Alumni Memorial Hall (1910)
Following the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865), a movement began to create a campus war memorial to University of Michigan
persons who had served in any of the nation's wars. A committee of the Alumni Association sought to raise funds for
a suitable memorial, and in 1903, a plan was agreed upon that would lead to the construction of a memorial hall on
Central Campus. In addition to being a war memorial, the building was to serve as a gathering place for the University
community, contain offices for the Alumni Association, and house the University's growing art collections. Designed in a
Beaux Arts era classical style by the Detroit firm of Donaldson and Meier, the cornerstone was laid in 1908. Alumni Memorial
Hall was completed in 1910 and dedicated as a memorial to "the long line of noble men and women who have rendered conspicuous
service, whether in war or in peace, on the field of battle or in the classroom, to the university and to the country." In 1967,
the Museum of Art expanded to occupy all of Alumni Memorial Hall, which also continues to serve its memorial purpose.
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