Timeline

1910s

1911

• Iowa Union forms as club for men of faculty and student body
• Housed in former Unitarian Church (NE corner of Clinton St. & Iowa Ave.) until 1913

1913-14

• Brunswick Bowling Parlor Building (121-123 Iowa Ave.) becomes temporary Union headquarters in Dec. 1913
• Union membership at 500 males; activities include Friday night dances at Old Armory, concerts & debates

1914

• Union moves into St. James Building (SE corner of Clinton St. & Iowa Ave.) in March
• Costs $3,000 to obtain lease and remodel hotel to house Union
• Facilities provide dormitory-style room and board with areas to study, relax, recreate

1916

• Fire destroys St. James Building in April
• Union continues to sponsor events in other campus buildings after fire until WWI interrupted efforts to obtain a new building

1919

• President Walter A. Jessup advocates for construction of Student Union on campus as memorial to servicemen who died in World War I
• Alumni Association forms an Iowa Memorial Union Corporation to raise $1 million for construction

1920s

1920

• Locations considered for IMU: West bank of Iowa River adjacent to Quadrangle; Center of North Capitol Street; Plot at northwest corner of Jefferson & Madison Streets

1924

• Construction begins on first unit of IMU

1925

• Unit I completed: Includes 130'x90' Main Lounge, offices, snack bar
• Unit II construction begins: Includes lobby, conference rooms, meeting rooms, space to be leased to Triangle Club & YMCA.
• IMU is one of 16 college union buildings in U.S.
• Assumes role of service center, offering Union Dining Service, housing and employment service, general hospitality, meeting facilities, and Union Browsing Library.

1926

• Unit I dedicated on Feb. 6
• IMU first used as headquarters for freshmen Registration Week in Sept.

1927

• Unit II completed and dedicated in March
• Union activities include smokers from various colleges, games, tournaments, tea dances, U Band concerts, U Sings, student presidential convention, homecoming
• Two units of IMU now in use; Facilities included Main Lounge, a library, WSUI studio, soda fountain and 500' roof deck for summer use

1930s

1930

• Women first admitted as members of the Student Union Board

1936

• Silver Shadow, a nonalcoholic nightclub, opens in Union Cafeteria
• Class of 1935 establishes fund to make Mark Twain room; Pilot wheel arrives for room in 1937, and is put in River Room foyer until 1967

1938

• IMU transitions to more of a cultural center than student/campus activities center.

1940s

1942-43

• IMU is used by Army Specialized Training Program for feeding and recreation for cadets and trainees during WWII
• To serve military trainees, Union cafeteria, catering service and Triangle Club dining room all closed to the public until 1944
• Women begin to be employed by IMU as information desk clerks, waiters

1943

• Board of Trustees of IMU Corporation gives IMU to University of Iowa

1950s

1950

• Discussion of constructing new facilities begins

1952

• Danforth Chapel construction completed (dedicated Jan. 1953)

1955

• Unit III construction completed and open: Adds recreation area, snack bar, office space, student lounge, music and library rooms

1960s

1962

$4.2 million construction project for Units IV, V, VI begins

1964

• Soapbox Soundoff begins as forum for students to speak their minds about topics such as the Barry Goldwater presidential candidacy, Vietnam War and cost of food in Union Cafeteria
• Thieves Market first organized to bring together student-produced artwork

1965

• Virtually new IMU opens with Units IV, V, VI completed in July.
• Unit IV Additions: New main kitchen, River Room cafeteria, State Room, private dining room
• Unit V Additions: 112-room "Iowa House" Guest House
• Unit VI Additions: 21 conference/meeting rooms, Second Floor Ballroom, small theater
• New meeting rooms on Second Floor named in honor of famous Iowans; Rooms on Third Floor named for Big Ten/Ivy League Universities

1967

• Wheel Room opens as tribute to many types wheeled transportation that have been important in Iowa
• IMU used as site for student demonstrations, housing Students for a Democratic Society and becoming the site of several arrests

1980s

1988

• $10.5 million renovation links the additions of 1920 and 1965 on the second and third floors; Project creates Terrace Lobby entrance, improves food service areas, establishes Student Activities Center, creates University Book Store
• IMU celebrates 65th Anniversary in October

1989

• November issue of "American School and University" cites the 1988 IMU renovation as one of six outstanding college union projects.

2000s

2005

• IMU begins construction on Phase I of $24 million renovation project.

For historical resources about the IMU, check out:

A History of the Iowa Memorial Union, by Gearhart Alan Musselman (Thesis, 1969). Available at the University of Iowa Main Library.
A Pictorial History of The University of Iowa, by John C. Gerber (1988). Available at the University of Iowa Main Library & Iowa City Public Library.
Calm and Secure on Thy Hill, by Larry Perl (1978). Available at the University of Iowa Main Library & Iowa City Public Library.