Memorial Hall at University of Kentucky

Memorial Hall at University of Kentucky

This photo comes from Campus Guide-Memorial Hall on the University of Kentucky's website. I looked around for interesting monuments on the campus that most people would not know very much about during their time here.  I came across the Memorial Hall and decided to look up more about it on the internet.  

Memorial Hall was built in 1929 as a memorial for the lives lost in World War I.  This is a very important building on the universities campus that is used for many performances, lectures, and graduations from certain colleges.  There is a large fresco in the lobby of Memorial Hall that was completed in 1934 by Ann Rice O'Hanlon to give a depiction of Lexington.  Ann was a graduate of the university and constructed this for the Public Works of Art Project.  This structure stands at the end of Funkhouser Drive on 610 South Limestone Drive.  The image of Memorial Hall's Clock Tower is used in many advertisements for the university, especially the famous picture where the image of the clock tower splits the U and the K.

A few questions began to come to mind when reading about Memorial Hall.  First, what is the importance of World War I to the city of Lexington? Second, how does this memorial actually memorialize the lives lost during World War I?  Third, why was this building built at the place it is? Fourth, what depiction does the fresco give of Early Lexington? Fifth, how many names were dedicated at this memorial?