Memorial Hall was initially built in 1883 to be used for events like commencement ceremonies and the first ever basketball games at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The architect, Samuel Sloan, designed the building to be larger than the previously used Gerrard Hall so that it could hold up to 4,000 people. Memorial Hall was created to honor the men at the university who fought in the Civil War and to commemorate some of the important antebellum figures at the University of North Carolina. Specifically David L. Swain was one of the men honored in the making of the building. Funding for Memorial Hall was initially provided by selling marble tablets that were dedicated to certain men who fell in battle during the Civil War. The tablets still exist and are kept on display at the current Memorial Hall.