The space in Thayer Dining Hall formerly occupied by the Hovey Grill will remain closed indefinitely, despite recent proposals to reopen it as an art gallery or vending-machine lounge. The large, centrally-located space has remained unused since it was replaced by the Lone Pine Tavern in 1994.
The plan announced by Dartmouth Dining Services Director Pete Napolitano last year to reopen the space as a vending-machine lounge failed due to lack of funds, according to Hood Museum of Art Director Timothy Rub. The museum is responsible for administering the space.
Napolitano said the College's Facilities Committee decided against allocating funds for the vending machine project, in part because of "defunct" ventilation and electricity systems.
The College also rejected an earlier plan to make the space a gallery for the display of the allegedly-racist murals that adorn its walls. The murals, which have been covered by removable panels since 1983, illustrate the words to the song "Eleazar Wheelock," composed by Richard Hovey of the Class of 1885.
The murals depict the College's founder with drunken and naked Native American men and women and the "500 gallons of New England rum" refered to in the song. They were painted in the 1930s by Walter Humphrey '14.
As the College's Native American population rose in the 1980s, pressure mounted to cover the murals. But in 1993, Hood Museum officials proposed putting the murals on display as an art gallery.
Native American Program Director Michael Hanitchak said he supported the plan to display the murals in a gallery setting "as long as the appropriate explanatory materials were with it."
Hanitchak said even though the murals were "distinctly racist and sexist" pub art, they still have a place in art history.
Tyonek G. Ogemageshig '97, a Native American student, said he has heard the murals are "rather in poor taste." But he said they could someday function "as an educational resource."
Rub said the 1993 proposal was abandoned, because the security and lighting improvements needed to make the space an art gallery would be too expensive. He said the project was a low priority compared to larger facilities projects, like the construction of the new $19 million psychology building.
Rub said the museum has a commitment to preserving the murals. He said getting rid of the murals would be "like burning books."
