Friday, April 17, 1959 University Daily Kansan
Page 5
Union Expansion Moves Forward More Rooms Needed 1960 Completion Date Now Predicted
The new addition to the Kansas Union will include at least 10 new rooms for meetings as well as additions to the Hawk's Nest, cafeteria, music room, ballroom, and book store.
"Our great need is for space, especially for meetings. We have had as many as 25 to 35 meetings a day scheduled recently." Frank R. Burge, union director, said.
The addition to the cafeteria will include at least three separate wood-paneled rooms for meetings or private dinners. Three folding doors will divide the rest of the cafeteria addition into other meeting and dinner rooms. These doors can be opened to connect the addition to the present area when there are large crowds.
Larger Weekly Forums
There will be a 62-seat addition to the music and browsing room. With this addition, the room will hold over 200 people for the weekly forums.
A new forum room with permanent seating and color television will also be added onto the first floor. The room will be available for poetry hours, lectures, discussions, and displays.
The forum room will be mahogany wood-paneled with wall-to-wall carpeting. The seats will be placed at angles so that they will all be facing the speaker's stand.
Junior Ballroom
The new junior ballroom, which will be built onto the second floor, will have a folding wood-paneled wall which will enable the room to be used as a banquet hall. When the wall is folded, the junior ballroom can be opened onto the Jayhawk room and main ballroom.
"We hope this will eliminate the excessively crowded conditions at all-school dances," Mr. Burge said.
A smaller wood-paneled room
with a fireplace, similar to the present English room, will also be added to the second floor for an additional meeting room.
A meeting room for university married women will be added to to top floor of the union as a gift from the Watkins Fund. The room will also double as a lounge for the women's groups.
The present terrace on the top floor will be glassed in and a much larger terrace will be added.
The addition to the Hawk's Nest will have natural brick interior walls and slate floors. It will feature a grill with a copper hood in one corner of the room.
Nest Features Grill
The bottom floor addition to the building will be one large recreation room. Among other recreation facilities, it will include 12 bowling alleys, pingpong tables, and billiard equipment.
The Hawk's Nest addition will be more elaborate and sophisticated than the present facilities. It will be particularly nice for snack and coffee dates," Mr. Burge said.
A patio will be built off the Hawk's Nest and will be connected to the new room by sliding aluminum and glass doors.
The present bowling alleys will be torn out and a stairway will be built connecting the room with the book store. The new store facilities are designed to eliminate over-crowded conditions in the present rooms and to make it easier for students to find needed materials.
The new million dollar addition to the Kansas Union to expand existing facilities is set for completion in June 1960.
Frank R. Burge, union director, said:
"We feel that we have the type of facilities in the Union that the students want and need now. We just don't have enough room." Mr. Burge said.
The new addition will include 43,552 square feet of space. The construction of the addition was begun early in March.
The last addition to the union was started in 1950 and finished in 1952. Plans for the new addition were started in 1955.
"Students from the SUA and the Union Operating Committee spent two years discussing areas which should be included in the new addition." Mr. Burge said.
"The students, particularly, were most vocal in defining what the student body needed most. More bowling alleys, and more room in the Hawks' Nest, bookstore, and ballroom were the features mentioned most." he said.
Provides Easy Access
The new addition was also planned to provide a more convenient entrance from Mississippi Street and easier access to the University parking lot near the football stadium.
The one-way street between Oread Drive and Mississippi Street which has run behind the Union will be rebuilt over the Mississippi Street entrance.
"The parking and traffic problem has become a real concern to the
University. We feel that this will help to eliminate some of the problems involved," Mr. Burge said.
Construction on the addition will be speeded by the use of precast, pre-stressed flooring.
Floor Slabs from K.C.
"The floor slabs will all be made in Kansas City, shipped to Lawrence, and then lowered by crane into the framework of the building. This prevents the cost of additional labor in pouring the concrete and time hazards which fluctuate with the weather."
The addition will be completely
air conditioned and contain two new elevators.
The Kansas Union is an independent organization and receives no funds from the University. It is run primarily from the $10 union fee which is included in the University enrollment fee.
Each $10 fee is sub-divided into $5 for existing debt, $2.50 for maintenance and equipment, and $2.50 for the union annexation debt.
The new addition is being financed by borrowed money (revenue bonds) and funds which have been laid aside for this purpose.
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