[1] Designed by Phoenix architect James Miller Creighton, construction of Old Main began on October 27, 1887.

[2] Federal funding allowed completion of the building and it opened for the first class of the university on October 1, 1891.

Berger funded the project as a memorial for 13 University of Arizona students who were killed in World War I, including his nephew.

[2] Demolition was averted when the US Navy repaired the building in 1942, for use as a Naval Indoctrination Training School during World War II.

In January 2013, renovation of the entire building began — including a modernization of the interior spaces, replacing the roof, and framing the porch.