Iowa State University Memorial Union

The inside of the ISU Memorial Union is also pretty. I recently went up into the Hotel area, including the Veteran’s Lounge and the big Ballroom. It’s worth a stroll to more fully explore this fascinating piece of architecture.

There’s a lot going on here. There are offices, balls rooms (I’m aware that this says «balls rooms», but I liked it too much to delete it. I think all student unions should have ball pits like Chuckie Cheese’s. That way even college students can be kids. Anyway…), a hotel, possibly a restaurant somewhere, a weird cursed seal on the floor that you’re not supposed to cross. That’s the closest I’ll ever get to being Indiana Jones, I think, but I’m mostly okay with that. Anyway, I did cross the seal, and the place didn’t start crumbling apart, so that’s good… Although I’m told I’m going to fail my next final now.
There’s also a sweet fountain out front. Sometimes the students are photographed doing hand stands in front of it, and sometimes those pictures are posted on the front page of ISU’s website. It’s better in person, and way better in the fall as opposed to the winter. Only if seeing it with the water running means anything to you, though. Otherwise, it’ll look mostly the same to you regardless of the season.
The halls kind of smell like soup. That’s not a gripe or anything, but I’ve noticed that most hotel hallways smell like soup for some reason. That might be weird; I don’t know.
This building is definitely worth a look. It’s rather beautiful in places, and rather interesting in others.
Having said that, I think it would be better with a ball pit.

WAY too overpriced. The selection is okay, but the prices are not. Plus, it’s super packed ALL the time. You are better off finding somewhere else to eat.

I just volunteered for the Science Bowl and the coordinator gave us free lunch vouchers here. I must say that it was better than I remembered from UConn and UPenn. Unfortunately, I was pressed for time to head back to Des Moines that afternoon. However, I managed to get a slice of pot roast, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and two cups of joe to keep me awake on the road. There is huge salad bar with fruit which I passed when I returned my plate and utensils. Agghhrrr… Well, I grabbed a banana on my way out. Parking is a zoo here and got to have your quarter for only 30 minutes. WHAT!!! Eat fast and pay meter again? Well, you can drive a bit further and park near the dorms which are totally filled. The other option is to tough it out and walk in the bitter cold from Ames Labs to here. Yeah, I take the driving option and hunt for a spot. I would recommend the same to you too.

I love the Memorial Union!
Ah, the memories. Wow. I grew up on this campus… and it is a great place to raise kids. Kids can run around and nothing bad happens. The Memorial Union has the cafeteria, the bookstore used to be in it, and events were held there.
It is just one of those hub places that I hope never dies.