Alumni Memorial Building: A Hub of History and Culture at the University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville boasts a rich history, and its campus is a testament to this legacy. While many associate UT with Neyland Stadium and the excitement of football games, the campus offers a fascinating blend of historical and architectural landmarks. Among these, the Alumni Memorial Building stands as a significant structure, bridging the gap between the university's past and present.
Origins and Construction
In 1920, the All Students’ Club initiated a fundraising drive to create a memorial for students who lost their lives in World War I. While their initial efforts fell short, the Alumni Association took up the cause, raising $28,000. The association secured an option on a property at the corner of Cumberland Avenue and Volunteer Boulevard, the present location of Henson Hall, but lacked sufficient funds to proceed. They requested the university's assistance to purchase the site and construct a men's dormitory as a memorial. The trustees, in collaboration with the Alumni Association, exercised the option, utilizing university funds to supplement the association's contributions.
In 1921, the association launched a fundraising campaign, offering gold stars for $150 for UT men who were killed and blue stars for $66 for other UT men who had served. The 1920 Volunteer yearbook highlighted the need for a new gymnasium, emphasizing that it surpassed the need for a new athletics field.
In 1930, the Alumni Association gifted the property at the corner of Cumberland Avenue and Volunteer Boulevard to the university, along with the remaining funds raised for the construction of a memorial chapel. Designed by Barber and McMurry, the Alumni Memorial Building was erected on the site of the existing gymnasium and completed in 1932 at a cost of $300,000. It provided seating for 3,200 people for basketball games and 3,800 for stage performances.
Architectural Marvel
The Alumni Memorial Building, constructed in 1931-32, exemplifies the Collegiate Gothic Revival style. Designed by Barber and McMurry, it replaced a previous gymnasium on the same site and was dedicated to University of Tennessee students who died in World War I. The building features a red brick exterior, a low-slope roof with a crenellated parapet, limestone trim, two bay windows on the north facade with limestone tracery, five entry doors with gothic arched portals and decorative light fixtures, decorative brickwork on the east and west wings of the building, and a large oriel on the rear with machicolations and decorative corbels.
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In February 1932, the largest piece of steel ever hoisted on a Knoxville building project was installed in the building-a 17-ton truss, more than 90 feet long, built with a curve at the top, and 15 feet high at the center. It was assembled on the ground and then lifted into place by a 150-foot mast crane. At the first chapel service on October 26, 1932, Dean Hoskins delivered a short dedicatory address to the student body and faculty.
When completed, Alumni Memorial was one of three buildings on the hill with drinking fountains providing cold water. Its labyrinthine corridors and hidden offices were described as a system that would have "made a castle-designer proud." It housed six gymnasia (the main basketball gymnasium had a playing floor of 70 feet by 96 feet), two practice walls for tennis, 12 handball courts, locker/shower rooms, offices, and an auditorium (the stage was 48 feet across and 24 feet deep) that could seat 4,500-if seats were placed on the gym floor. One of the largest enclosed pools in the South was a major feature of the building. The pool (30 feet by 75 feet) had two diving boards and a filtration system, which provided a complete change of water every eight hours. Adjacent to the pool was a solarium, which provided artificial sunbaths by use of violet rays.
A Cultural and Athletic Hub
The Alumni Memorial Building quickly became a central hub for various activities. Commencements, concerts, and basketball games were moved to Alumni Memorial from Jefferson Hall. It served as the university's main arena until the Stokely Athletics Center was completed in 1959, and it remained the home of the university's Women's Basketball program until 1977.
The building served several purposes, a setting for lectures by the likes of poet Carl Sandburg and Eleanor Roosevelt-and, later, Tennessee Williams, James Gregory, and Timothy Leary. It was also a gym where UT’s men’s basketball team played until they moved to a larger facility and turned it over to the women’s team; the Pat Summitt legend was born here, as the aggressive young coach led her Lady Vols to multiple national championships. But it also hosted campus dances, and the orchestras that played for them, and it served, for about 30 years, as Knoxville’s de-facto municipal auditorium. Both as a UT dance venue and as a city concert hall, it racked up a very impressive record for public performances: Glenn Miller, Paul Whiteman, Chick Webb, Benny Goodman, and Tommy Dorsey (whose entrancing young singer was Frank Sinatra) all performed for UT dances here. Among those pop performers who made appearances here were Bob Hope, Doris Day, Al Jolson, Nina Simone-and in later years the B-52s and the Clash. Meanwhile, classical immortals Jascha Heifetz, John McCormack, and Sergei Rachmaninoff also performed in the same big room.
The Alumni Memorial Building played a significant role in Knoxville's cultural landscape, hosting a diverse range of events and performances.
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Rachmaninoff's Final Performance
Alumni Memorial unexpectedly earned a solemn footnote in classical-music history. In February 1943, the great Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff performed a piano concert here, unaware that he was dying of cancer. After a sold-out show he realized he was too ill to continue traveling and canceled the rest of his American tour. His Alumni Memorial show turned out to be the final performance of his long career. Half a century later, a Russian sculptor created a tall tribute to his hero, to be placed in the place where Rachmaninoff last played.
Athletics
The last men’s intercollegiate basketball game played in Alumni Memorial was March 1, 1958, against Kentucky. Kentucky won 77 to 66.
Renovations and Modern Use
The east end of the building was renovated into offices and a dance studio in 1974. Today, the Alumni Memorial Building continues to serve the university community.
Read also: Legacy of Fordham University
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