Adorning a Comfortable Old Shoe

THE Carleton Blunt Alumni Center, dedicated just before commencement in June, already feels like home to the people who work in the offices of Alumni Records, the Alumni Fund, Bequest and Estate Planning, the Secretary of the College, the Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs, the ALUMNI MAGAZINE, Gift Recording, Research and Stewardship, and the Campaign for Dartmouth. The new three-story brick building, which replaces the wooden wing of adjoining Crosby House, and the extensive renovation of the original brick section of Crosby, were made possible by a $1.5 million gift from Carleton Blunt '26, a retired attorney and philanthropist who practiced law in Chicago and now lives in the Village of Golf, Florida. In addition to housing offices, the center also has conference facilities and, on the ground floor of Crosby House, a large room for formal and informal alumni gatherings. Benjamin Thompson Associates, the firm which directed the Quincy Market redevelopment in Boston, was the architect.

Vice President Addison Winship '42 was the master of ceremonies at the dedication ceremonies held outside on the freshly rolled-out turf in front of the newly planted garden (already in full bloom) a gift from the class of '48. Winship described the old Crosby as "a comfortable old shoe" whose "time and prime" had long passed. Trustee Emeritus Charles Zimmerman '23, who two years ago conducted Blunt on a guided tour of the cramped and creaking previous structure and who talked to Blunt about doing something "to change all that," said he was delighted to have a proper business office for alumni." J. Blake Hering '53, outgoing president of the Alumni Council, expressed the appreciation of the alumni. President Kemeny recalled that he had been subjected to a campaign for a new alumni facility from the first day he took office. "When I first stepped foot in Crosby as president I got the hint," he said. (He also got, he said, a bump on the head from the low pipes in the basement.) Carleton Blunt made the best, and the shortest, speech: "The thing that makes me happiest is that the inmates like it."

An enlarged view of North Main Street in the 1890s, showing Crosby House at far right, highlights the lobby of Blunt Center.

Carleton Blunt and grandnephew James '80on the front walk after the dedication.

An office of one of the "inmates" in the new main building.

The refurbished first floor of Crosby House is now an Alumni Room, with antiqueand modern furnishings, a central fireplace, and space for reading and writing.