Tina Weedon Smith Memorial Hall, located at 805 S. Mathews Avenue in Urbana, Illinois, is an historic building on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Smith Hall is located just off the main quad of campus and is just east of Foellinger Auditorium. The building was constructed in 1917-21 and was designed in the Beaux-Arts style by James M. White and George E. Wright.Smith Hall is known for being the first building on the campus to be completely funded by a private party donation. It was dedicated to Tina Weedon Smith by her husband, Captain Thomas J. Smith. Smith Hall is used for university lectures and music classes, as well as for speakers and performances.In 1996 Smith Memorial Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois.HistoryOn August 14, 1913, Captain Thomas J. Smith wrote a letter to Captain Edward Bailey stating that Smith intended to donate about $200,000 to the University of Illinois 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 to pay for the building construction.Construction on Smith Memorial Hall began on November 9, 1917 when Captain Thomas J. Smith laid the cornerstone. Materials used during the construction were large amounts of stone, brick, metal, and limestone. The building was designed in the Beaux-Arts architecture style by James McLaren White, a professor at the University, and George E. Wright. Final construction on the building was completed in 1920.
