Note: All images are thumbnails to larger photographs. Click on the thumbnails to see the pictures in greater detail. Students on the Patio of the Memorial Union, 10/12/1955 (University Archives, C:0/3/8) View of the Patio of the Memorial Union (University Archives) Program for "Carousel" (University Archives, C:22/15/1)

"Meet Me At The Union!" Memorial Tower Prior to Construction of North and South Wings (University Archives, C:1/40/1) Aerial View of Memorial Tower, 1932 (University Archives, C:1/40/1, Box 1, FF 5) Welcome to the Union! Completion of the Memorial Union began during Homecoming in 1930 with the groundbreaking for the South Wing. The Great Depression, however, stopped construction short in 1931. In 1946, the Missouri General Assembly approved a bond issue to finance college recreational facilities. In 1950, the cornerstone for the North Wing was laid; it opened its doors in September 1952 to an enthusiastic student body. The building construction cost more than $2,000,000 of which only $300,000 was from state-appropriated money. The thirty-year-old foundations of the South Wing were finally used to complete the Memorial Union in 1963. South Wing Under Construction (University Archives, C:1/25/6, Box 1, FF 2) Completed Memorial Union (University Archives, C:1/40/1) The same firm of architects, Jamieson & Spearl - later Jamieson, Spearl, Hammond, & Grolock, Architects - had supervised the project from the beginning of the Memorial Tower construction to the final completion of the Memorial Union. Jamieson and Spearl's Design for Memorial Union (University Archives) Student activities - from dancing lessons to dances, Ham Radio Club to the Camera Club, lectures, films, and much more - the student union was a center of campus life. Special events, such as the wait in front of the television in the main lounge for election results in 1952 and the Memorial Union's first anniversary celebration in 1953, were always well attended. Election Night, 1952 (University Archives, C:1/25/6) Students in the Memorial Union Cafeteria, ca. 1956 (University Archives, C:1/25/6) Students in the Memorial Union, 01/09/1956 (University Archives, C:0/3/8) Students performing during "Carousel," 1959 (University Archives, C:1/25/6) Students in the Memorial Union, 09/10/1965 (University Archives, C:1/25/6)