WYOMING UNION
In 1937 the Wyoming State Legislature authorized the University of Wyoming to incur a total indebtedness of $150,000 towards the construction of a student union. A Public Works Administration loan for $149,250 was obtained by President Arthur Griswold Crane in September of that same year. Construction began March 3, 1938. The Wyoming Union was a student instigated and largely student-built project. Twenty-five students were trained in the art of stone-cutting under Lawrence Megson, a master stone-cutter. They participated extensively in the project.
Architect William Dubois designed the building to include a ballroom, basement banquet room, student and faculty lunges, soda fountain, small dining rooms, game rooms, committee rooms, student government offices, student organizations, student publications, post office, bookstore and a campus store. These plans were realized March 3, 1939, when the Wyoming Union opened with a dedication banquet and ball.
The anniversary of the Wyoming Union was marked by the unveiling of a large mural by Lynn Fausett. Located over the central staircase of the original Wyoming Union Building, the painting's dual motifs are the growth of the university and the mock kidnapping of President Arthur Griswold "Prexy" Crane on his arrival in 1922.
The Wyoming Union has provided for a number of university functions in the intervening years, including both dormitory housing and quarters for the Student Health Service. To accommodate a burgeoning student population, the legislature authorized additions to the Wyoming Union. The addition immediately to the northeast of the original building opened January 1960. A more modern addition designed by Corbett and Dehnert, also to the north of the original building, was completed in 1972. The building continues to fulfill its original function as a meeting place for students, faculty and staff at the University.
Centennial Celebration, September 27, 1986
