[4] A bronze bust of Drake is on display in the current Ohio Union to commemorate his contributions to the University.

[3] During World War I, the Ohio Union was used as a mess hall and recreational center for quartered troops who lived on campus.

Today, this building is used for the Translational Data Analytics Institute, classrooms, offices and a campus dining area, Mirror Lake Eatery.

[2] In January 1947, the students of the Ohio State University came together and petitioned for a new union that allowed equal access for men and women.

This Union housed a dining room, two ballrooms, a browsing library, music lounge, pool tables, a 16-lane bowling alley and nineteen offices used for various student organizations.

In 1985, as technology was advancing and the creation of the computer evolved, a micro-computer lab was made in the Union to help students with research and various studies.

Rebecca Park, Director 1994–2001, unable to address the structural issues, instead focused on student programming at the Union, and Tracy Stuck, Director 2001–2010, merged the Office of Student Activities with the Ohio Union staff to support the Union's mission of providing students with the best services and activities and brought a Buckeye theme back to the building by making aesthetic changes and adding scarlet and gray into the décor.

In the 2003–2004 academic year, the three student governments at Ohio State started a campaign to advocate for the construction of a new building.

Finally, in June 2004, the Ohio State Board of Trustees approved plans to tear down the old Union and start the construction of a new building on the same site.

Ohio State partnered with Habitat for Humanity during the demolition of the old Union and donated the useful parts of the building to them.

The new Union is a LEED Silver Certified Green Building and has also been issued an official GreenSpot by the City of Columbus.

A number of offices are housed in the Ohio Union, including BuckID, Student Life, the Keith B.