The Oklahoma Memorial Union (OMU) is the
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
's student union, or
student activity center
A student center (or student centre) is a type of building found on university and some high school campuses. In the United States, such a building may also be called a student union, student commons, or union. The term "student union" refers mos ...
. The Union was completed in 1929 as a memorial to the students, faculty, and staff of the University who fought and died in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
The Union has more than 26 meeting and activity rooms and eight dining kiosks. The Meacham Auditorium has 400 seats, and the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom, on the third floor, seats up to 500 banquet guests.
History
OU students began an effort to build a student union in 1921. The movement grew, and by 1925 serious efforts began for construction of a combination student union and football stadium. The original architect's drawing for the combined facility showed a facade quite similar to the present day union. However, the consolidated union/stadium was scrapped after football coach
Bennie Owen
Benjamin Gilbert Owen (July 24, 1875 – February 26, 1970) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Washburn College, now Washburn University, in 1900, at Bethany C ...
said it would be best to build two structures, a
stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
and a student union, instead of one.
Construction of the Union began in 1929 at an original cost of
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
350,000, which came from the million dollar fundraising campaign – the first in the University's history – to build both structures.
[Burr, Carol J]
An Enduring Union
. ''Sooner Magazine'', Winter 2007.
The plans called for the construction of the outer shell of the building so it could be filled in with offices and rooms as the University grew. When the central part of the Union was finished, students and faculty enjoyed a large cafeteria, a book exchange, and a large open area with two regulation-sized
bowling alley
A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a Meetinghouse, clubhous ...
s and several pool &
snooker
Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...
tables on the ground floor. Offices, a men's lounge, and the ballroom were located on the second and third floors. The Union's landmark clock tower was completed in 1936 as a
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
project.
Carillon
A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...
bells were installed in the tower in 1955.
When enrollment at the University skyrocketed after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
ended, momentum increased to complete the interior of the structure. The north and south wings of the building, including the Meacham Auditorium, were completed in 1951 for $2.3 million. The cafeteria expanded into the north wing and was renamed the Will Rogers Cafeteria, to honor
Will Rogers
William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...
. Small retail shops opened on the ground floor, and student groups and some administration offices occupied the first and second floors of the south wing.
After this construction, the Union began a period of decline as the University's campus expanded south. By the time the Union Parking Garage was completed in the early 1980s, the Will Rogers Cafeteria, once
Norman's favorite Sunday-after-church luncheon spot, had become a relic, and its decor – and food offerings – were firmly stuck in the 1950s. The book exchange was only large enough to hold the engineering texts and supplies; Crossroads Restaurant was the lone competition to the Will Rogers Cafeteria. The new student dormitories were over half a mile (0.8 kilometers) south along with new classroom buildings. The Union was quiet except for banquet traffic, from both student groups and Norman-area businesses and civic organizations, and visits to Career Planning and Placement (now OU Career Services), the University's employment office for graduating seniors, on the third floor.
Soon after the parking garage was opened, student organization offices began to move back into the Union, which brought more foot traffic into the building. As enrollment again increased in the late 1980s and early 1990s, small areas were refurbished on an intermittent basis, but it was clear that the Union needed more than cosmetic improvements. When the University's 13th president,
David Boren
David Lyle Boren (born April 21, 1941) is a retired American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as 21st governor of Oklahoma from 1975 to 1979 and three terms in the United States Senate ...
, arrived in 1994, he and his wife Molly led a $11.5 million campaign to remodel the building. The result was a facility that welcomed students, and the Union quickly regained its status as a campus gathering place.
![Oklahoma Memorial Union - Univ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Oklahoma_Memorial_Union_-_Univ._of_Oklahoma%2C_Norman%2C_OK.jpg)
In October 2006, custodians began to notice small paint chips and sawdust on window sills on the Union's third floor. Expert inspectors quickly deduced that the roof beams above the third floor were pushing the
lintel
A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...
s on the third floor windows down, which pushed the walls apart and also pressed against the walls of the north wing. Construction quickly began to rescue the building, and more than $1 million was spent to remove the brick on the east and west sides of the building, strengthen the beams, and repair the walls.
The work was completed in the spring of 2007.
References
External links
Oklahoma Memorial Union pageOU Housing & Food Services OMU pageOU Career Services
{{University of Oklahoma, campus
University of Oklahoma campus
Buildings and structures in Oklahoma
Student activity centers in the United States
Works Progress Administration in Oklahoma