The Trustees have given the go-ahead (Valley News, Dartmouth News) to start the big renovation of Dartmouth Hall (design page). Apparently the project was moved up by a year because the relocation of faculty offices from the building was unexpectedly spurred by the pandemic.

Dartmouth Hall, it will be remembered, was designed by college architect Charles Alonzo Rich ’75 and was built from 1904 to 1906. Successor college architect Jens Fredrick Larson designed the gut-remodeling of the building that took place in 1935 and 1936, in which the current concrete floors and steel stairs were installed and Room 105 was created. The small gables over the north and south entrances bear the years 1904 and 1935 in reference to these construction periods. The year 1784 in the central gable refers to the original Dartmouth Hall, which stood on the site.

The most notable change in this latest renovation will be the extension of the existing granite foundation as a podium or terrace in front of the building. The three sets of steps will be there, and a ramp will be integrated into the south end of the terrace. The composition seems fitting and will probably go unnoticed by most observers.

Other changes: The building’s center doors will be made operable and will continue to give on to the shallow lobby of Room 105. In the College Yard, an east-west path leading to the center entry will return, and a new diagonal path will make the slope accessible. The rear facade will have ramps and stairs for the north and south entrances protected by simple if not utilitarian shed roofs.