Gardner Hall

The building has never been able to hold still. Students paid for it themselves in the early 1930s and got a Union: cafeteria, ballroom, barbershop, the offices of their own government. War turned the cafeteria into an Army mess hall and the top floor into command posts. Then ballet and music arrived, a television station moved into the basement, and the names kept changing — Music Hall, then Gardner Hall for the university's tenth president. Today it anchors the U's School of Music, its 1990s concert-hall addition named for Libby Gardner.

What the plaque says

National Register U of U Circle Historic District David P. Gardner Hall This Neoclassical stone building, constructed 1930-31, originally served university students as their Union Building. It was paid for with student fees and was the focal point of student life, housing the student government, a student lobby, the college cafeteria, a ballroom, a barbershop, and a hair salon. In 1943, the cafeteria was remodeled to function as a mess hall for army personnel who were housed on campus throughout World War II. At the same time, the top floor was turned into offices for Ninth Service Command personnel. In the 1950s, the ballet and music departments moved into the building, later sharing the basement with KUED Channel 7. The building was renamed the Music Hall in 1957 and remained so until 1980, when the name was changed to Gardner Hall in honor of David P. Gardner, who served as the University's tenth president from 1973 to 1983. Renovations and construction of a new concert hall addition that doubled the size of the original structure took place between 1997 and 2000. The new addition, separated from the original building by a glass-walled and sky-lit atrium, was named Libby Gardner Concert Hall in honor of FeducGardner's late wife. Marker placed in 2001 Division of State History

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Red Butte Garden — 1.3 mi
  A 100-acre botanical garden with panoramic valley views
• Natural History Museum of Utah — 1.5 mi
  A world-class museum built into the foothills above Salt Lake City
• Gilgal Sculpture Garden — 1.9 mi
  A surreal and eccentric sculpture garden hidden in a residential neighborhood
• Liberty Park — 1.9 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882

More markers nearby

• John A. Widtsoe Building — steps away
• Rock Wall — steps away
• Leroy E. Cowles Building — steps away
• George Thomas Building — steps away