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| A 1940s Cornell couple visits after dinner in Pfeiffer Lounge. |
How and where Cornell students socialize has changed dramatically over the years. This issue of the Cornell Report enlists six Cornellians, representing each decade since the 1940s, writing a first-person essay on a favorite “in” spot of their era.
The essays describe how Cornell students have relaxed, dated, danced, held rap sessions, escaped the Cornell bubble, and otherwise bonded over the past 60 years. You’ll visit a post-war hangout where the proprietor dished out food on credit, a 1950s passion pit, and a psychedelic ’70s tavern populated by eccentric students and townies, one of whom built a VW Bug piece by piece in his living room. There are three perennials, too: Art Kudart’s Main Street barbershop, a dorm where women bonded after doors were locked, and the Orange Carpet, an unmistakable spot in The Commons where students have congregated since the ’60s.
With one notable exception, drinking establishments are not the focus, and not necessarily because too much beer clouds sharp recall of these establishments. We went in search of a well-rounded list of gathering spots for these pages. Besides, space did not permit inclusion of many once- or still-fashionable gathering spots such as the Grill, the Maid-Rite, the Cole Library social center, the Ratt, Perkins, discos, Joe’s, the North Side, the Pal, or Ollie’s Ham & Egger. |
