A Landmark Goes Down

DARTMOUTH'S 1966 summer program was the busiest and most varied in recent years, but nothing had quite the attraction for the populace as the crashing, dusty, destructive event that took place daily at the corner of Main and Wheelock Streets.

Demolition of the Hanover Inn's historic west wing, preliminary to building a new and bigger one, made sidewalk superintending irresistible for young and old. At times the large and ever-changing audience was stirred to cheers and applause as a workman solved some demolition problem by an act of derring-do.

The razing of the west wing, built in 1888, provided an opportunity also for scavengers, who took bricks for doorstops and bookcases, or just as mementos. Sentimental alumni suggested that the timbers from the Inn be made into gavels for class officers or be put to other historic uses. One light-hearted alumnus proposed that they be converted into toothpicks so souvenirs could be distributed among all the alumni.

When completed, probably in the fall of 1967, the new wing will contain 56 guest rooms, three function rooms, and all the other facilities of the old structure: lobby, coffee shop, lounge (a memorial to the late Sid Hayward '26), cocktail bar, offices, and gift shop. It will also have a 31-car underground parking garage.

The Inn's east wing, which contains the dining room, kitchen, a temporary lobby, and 48 guest rooms, remains intact and will continue to serve visitors during the construction period. In addition, the Hanover Inn Motor Lodge nearby is available.

Architect William Tabler of New York, specialist in hotels, has planned the exterior of the $1.4 million building to resemble the red-brick and white trim of the 43-year-old east wing. The interior will retain the atmosphere of a New England Inn.

James T. McFate, Inn manager and current president of the American Hotel and Motel Association, promises that one of the Inn's greatest attractions for alumni - a porch and rocking chairs for viewing the passing Hanover scene - will be repeated in the new building.

Last year, Mr. McFate reports, the Inn had 2302 alumni registered, served 232,-231 meals, and had state groups, conventions, foliage tours, and a booked-to-capacity season from June 1 to October 14.

Over the years the Inn has housed thousands of alumni, visiting scholars, casual visitors, and many dignitaries who have come to Dartmouth for major college events. At certain busy periods of the college year, such as football weekends, Commencement, and reunion week, there has never been enough space to accommodate all the Dartmouth men who wanted to stay there.

The Hanover Inn Motor Lodge, located on Lebanon Street, was constructed to help take care of the increasing flood of visitors to Hanover. Enlargement of the new wing to provide 56 guest rooms instead of the previous 29 will be another step toward meeting the College's need for more campus accommodations, but there will still be periods when Hanover's famous hostelry will be booked to capacity and getting a room there will be as hard as getting a ticket on the 50-yard line.

The original Inn was only thirteen years younger than Dartmouth College. Eleazar Wheelock's steward, Captain Ebenezer Brewster, turned his home into a public tavern in 1782. After the 1887 lire which demolished that entire side of Main Street, a new College-owned hotel was built on the same corner. It was remodeled in 1902 and renamed The Hanover Inn. It had been called, variously, The Wheelock House, The Dartmouth Hotel, The Curtis Hotel, and The Hanover House.

Whatever its name, it has been a symbol of College and town hospitality for 184 years. Arthur Perry Fairfield 'OO was host during the twenties, and while it didn't exactly roar, it was at least "civilized."

Youth and young children came in with Peggy and Ford Sayre '33 in 1936. With imagination and energy, paint, paper, and fine food, they transformed the Inn into a delightful, genuinely gay hotel. The tradition they established has been continued by Mr. McFate since 1953.

Whenever "Dartmouth's in Town Again" it's most likely in town at the Inn. And when the new wing is completed approximately one year from now, more Dartmouth men will be "in" than ever before.

Architect's model of what the Hanover Inn will look like when the new westwing is finished a year from now, providing twice as many rooms as the oldstructure. An underground garage, off Wheelock Street, is a special feature.

Going...

Going...

Gone!