The Texas Union opened in 1933. Designed by Paul Cret, a French-born architect then living in Philadelphia, Cret also designed UT Austin’s Tower and Main Building, Texas Memorial Museum, Hogg Memorial Auditorium, and other buildings on campus.
The Texas Union has been a campus hub for student life throughout its history; the venue of choice for countless dances, concerts, film screenings, meeting spaces and many other social activities.
The Texas Union nearly doubled its size with an expansion in 1960, adding meeting rooms, a theatre, and the below-street level recreational area now known as the Union Underground.
Today, the Texas Union provides a variety of dining options, indoor and outdoor lounging areas, large- and small-scale event and meeting spaces as well as offices for student groups.
The Texas Union includes 16 meeting rooms, the Shirley Bird Perry Ballroom, the world-famous Cactus Café, and The Union Underground a 12-lane bowling alley and pool hall.
Campus Events + Entertainment (E+E) is also located in the Texas Union and is the campus’ premier student programming organization hosting over 120 student events annually.
