On Jan. 10, without notice, the 150-year old oak tree next to the Union Theater was removed. The tree, as well as the glass box theater addition and the ultimate financing of the entire renovation, have stirred a year-long debate. Looking back at the Memorial Union building’s 84-year-long history, the fuss is nothing new.

The building opened in 1928. During its construction, hundreds of unionized construction workers picketed the site and even violently destroyed the non-union workers’ sleeping shanty. One cause for the disputes was that by law, state construction jobs had to go to the lowest bidder.

A limestone terrace behind the Rathskeller was later added on the lakeshore side. It then became known as the Terrace and is still unquestionably the most popular outdoor lounge in Madison.

Every decade or so since then, the Union has embarked on a new expansion project. The first major addition was the construction of the theater in 1939, but the Brutalist exterior of the theater was too modern for many.

The 1939 expansion also included the Hoofer clubhouse and Play Circle Theater, and in 1963, the Regents approved a plan to remove the Terrace flagstones. The “Save the Stones” campaign was born, and a plan mixing concrete and stone was later approved. A few years later, the shoreline was paved with steps. By 1986, the entire Terrace was paved.

In the 1970s, Union South was constructed, once more along with many complaints about the architecture — Brutalist. There were overspending issues, and according to the first Union Director Porter Butts, it “in turn created some of the financial crises for the Union. It diverted Union resources away from the expansion and improvement of the main Union, and this, in turn, required a new intensive effort to raise gift funds for this purpose. The debt service on this expanded facility was such that the Union ran serious operating deficits for several years. All the people in the administration who were going to see to it that the fee was increased to cover what was needed had disappeared from the campus.”

History will repeat itself.

Perhaps owing to the financial stress from the ’70s, there has since been an effort to make the Union more businesslike and efficient. A recent example is the addition of a Peet’s Coffee Shop inside Memorial Union — the first outside-restaurant branding contract introduced to the building.

In 2002, a master plan was commissioned for the 75th year anniversary of the Memorial Union to again examine construction expansion. It included seven renovation options for the building, including not doing anything. Director Mark Guthier presented the possibility of “adding space on the north side to support receptions and catering, or a ballroom with a wonderful view of the lake, in addition to a new entrance on the south side.”

A few years later, in 2005, a student referendum to approve improving Union South and Memorial Union failed, The following year, another referendum failed again. On the third attempt, with very low turnout, the paper ballot referendum passed with plans to completely rebuild Union South. Out of about 40,000 students, 1,691 students voted in favor and 915 opposed. These student voters decided the fate of approximately $230 million in student money over the next 30 years.

In early 2011, plans were first shown to the public of a large glass addition, similar in size to the lakefront ballroom proposed in 2002. The group “Save the Terrace” criticized the plan as too invasive of outdoor terrace space and argued that it looks like a banquet hall, not a student lounge space.

But the design committee did not alter the floorplans until, in October, a student referendum to approve the lobby expansion design did not pass. The removal of a 150-year-old oak tree was also criticized, but saving the tree was not a priority, especially after debatable questions about its longevity were raised. And thus another chapter in the project ends.