Denmark Hall was built in 1901 as a Dining Hall complete with a kitchen and a dining area that could fit 200 students. Convict labor from the Clarke County Commission was used to grade the land. In 1950 it was converted into an academic building. The students often referred to Denmark by a negative nickname the “Beanery” for its poor quality of food. The dining hall was named in memorial for Brantley Astor Denmark of the class of 1871 when he died at the age of 51 the same year as the building opened. The university wanted to recognize his outstanding leadership and loyal support to the University of Georgia. He led the first alumni fundraising effort in 1897 that raised $40,000 and was later used to build Memorial Hall. Brantley Astor Denmark was a prominent Savannah businessman who served as university trustee, a lawyer, president of the Citizen’s Bank of Savannah, president of the Southern/Western Railroad, curator of the Georgia Historical Society, and a member of his local Board of Education. Today Denmark Hall is home to the Masters of Historic Preservation Program under the College of Environment and Design.
Sources:
http://www.externalaffairs.uga.edu/alumni/index.php/heritage/stories/denmark_hall
http://foodservice.uga.edu/about/history-pictures