When Duke dining halls first changed their serving system from a single line to food stations in the 1950s, the Great Hall was called the Black and Blue Room--for the bruises students received when they elbowed their way to the food.
In the 1980s, students started calling the Great Hall the Pits because of its boisterous atmosphere and greasy food.
And now, after undergoing a $1 million facelift last summer and an overhaul of the food offerings, students just call it the Great Hall--a name that, like all the other names the space has assumed since it opened in 1930, reflects its current personality and atmosphere.
"Take-out wasn't an option back then, but no one ever gave it a lot of thought," said University Archivist emeritus William King, reflecting on the changing nature of Duke's dining. "You enjoyed going to the dining room and eating together."
From the 1930s through 1970s, there were few alternative dining options on campus, so the Duke dining halls drew a large crowd for every meal. Back then, the dining halls consisted of three large continuous spaces: the Cambridge Inn (now Alpine Bagels), the Great Hall and the University Room (now The Loop). Faculty ate their meals with students and interaction between employees and students was more frequent, so that the dining experience resembled a family style meal instead of a burger joint.
Ted Minah, director of the University's dining halls from 1946 through 1974, helped build that family atmosphere and student-employee interaction. "Minah firmly believed that the dining hall was an integral part of a student's education," Brian Wille, Trinity '92, wrote in a history paper now in the University's archives.
Faculty-administration-student interaction was a staple of this education, and mealtimes were the ideal occassion for fostering these relationships. King said the community atmosphere prevailed until the creation of the Faculty Commons dining room.
"Staff, administration and students used to eat together daily and easily and that habit was broken," he said.
As student-faculty interaction over meals declined, students realized they could get away with a lot of things they couldn't get away with at home--and the home-style atmosphere shifted to a wilder student setting.
A food fight in 1978 caused between $500 and $800 in damage to the East Campus Union and set the tone for dining at Duke in the 1980s. At that point, the Great Hall was referred to as the Blue and White room, a nickname in honor of the Duke colors. But, by 1980, only two years after that famous food fight, students began to refer to the Great Hall as the Pits.
"It was basically like Bullocks brought over to main campus," said Mike Rosen, Trinity '84, reminiscing about the special Friday Pits chocolate-chip cookies and Texas Straw Hats, a "pseudo-Southwestern dish with ground beef and cheddar cheese covered in Fritos corn chips."
"When I started in 1981 it was all fat, all the time," he laughed.
The University dining scene continued to evolve as health concerns became more prevalent. Outside contractor ARAMARK Corp., which took over the University's major dining operations in 2001, claims to have added variety and healthier options--and in doing so altered the dining atmosphere.
Miranda Hunter, a Duke Dining Services employee for 20 years, remembered the pre-ARAMARK Great Hall of the 80s and 90s as one of the high points of campus social life.
"Oh man, was it packed. The [Cambridge Inn], now Alpine Bagels, had little shows every now and then and karaoke going on," she said. "Everyone would get up and sing and we had a good time. Those were the hangouts: The Great Hall and the C.I."
When ARAMARK first took over, Hunter said, the contractor removed the fraternity and selective living plaques and later replaced them upon students' demands--but the Great Hall is still a far cry from the family style meals of the earlier years and the boisterous, social hangout of the 80s and 90s.
Today's Great Hall is only one of myriad dining options. Instead of serving as a common hangout, it is another place to study, grab take-out or eat a quick dinner with friends.
"I eat in the Great Hall twice a week and I'll usually study there," said Kelly Ferguson, a senior. "I wouldn't say I go there to meet people, but I go there with friends."
Two decades ago, Rosen said the Great Hall was never a place for studying. "You would never see anyone studying there--maybe a couple," he said. "Ninety-eight percent were eating and socializing--it was definitely a boisterous college atmosphere with really cheap food and all you can eat."
The crowds are smaller and the food is more expensive, but even as times have changed the Great Hall has remained a reliable standby. After all, Indian food is every Thursday night.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.