled in the 1980s by architects Dow, Howell, Gilmore & Associates and contractor Herman Gundlach, Inc. into what is now the Walker Arts and Humanities Center, which currently houses the College of Sciences and Arts, Department of Humanities, and the Department of Visual and Performing Arts. The building was named in honor of Shaw Walker, a retired chairman and CEO of Shaw-Walker Company and president of the Shaw-Walker Foundation. Despite not having any formal affiliation with Michigan Tech, Walker helped secure funding for the building renovation. The building opened on August 2, 1985 at a public dedication ceremony attended by Governor James Blanchard.