March 15, 1973

Anticipating the opening at the end of spring break of the remodeled and expanded Students’ Building as the All Campus Dining Center, Main Building’s dining hall, the original dining hall on campus, offered its last meal to students.

“At five-thirty, the doors of the dining room opened for the last time. From the corsages worn by the staff ladies to the continuous flashing of cameras, everyone felt the uniqueness of the roast beef dinner.

“Dean Drouilhet, lost in the memories of Main’s past, and Faith Scott, Executive Director of the Alumnae Association, were guests of honor at a champagne table headed by Thompson Lingel [’74]. He proposed the first toast of the night to [Jennie] Cushing Underwood, the woman to whom Main Dining Room was dedicated. Jan Shoring [’73] followed with a toast to the Class of 1973.

“Another clinking of glasses silenced all for James Severino’s [’74] toast to the Class of 1974, the first to include freshmen men. Finally [Edmund] Hollander ’76 proposed a toast to what he termed the most degenerate class in Vassar’s history—the Class of 1976. Rounds of applause resounded throughout the room after each toast.

“After a most relaxed and pleasant dinner, all moved to the parlors for a very special demi-tasse and a fine assortment of cookies. The final toast of the evening praised the Vassar tradition of demi-tasse.”

The Miscellany News

When a fire destroyed the dining room in Main Building and the former Chapel space above it in February 1918, the Class of 1880 funded the reconstructed two-storied dining room, which they dedicated to their classmate, Jennie Cushing Underwood ’80, who died in 1916.