After 67 years, Union remains student hub
The heart of the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston campus, the Memorial Union, has housed bowling alleys, lemonade stands and pizzerias since it first opened in 1954.
According to Matt Santagata, the coordinator of operational services of the Union, the building was created as a memorial for the students and staff members that lost their lives in World War II.
“Before the Union was built, the original structure was a Quonset hut — a dome-shaped building that didn’t really have much purpose,” Santagata said. “During this time period, there was a push to build student unions and actual buildings, and so that’s how the Union came to be.”
It was not until after the University decided to build a student union that they decided to dedicate the building to veterans who had come home from World War II just a few years before, Santagata said.
The original exterior of the building can be seen from the first atrium, where the COVID-19 testing site is currently located. Santagata described the brick walls and window shutters as “very 1950s,” mimicking popular building designs at the time.
In 1964, the first addition was added to the building — in the area that now houses the Ram’s Den and the lower level of the building. This originally housed a flower shop called “Two Lips” where the current “Total Image Hair Salon” is, a high-end restaurant called “America’s Cup Room” where the “Dunkin’ Donuts” is and a pub in the first level where the “Union Express” mailroom now is, according to Santagata.
“Over the years, there has been a Del’s Lemonade, an arcade and a pizzeria in the lower level of the Union,” he said. “When the legal drinking age was still 18, there was a pub called the Rathskeller, which was a huge spot for students to hang out on the weekends.”
The Assistant Director of Union Operations Brad Irish credited the Rathskeller for giving URI a reputation of being a “party school” back in the ’60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. The pub was removed shortly after the legal drinking age changed to 21 in 1984.
The next renovation to the Union was done in 1992, in honor of URI’s centennial anniversary. This addition was intended to just make the building larger, Irish said.
“There used to be a wrap-around patio around the whole building, from the side next to Dunkin’ Donuts all the way around to the front of the building,” Irish said. “You can see now that the patio still exists on the side, but the rest has since been removed.”
The Memorial Union was due to start new renovations at the start of this semester, according to Santagata, however, with the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, the renovations have been postponed to an undetermined later date.
“A lot of the former things that used to be in the Union have been removed due to student use, interest, and other factors,” Santagata said. “Personally, I would love to see a lot of that stuff come back. It would give students more of a reason to come and hang out.”
The Memorial Union is meant to be a safe space for students to come, relax and entertain, according to Santagata. He said that the directors and staff of the Union take students’ opinions and ideas into consideration when planning any future renovation projects.