A Walk Through History: Chatham Dining Halls
This article was written by Molly Tighe, archivist & public services librarian, and was originally published in the Spring 2022 edition of the Chatham Recorder Alumni Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.
Long before composting and Eden Hall Campus farm produce were mainstays of the Chatham dining experience, the two adjoining, wallpapered rooms in old Berry Hall held such fond memories that alumnae preferred it to the glamorous Hotel Schenley for their 1909 annual dinner. Perhaps they recalled heart-shaped cakes served for Valentine’s dinner in 1900, the on-campus luncheon with Hull House co-founder and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jane Addams in 1908, or the many friendships that formed around the lunch table (each student was assigned to one table, headed by a faculty member, for the entirety of each school year). Alumae of the early 20th century valued dining spaces and took it upon themselves to equip the new Woodland Hall dining room, which opened in 1910, with everything from PCW—monogrammed china plates and English oak furniture down to trays and tea-towels.
Initially open exclusively to members of the Junior and Senior classes, the Woodland Hall dining room was expanded to nearly twice its original size in 1930 and became the main campus dining area for lunch and dinner. Breakfast, which was served at 7:30 am in Woodland, Berry, and the dormitory houses, was mandatory and the campus nurse paid a visit to any student not in attendance.
A campus snack bar, first installed in Berry Hall, became central to student life when Braun Hall was completed in 1953. Featuring décor “of the latest possible design,” the air-conditioned venue was transformed by students into a French Café for a 1957 party, a beatnik hangout for the Class of 1959’s senior party themed “Sick, Sick, Sick,” and—following extension of weekend hours in the 1960s—a date night hot spot.
Named for Chatham President Paul Anderson (1945-1960) and completed in 1973, Anderson Dining Hall originally included the Weathervane Grill, a casual option much like today’s Café Rachel. The perennial spot for Halloween costume contests and fundraiser fashion shows, Anderson hosted shows by the seminal indie rock band The Afghan Whigs, headliners for a pro-choice benefit in 1990, and queercore (a musical genre with origins in the punk and industrial music cultures that explores sexual and gender identity alongside issues of prejudice towards members of LGBTQIA communities) pioneers Team Dresch in 2003. Looking ahead toward renovations in Anderson this summer and continued enrollment growth, dining at Chatham is poised to maintain a central role in the campus community, pairing nourishment with community for a memorable finish.
