Editing Michigan Union (section)

==History==

[[File:West and east elevations of Michigan Union.jpg|thumb|left|West & east elevations of Michigan Union, sheet 1, 29 January 1917, revised 4 September 1917]]

The Michigan Union was at first a [[student group]] rather than a building.<ref name="History">[http://uunions.umich.edu/munion/about/history/ History of the Michigan Union] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512014211/http://uunions.umich.edu/munion/about/history/ |date=2013-05-12 }}.</ref> The Michigan Union formed in 1904 as "an 'all-inclusive organization' focused on providing feelings of unity for men on campus."<ref name="History"/> Its first meeting, at Waterman Gymnasium, drew more than 1,100 students.<ref name="History"/> The founders of the Michigan Union soon desired a home for the organization. In 1907, they purchased the former house of Judge [[Thomas M. Cooley]], a longtime [[University of Michigan Law School]] professor on State Street at the end of South University Avenue.<ref name="History"/><ref name="Union History">[http://umhistory.dc.umich.edu/mort/central/west%20of%20state/Michigan%20Union/index.html History].</ref> Cooley's home was a "spacious, rambling [[fieldstone]] structure, with pointed [[gable]]s."<ref name="Union History"/> After the Michigan Union acquired the Cooley home, Professor [[Emil Lorch]] of the Department of Architecture made alterations for adaptation as a [[Club (organization)|club]]house.<ref name="Union History"/> On the first floor was a large dining room, a smaller dining room, a large lounge, a game room, and a kitchen; on the second floor was a [[billiard room]], a reading room, a [[Board of directors|directors']] room, and an apartment for the [[wikt:steward|steward]].<ref name="Union History"/>

The Union soon outgrew the building, and in 1910, the Michigan Union hired the [[architect]] brothers [[Irving Kane Pond]] and [[Allen Bartlit Pond]] to design a new building.<ref name="History"/><ref name="Union History"/> The Union acquired two adjacent lots, one of which was owned by the Pond brothers.<ref name="Union History"/> In 1916, the Cooley house was demolished and construction began.<ref name="History"/> Funds for the building's construction were collected by collecting financial pledges.<ref name="History"/> The progress of construction soon lagged, however, due to the [[American entry into World War I]].<ref name="History"/> While still unfinished, the building was used as a Students' Army Training Corps [[barracks]] and [[mess hall]].<ref name="History"/>  After the end of the First World War, the Union interior was finally completed, and the building officially opened in 1919.<ref name="History"/>

[[File:Irving K Pond and sculptor Murphy at looking at Athletics statue at Michigan Union.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Irving Kane Pond]] (left) and sculptor Murphy at looking at Athletics statue at Michigan Union, 1918]]

The original Union building included a variety of facilities: a basement [[bowling alley]], a groundfloor [[barber]]shop and cafe, and various "lounges, reading rooms, committee rooms, dining rooms, a [[Cue sports|billiard]] and games room, an assembly room, and accommodations for returning alumni."<ref name="History"/> A [[swimming pool]], planned for the building since its design, finally opened in 1925 after sufficient funds were collected to construct it.<ref name="History"/>

The Michigan Union originally was organized as a [[Club (organization)|club]] with yearly dues of $2.50; the club was run by a [[board of directors]] with representation of students, faculty, and alumni.<ref name="History"/> "By 1914 there were over 4,000 members, which was a considerable portion of the University student body and indicative of the strength of the organization."<ref name="History"/> In 1918 the Regents authorized that the membership fee, then $3, be collected from all students.<ref name="History"/> The same year, the fee was increased to $5, and all male students automatically became Union Members.<ref name="History"/>

Originally, women were only allowed to enter the building through the North entrance and when accompanied by a male escort, due to the founders' belief that the women's center at that time was in "the parlors of the Barbour Gymnasium."<ref name="History"/>

In 1929, the Michigan League, designed by the Pond brothers, was built on North University Avenue as the women's union.<ref name="History"/> In 1956, the policy of requiring escorts and of requiring women to enter through the North entrance was finally dropped.<ref name="History"/> In 1968, the last place in the Union to have such a policy, the Billiards Room, ended its policy and admitted women on an equal basis.<ref name="History"/>

Today, the Michigan Union houses restaurants, student organization office space, conference rooms, study areas, and other student resources. The Union is also an [[election precinct]] in state elections.

At the front steps of the Union, just above the main entrance, two statues stand on the left and the right.  On the left is the athlete, facing towards south campus, home of the athletic fields and [[Michigan Stadium]].  To the right is the scholar, looking towards Central and North Campus, home of the student life of the University of Michigan.

In a speech delivered on the steps of the Michigan Union October 14, 1960 at 2:00&nbsp;a.m., presidential candidate [[John F. Kennedy]] announced his [[Peace Corps]] proposal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.peacecorps.gov/about/history/speech/|title = The Founding Moment}}</ref> A plaque at the steps now commemorates the event.