Some New Gaps
THERE have been some rumors of facelifting on Main Street near the bank, but at present all the visible demolition is happening in other off-campus spots. For economic reasons, the College has had four of Hanover's oldest frame houses torn down. One of these, on West Wheelock, was the building known as the Randall Club, dating from 1820 and once the home of President Asa Dodge Smith. A huge house by present-day standards, it had a checkered career (including at least two fires) in recent decades and after serving as bachelor quarters for a while was last used as a rooming house for Dartmouth Dining Association employees.
Perhaps better known to alumni was the College Street house that has been removed from the Hanover scene. This was the site of the student eating club operated by "Ma" Smalley for 25 years until the College purchased the house in 1944. The effort to use it as a dormitory for Hanover Inn help was never successful, and in recent years the house has stood empty and unpainted, its windows shattered by Hanover's small fry. CM
Nearby, at the corner of College arid Lebanon Streets, the College has torn down two more houses and has restored open space on part of the land that Eleazar Wheelock presented to his son in 1779. These two Lebanon Street houses, owned by Jake Bond and Lon Gove before the College purchased them, were destined for removal anyway when construction of the Hopkins Center begins. Here, and in the case of the Wheelock Street and College Street sites, the College is retaining title but has no immediate plans for using the space, although there is talk of making the former Smalley Club into a parking area.
Wigwam Circle will soon experience some demolishing of its own. Four of the large barrack-like buildings, containing 44 housing units, are coming down. The buildings were condemned a year ago and have been unoccupied since then.
Returning to the subject of Hanover houses, the large red brick residence at 13 Ghoate Road, built by the late Prof. James P. Richardson '99, has been occupied by the Rev. William L. Nolan, recently appointed Catholic chaplain at Dartmouth College, as headquarters for his work. Aquinas House, as it has been named, has been completely renovated to provide a chapel room and facilities for meditation, reading and recreation, as well as offices and living quarters for Father Nolan. It is open to Dartmouth students of all faiths, and is a particularly useful center for the Newman Club. Dedication ceremonies were held on Sunday, February 21, and were attended by the Most Rev. Matthew J. Brady, Bishop of New Hampshire. Aquinas House is similar to Catholic student centers maintained at Princeton, Yale, Cornell, and a number of other colleges.
