Memorial Hall (University of Kentucky)

Memorial Hall clock tower

File:Uk logo.jpg

University Logo featuring an image of the Memorial Hall clock tower

Memorial Hall (UK building number 0049) located at 610 South Limestone Street is a prominent building on the campus of the University of Kentucky. Completed in 1929 as a memorial to those who died in World War I, it is used for lectures and performances, and also serves as a site for graduation ceremonies of some colleges within the university. It is located on central campus at the end of Funkhouser Drive.

The building is a symbol of the University of Kentucky, often used in promotions and advertising. Its clock tower is known for being featured in the UK logo, between the U and the K. Memorial Hall features cases within its traverse central hall that hold the names of students that served in the World Wars from all the Kentucky counties.

The lobby of Memorial Hall features a fresco completed in 1934 by Lexington artist Ann Rice O'Hanlon. The fresco, which is one of the few of its size and scale in the United States, depicts the history of Lexington and central Kentucky from settler times through the 19th century. O'Hanlon received a grant through the Works Progress Administration for the completion of its project, and worked on it for months. The fresco has been the recipient of controversy over its racial depictions, and O'Hanlon herself later expressed regret at some of the ways she depicted Lexington.

On May 4, 2004 the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approved the naming of the main auditorium in Memorial Hall in honor of Edward T. (Ned) Breathitt, a former Kentucky governor and former chair of the UK Board of Trustees. Room 102 in Memorial Hall is now known as the Edward T. (Ned) Breathitt Auditorium.

See also

• Buildings at the University of Kentucky
• Cityscape of Lexington, Kentucky
• University of Kentucky

External links

• Memorial Hall at the University of Kentucky Campus Guide