The Great Hall of the Memorial Union will get the most comprehensive update since its construction in 1927.

Thanks to a spontaneous gift from Charles Durham, alumnus who also funded the Durham Center, the university will have the money to complete several renovations to the Great Hall beginning next summer.

Among the most dramatic changes will be a new paint scheme that mimics the bold colors of the 1930s American Arts and Crafts Movement. The hall is currently painted in whites and creams.

Other improvements include replacing the curtains, refurbishing the woodwork, installing a sprinkler system, thoroughly cleaning the pipe organ and updating all of the Great Hall’s technological capabilities.

Christopher Ahoy, associate vice president for facilities planning and management, said one of the technology updates will include a new sound system and new portable microphones.

Despite all the changes, Ahoy made clear that all renovations would be “purely cosmetic.”

“There will be no changes to the general infrastructure,” he said.

The project will be funded primarily by Durham’s contribution, but the university will add to the funds as well. Kathy Svec, marketing coordinator at the Memorial Union, said a firm number for the cost of the renovations is yet to be set.

Although university officials have remained in contact with Durham through the years, they were not expecting his gift.

“It was very much a surprise,” Svec said.

She speculated that at least part of the reason for Durham’s donation can be attributed to the story about him meeting his wife there.

Svec said when Durham was attending college at Iowa State, he went to a dance in the Great Hall and noticed a young woman and asked her to dance. That same woman later became his wife.

Regardless of his reason for donating, Svec said she is excited to start the renovations. “We’re just ecstatic about it, absolutely delighted,” she said.

“We feel like in Ames, and maybe even central Iowa, [the Great Hall] is the grandest room for special events.”

MU Program Assistant Mishelle Michel said that for the event planning staff, the biggest difference will be the sound system.

“Right now we only have the capabilities for speeches,” Michel said, explaining that before, if a party wanted music, they’d have to bring in their own equipment.

Michel said the Great Hall has hosted approximately 400 events and 164,000 people in the last year alone.

“We do everything from WelcomeFest to weddings,” she said. Michel also remembered the 1995 National Rural Conference when former President Bill Clinton made an appearance at the Great Hall.

“That place has everything. It’s constantly turning over,” Michel said.