The Memorial Union is one of oldest, more historic and iconic buildings on the ISU campus.

After being designed in 1922 by William T. Proudfoot, the Memorial Union, also known as the M.U. by students, officially opened in 1928. Since than, the M.U. has seen 11 additions, with the most recent opening in 2008.

A unique fact about the M.U. is that it has a 52 room hotel called the Hotel Memorial Union. The hotel rooms used to be dormitory rooms for female students attending Iowa State, but were later turned into rooms for the hotel decades later.

Another offering the M.U. provides is the food court, offfering a variety of choices from Panda Express to Cucina Italiana. There is also the M.U. Market & Cafe for those who may prefer a bag of chips and a smoothie.

Across from the market is the University Book Store, which has textbooks, game day apparel, video games and much more.

When it comes to history and tradition, the Memorial Union has it in spades.

The Four Seasons Fountain on the North side of the building was a gift from the VEISHEA Committee in 1937 and the four sculptures by Christian Petersen were later added in 1942.

The sculptures are of woman doing an action that represents one of the four seasons. Four example, the South sculpture represents summer and is protecting a corn plant from the sun’s rays.

Arguably the most famous part of the Memorial Union is the zodiac that is found inside the North entrance, created by the designer of the M.U., William T. Proudfoot. The zodiac consists of the 12 celestial constellations that reside in night sky or as some say “in the heavens.”

The zodiac is not only iconic but also the center of a taboo. If a student is to step on the zodiac it is said that they will fail their next exam. Although Proudfoot intended the brass zodiac signs to be worn away by foot track, it is said that students started the rumor because they liked how the signs were raised from the floor.

The entrance by the zodiac leads into Gold Star Hall, a memorial to ISU students who died in battle, dating back to World War I.

Out of the dozens of names scribed on the walls, only one is of a woman. Her name is Hortense Wind, and according to the lore of the M.U., her ghost is said to still roam the halls.

Also inside Gold Star Hall are 12 stained glass windows designed by Harold W. Cummings. Each of the windows is supposed to portray the different attributes of students in all the different colleges on campus.

Beneath the zodiac and Gold Star Hall is a chapel in the back of the Browsing Library. It was Proudfoot’s belief in patriotism and religion that led him to put a place to pray underneath the zodiac and Gold Star Hall.