On July 4, 1873, the board of trustees opened up bidding for the construction of the hall, which was eventually won by the local Fayetteville firm of Mayes and Oliver at a bid of $123,855. Incidentally, John McKay of McKay and Hemle, was given the job of supervising architect by friends on the board, a job he held for one year until dismissed by a new board. Alexander Hendry was selected as his replacement by Lafayette Gregg, who had played an instrumental role in bringing the university to Fayetteville, and later, closely oversaw the construction of Old Main. Much of the materials of the building were of local origin, with sandstone quarried near to the university, while the bricks (over 2.5 million of them) were fired not far from the present student union.Leflar, The First One Hundred Years, p. 16. Construction was declared complete and the hall opened on June 17, 1885. Despite the declaration, the upper two floors and the basement were left unfinished due to the belief they would be finished later when the student population had grown larger. The final cost of the building was more than $134,000.Leflar, The First One Hundred Years, p.15-16.
