Memorial Union (University of Wisconsin–Madison)

Memorial Union is an Italianate Renaissance Revival-style complex built in 1926–28 at the University of Wisconsin–Madison on the south shore of Lake Mendota as a social and recreational gathering place for all students, designed partly to break down socioeconomic barriers. Before Memorial Union, the UW had no union; at its opening in 1928, then-President Glenn Frank said, "The Union is a living room, which converts the university from a house of learning to a home of learning."

On the building's north side is the Terrace, a popular outdoor space overlooking the lake. The UW's Union has gained a reputation as one of the most beautiful student centers on a university campus.

In 2015, the Union was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, considered significant as an early American college union, which was ground-breaking in supporting ideas of Progressive Era education. It is also considered significant for its association with its first director Porter Butts, who guided the Union's development from 1928 to 1968, and was a thought-leader in college unions.

History

Background

In the early years of the UW in the 1850s, all students lived in North Hall with two professors and their families - an arrangement modeled on Oxford and Cambridge universities in England. That home-like model ended as the university expanded into more buildings, dividing students by field of study. In subsequent years, enrollment growth far outstripped dormitory space, forcing many students to live off campus. Beginning in the 1880s, many lived at fraternities and sororities which selected mostly students from well-to-do families - somewhat fragmenting the student body along socioeconomic lines. These divisions were mitigated by extracurricular debate clubs, literary societies, drama, music, baseball and later football, which crossed class and major.