Thayer currently seats 700, according to The Dartmouth. The news release of November 10 regarding the Trustees’ meeting stated that the replacement for Thayer Dining Hall “will have seating for 750 diners and a large performance space.”

Unless the new dining hall does more than Thayer did to create a usable basement or second level or expands significantly into the parking lot behind the building, it seems likely that South Fairbanks (at least) will have to be moved. One assumes it will be moved rather than demolished, since the architects are “green” and would not consign a useful structure to the landfill for merely aesthetic reasons, especially when it is a historic building.

Here’s hoping that the century-old fraternity house designed by Charles Rich is moved to Mass Row (between North Mass and Hitchcock) or is permitted to become part of the new dining hall. Neither approach should be out of reach for a skilled designer.