Findlay College's first "student union" was in the lower level of the 1956 addition to the library in Old Main. This low-ceilinged room was named "The Cave" in 1957. Per Dr. Richard Kern, it "quickly became a popular meeting place for students, faculty, and staff." Today this space houses UF's Print Services.
The outside (west) entrance to the original Cave - with the pep band.
A couple of early ads, from the January 1957 (L) and April 1958 (R) issues of The Lampost.
Plans for the student union helped prepare for the more more thorough planning for the AMU just a few years later.
The groundbreaking for the new AMU was held on March 10, 1960.
A dedication ceremony took place on January 16, 1961.
Aerial view from 1962 showing the original configuration of the AMU, with its central courtyard.
The new cafeteria was a great improvement on the former one in Old Main.
The original 1961 lounge was about half the size of the present one - and did not include the fireplace, which was part of the 1963 additions.
The Bookstore (now the Oiler Mart) carried a wide variety of textbooks and supplies.
Originally, the AMU featured an open-air courtyard. In 1990 this area was enclosed to create the present atrium.
In its early years, the courtyard was used for a variety of activities - including cookouts.