By Laura Gobber and Chris Prom
Title: Assembly Hall Construction and Management Records, 1945-97
ID: 37/5/6
Primary Creator: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Assembly Hall
Extent: 8.5 cubic feet
Arrangement: By subseries and alphabetically thereunder
Subjects: Architectural Design, Architecture, Assembly Hall, Building Construction, Building Dedications, Building Operations, Building Plans
Formats/Genres: Financial Records, Papers
Languages: English
Assembly Hall Construction and Management Records include correspondence, reports, memorandum, blueprints, photographs, newspaper clippings, architect's field notes, progress reports, meeting summaries, punch lists, inspection and test reports, cost estimates and summaries, and contracts concerning the construction and daily operations of the facility, event scheduling, budgeting, litigation, policy development, and controversies in the late 1960s - early 1970s concerning alleged misuse of student fees and underrepresentation of students in decision making and events planning concerning the construction and management of the Assembly Hall.
Major correspondents relating to the construction of the building include William S. Posten, Owen L. Delevante, R.H. Foley, R.M. Buchanan, Joseph Zunser, and Ernest L. Stouffer. Signficant correspondents relating to the subseqent mangement of the building include James J. Harms; Edward Pinto; the members of student organizations such as PRAXIS, Star Course, and Graduate Student Association; Assembly Hall Director Thomas P. Parkinson; William A. Ferguson; Mark Sprague; Paul Egbert; Karl E. Gardner; J. W. Briscoe; Vice Chancellor Hugh Satterlee; and Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Affairs Paul Dobel.
The Assembly Hall was opened to the public in March 19631 and dedicated on May 3, 1963.2 President David D. Henry appointed Thomas P. Parkinson Director of Assembly Hall in Auxiliary Services and in the Physical Plant Department beginning August 1, 1961. The Assembly Hall is operated through the Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs, who reports to the Chancellor of the Urbana-Champaign campus.3 No appropriated funds were used in its construction; revenue bonds were employed, with student fees and building income used to amortize them.4 The Assembly Hall is a multi-purpose building for recreational and cultural activities; basketball games, concerts, and ballets take place there. The building can accommodate sixteen to eighteen thousand persons.5 It houses the offices of the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics.6
1. Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, March 1, 1963.
2. Dedication program, RS 37/5
3. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Student/Staff Directory, 1990-91, p. 57.
4. Board of Trustees Transactions, 50th Report, June 23, 1959, pp. 467-99; Board of Trustees Transactions, 51st Report, February 21, 1962, pp.1304-05.
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Architectural Design
Architecture
Assembly Hall
Building Construction
Building Dedications
Building Operations
Building Plans
URL: https://files.archon.library.illinois.edu/uasfa/3705006.pdf
PDF finding aid for Assembly Hall Construction and Management Records (37/5/6)