Student Union Building--University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR
N 36° 04.196 W 094° 10.320
15S E 394461 N 3992340
Three-story stone masonry building composed of a western front section in Collegiate Gothic style with a rear second section in Classical Revival style, completed in 1940.
Waymark Code: WMDJ9P
Location: Arkansas, United States
Date Posted: 01/20/2012
Views: 5
Memorial Hall was completed in early 1940, representing two distinct architectural styles. The front of the building is of Collegiate Gothic design while the remainder of the structure is modified Gothic and Classical Revival. The building is of stone masonry construction with Indiana white limestone and ashlar of Batesville limestone. The interior of the entrance and lobby are examples of Art Deco design.
Memorial Hall lived the first part of its life under the name "Student Union." It was the first structure on campus built expressly for that purpose. A student union building had been sought for many years. Funding for the University’s portion of the costs was made possible when President John C. Futrall came up with a plan in May 1938 to charge students a student union fee of $2 per year, plus an annual operating fee. The student body approved the plan, making loans and grants from the Public Works Administration (PWA) possible.
When construction started on December 28, 1938, the Student Union was one of three buildings funded by the PWA with a loan of $413,000 and a grant of $337,909 from the federal government. The other two buildings were the Home Economics Building and the Classroom Building (the first phase of what is now Ozark Hall).
On September 12, 1939, when the Student Union was nearing completion, President Futrall was killed in an automobile accident. The Board of Trustees adopted a resolution on September 18 that the new student union be named Futrall Memorial Hall. The building continued to be called the Student Union, however.
The opening celebration for the Student Union took place on March 2, 1940, at the "Reunion in the Union." On the ground floor were a recreational room, bookstore, post office, and a kitchen with a large snack area known as a confectionery. On the main floor were a main lounge, union offices, a checkroom, and a large two-story ballroom with an orchestra shell. The second floor had a game room and offices for student publications and student government. This building gave the campus a new focal point that student and alumni would converge upon for the next thirty-three years.
In 1950, the building underwent a three-story addition on the east end and a one-story addition of the south side to increase food service facilities and other services. After the Arkansas Union (a newer student union) was built in 1973, revisions were made in 1976-77 which created classrooms, offices, and laboratories for the psychology department and the psychological clinic. Revisions in 1986 made two floors out of the ballroom, the bottom floor housing landscape architecture and the top floor housing Air Force ROTC.
After student union functions moved to the Arkansas Union in 1973, the Board of Trustees changed the name of this building to Memorial Hall. In 1992, the building was accepted for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
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