Construction of the Purdue Memorial Union, which is located at 101 North Grant Street in West Lafayette, IN, began on June 13, 1922 and was finished on September 9, 1924. A student in the class of 1912, George Hayes, first proposed the idea of the Purdue Memorial Union. The class of 1912, which soon accepted Hayes’s proposal, collected funds until the start of World War 1. After World War 1 ended, it was decided that the building would be dedicated to the four thousand and thirteen students who served in the war. There is a plaque listing the names of the 67 people from Purdue that lost their lives in the war. I didn’t take the picture of the plaque below: it is from a Purdue library blog.
In class, we are planning on focusing on the World War 1 on Thursday. The Purdue Memorial Union is Purdue’s connection to the war and was later changed to be dedicated to all those from Purdue who served. Currently, the building is home to the offices of many student organizations, several restaurants, and a hotel.
– Brandon Slater
HIST 152 Summer Start 2018 