Purdue Memorial Union

Infobox building
building_name = Purdue Memorial Union


caption =
building_type = Student Center
architectural_style =
structural_system =
location = 101 North Grant Street
West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-3574
owner = Purdue University
start_date = June 13, 1922
completion_date = September 9, 1924
main_contractor = A.E. Kemmer
architect = Pond and Pond architects
website = [www.union.purdue.edu] The Purdue Memorial Union (PMU) is located on the Purdue University campus in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. The Purdue Memorial Union is the center of community and hospitality on campus for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and guests of Purdue University. Facilities include a 192-room hotel with two specially designed accessible rooms, conference and banquet rooms, several dining operations, reading lounges, an art gallery, and student organization offices. The Union offers a variety of services and amenities to the University community and is home to the Purdue Alumni Association, the Boiler Express Card Services Office, and the BoilerCopyMaker copy center. [http://www.purdue.edu/accessibility/pages/building/bd_union.htm]

History

In the early days of the 20th century, the Purdue community began to see the need for a place where all University life could center and a place to receive alumni and campus visitors. George O. Hayes, a member of the Class of 1912, first proposed the idea of a union at Purdue. A constitution was prepared and approved at a mass meeting of students and faculty on April 17, 1912. A Financial Campaign Committee consisting of students, faculty, alumni, the University President and a trustee was formed. The fund continued to grow until the onset of World War I.

At the close of the war, Purdue looked at the record of her sons and daughters in the service, and in many minds there arose the thought that the union should stand as a permanent memorial to those 4,013 who had served and those 67 who had died for their country. With this idea, the name "Purdue Memorial Union" came into being.

A constitution was drafted on September 22, 1921, and Jack Walters as Student President was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors. Pond and Pond architects from Chicago were chosen to design the building during the winter of 1921-22. A.E. Kemmer from Lafayette would serve as the general contractor. Ground breaking took place on June 13, 1922. Construction continued through the latter part of 1923 when funds were exhausted.

When the building opened in 1924, it was still only partially completed. Construction continued as funds became available, and the original building was completed in 1929.

The ground floor of the original building housed the cafeteria, located on the southwest corner where La Posada is now. At the east end of the cafeteria, in what is now the TV dining room, was a soda fountain, the predecessor of the current Sweet Shop. The Sweet Shop was created as a separate facility in 1927. There was a billiard room located where the Sweet Shop is now and a barbershop in what is now the Arcade. A beauty shop for women as added in 1929. The Billiard Room was first used as a temporary banquet room until the upper floors were completed.

At the center of the main floor was the Great Hall, originally designed as an informal gathering place for the main body of students. The space that is now the Main Lounges was intended to accommodate overflow from the Great Hall. The Men's Lounge, now room 118, was designed for reading, writing and quiet conversation. Glazed doors shut it off from the Great Hall while still giving it a feeling of unity. Three reception rooms, one men's, one women's and one general were located where the Card Office and Rooms 132 and 136 are now. The South Ballroom was originally called the Assembly Room and was designed for special dinners or large groups. There were originally doors in what is now the South Ballroom corridor designed to shut off these rooms for entertainment purposes while activities continued in other parts of the building. Office Space for the building manager and steward was located where Room 103 is now, with stairs leading to an accounting office immediately below on the ground floor.

When the second floor was completed in 1929, it contained an Alumni Faculty Lounge that is now the East Faculty Lounge and the women's Lounge that is now the Business office. The Women's Lounge included a kitchenette where off-campus females could prepare their own lunches. Student activity rooms provided offices and meeting space for the many student activities that had no place of their own and had been using the few rooms in the library.

Reports written in the fall of 1924 by Jack Walters, first general manager of the Union, indicated the Union building could accommodate 28 different activities at the same time without interfering with each other. In its first year, the Union cafeteria, soda fountain and catering operations had gross income of about $54,000, and despite a 50% food cost, reported a net profit of 3.5%

Additions to the building were begun soon after its opening. The first wing of the Union Club Hotel, consisting of 60 guest rooms, was added in 1929. The East Wing, which included the Browsing Library, Bowling Lanes, and the Anniversary Drawing Room, was built in 1936. The South Ballroom was enlarged that same year.

Architectural Details

* The stained glass windows represent the mixing of students of all races and creeds within its walls.
* The interior stone arches represent the ruggedness, sincerity and individualism of the students.
* The upswept arches of the windows symbolize the youth and spirit of the Union.
* The gold and black cross on the floor of the Great Hall honors the 67 Purdue men who gave their lives for their country during World War I. It has since been extended to honor all Purdue faithful who lost their lives in service to the United States of America.

External Links

[http://www.union.purdue.edu/ PMU Official Website]

References