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Contact: David Johnston, Kansas and Burge Union, (785) 864-2445.

Kansas Union to celebrate 75th anniversary

LAWRENCE -- The Kansas Union at the University of Kansas will celebrate the 75th anniversary of its dedication at 1 p.m. Thursday, April 19, with a rededication ceremony at the front entrance on Jayhawk Boulevard.

The ceremony, featuring a KU ROTC Color Guard and remarks from union representatives, is part of a weeklong celebration. A cake and punch reception will follow at 1:30 p.m. inside the union.

Specials throughout the building will include Coca-Cola 20 oz. bottles for 75 cents at the Information Counter and in the KU Bookstore. The KU Bookstore will have its 75th Birthday Celebration Sale with discounts from 20 to 75 percent off selected items through Saturday. The Jaybowl Recreation Center will be featuring 75-cent shoe rental throughout the week. All specials and events are open to KU students, faculty, and staff, and the public.

The Kansas Union was built as a memorial to the 130 KU alumni and students who died in World War I. A roll of honor and other artifacts were sealed in a copper box and placed behind the 1925 cornerstone of the building on April 19, 1926. The Kansas Union was dedicated by then-Chancellor Ernest H. Lindley following a parade down Jayhawk Boulevard. The building has endured many changes, including several renovations and additions, and a fire in 1970.

History of the University of Kansas Memorial Corporation

A memorial union was conceived in 1919, after World War I, by students, faculty and staff of the University of Kansas. Along with Memorial Stadium, the Kansas Union was dedicated to the 130 KU students who gave their lives in the war. Although plans were drawn up quickly, construction did not start until the mid-1920s and, because initial funding was inadequate, was not finished until the mid 1930s. The Grand Ballroom of the Kansas Union signified the official completion in 1934 (although two-thirds of the 6th level were still unfinished). The Union housed a cafeteria, ballroom, lounges and the student activity office.

During World War II, the Kansas Union cafeteria was used as a mess hall for 500 Navy machinists who had come to campus for training. The building was a modest 80-by-135 feet until 1947. During the post-war years, the Kansas Union grew tremendously. Returning GIs had a great impact upon all universities, and KU was no exception. Between 1947 and 1993, no fewer than five major additions were added to the original building.

The Kansas Union today is more than 250,000 square feet on six levels. Students can engage in programming at Student Union Activities, go to lectures, visit the KU Bookstore and the Mt. Oread Bookshop, dine at the Union Square, Prairie Room, Hawk's Nest or Pizza Hut, shoot pool or play videos at the Jaybowl, rent camping equipment at Wilderness Discovery, go to movies, or just hang out in a user-friendly environment. Arguably, the Kansas Union is the oldest student union west of the Mississippi River.

Of historical note, the first American to die in World War I, William T. Fitzsimons, was a KU graduate, and his photograph appears, with the other 129 students and alumni who perished in the war, on a special plaque located on the Jayhawk Walk on Level 4 of the union.

A satellite union near the residence halls was conceived in the 1970s by involved students and union staff. Constructed and opened for business in 1979, it was renamed the Burge Union in 1982, in honor of Frank R. Burge, longtime director of the Kansas Union. The Burge Union has a dining facility called the Hawk Stop, which offers deli style food, a salad bar and fast food; a bookstore that offers gifts and clothing, textbooks, art supplies and various other sundries; the Union Technology Center, which offers a full line of Macintosh computers and accessories as well as service; the Union Duplicating Center, the University Placement Office; Legal Services for Students; and a range of meeting rooms and lounges for meetings or just hanging out.