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Smith Memorial Hall is a music building located on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, Illinois. Smith Hall is located just off the main quad of campus and is just east of Foellinger Auditorium. Smith Memorial hall is known for being the first building on the campus to be completely funded by a private party donation. The Hall was dedicated to Tina Weedon Smith, the wife of Captain Thomas J. Smith. Smith Hall is presently used for University lecture and music classes, as well as speakers and performances.

History of Smith Memorial Hall
On August 14, 1913 Captain Thomas J. Smith wrote a letter to Captain Edward Bailey that stated that Smith intended to donate about 200,000 dollars to the University of Illinois to use to build a music building in memory of his wife, Tina Weedon Smith. Captain Smith had been a member of the board of trustees from 1897 to 1903. Smith donated land and money that totaled approximately 480,500 dollars to pay for the building construction. Construction on Smith Memorial Hall began on November 9, 1917 when Captain Thomas J. Smith laid the first cornerstone brick of the building. Materials used during the construction were large amounts of stone, brick, metal, and limestone. The building was designed by George E. Wright and James McLaren White in the Beaux-Arts architecture style. James McLaren White was a professor at the University, as well as a supervising architect. Final construction on the building was completed in 1920.

A 30 percent expansion of the building was in the original plans and was also placed in campus maps until the year of 1930. However, in 1931 the proposed expansion to the building was dropped and the maps never showed the expansion again. In 1996 Smith Memorial Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois.

Groundbreaking Ceremony
According to the Daily Illini Newspaper the groundbreaking ceremony for the Smith Memorial Hall took place on Tuesday October 24, 1916. Captain Thomas J. Smith and President James of the University used a spade to break the ground at the site of construction. The spade, covered in University of Illinois colors, was given to Captain Smith after the ceremony. Captain Smith also gave a speech to the crowd of spectators, faculty, students, trustees, and glee club members. During the address, Captain Smith said, " I determined that I would cause to be erected a building to her memory and present the same to the University of Illinois, dedicated to the cause of music for the use of the University musical college for the advancement of the science and art of music, with the hope that it would in a measure bless mankind. From that time I have lived an economical life, to the end that i might be able to contribute to the erection of such a building as would be a credit alike to the memory of the departed loved on and to the University." The speech given by Captain Smith was then followed by a performance by the University glee club.

Excavation of the land was to be completed within thirty days of the groundbreaking ceremony. The contract was held by Wager & Company of Champaign-Urbana.

Current Uses of Smith Memorial Hall
Smith Memorial Hall is now used for musical practices and recitals. Smith Memorial Hall's large lecture rooms are also used for class lectures by the university. Classes are held regularly in the large lecture halls of Smith Memorial Hall. The small practice rooms throughout the hall are used by university musicians for practice. The lecture halls are also used for musical recitals and performances. Many recitals are played in the hall every year such as the harpsichord recitals and the Doctor of Musical Arts recitals. Performances by University Senior music students and jazz bands are also events held at the Smith Memorial Hall.

Description of Smith Memorial Hall
Smith Memorial hall houses many different musical performance and practice rooms. The largest of all these rooms is the large performance hall that seats 650 people on the mail level and an additional 450 in the balcony. The acoustics of the large performance hall were also controlled by having a period of reverberation of 1.75 seconds when at full capacity, and having provisions in the design to decrease the period of reverberation when the hall was empty. The Smith Memorial Hall building also possesses a number of practice rooms including 7 studios and 2 classrooms on the first floor, and an additional 11 studios and 49 practice rooms on the second floor. The second floor is also home to a 200 person lecture room used for lecture classes at the university. The third floor of the hall houses another additional 47 practice rooms. Smith Memorial Hall also is home to a 900 person recital room lined with detailed mahogany woodwork throughout. This recital hall is where the three manual Casavant Frères organ is located. Common knowledge around the university proclaims the Memorial Room of the Smith Memorial Hall as the crowning jewel of the building. The Memorial room, which is a drawing room, is lavishly decorated and also includes crystal chandeliers. The Memorial Room is often used for chamber music performances and harpsichord recitals.