Palladium to serve as class space

After 20 years as the historic home to the Palladium, the corner of 36th Street and Locust Walk will now be converted into primarily academic space.

On the patio area, a seasonal cart will offer drinks and prepared food.

The decision comes more than a year after University officials announced that the Palladium lease would not be extended.

"Our initial plan was to preserve the Palladium" concept, Provost Robert Barchi said, noting the nostalgia many alumni and faculty have for the former restaurant. But officials said that both the corner and the campus around it are different than they were 20 years ago.

Facility conditions were a main barrier to maintaining a restaurant in the interior of the former Palladium, according to officials.

"We did a pretty exhaustive study... and it would take millions of dollars to bring [the Palladium space] up to code," Dining Services Contract and Relationship Manager Laurie Cousart said, noting that the site could not remain a full-service restaurant without extensive renovations.

"We found that the issues of code compliance and delayed maintenance are huge," Barchi said.

Major renovations are now scheduled for other campus facilities, including Bennett Hall and the Music Building. Renovating the Palladium would be "a huge investment at a time when we need to make other huge investments," Barchi said.

Another reason Barchi cited for the space conversion was that "the scene itself has changed," with Au Bon Pain opening in Huntsman Hall last year and with a new cafe soon to open in Van Pelt Library.

Yet the cart -- which will offer a similar selection as other campus cafes -- will "keep the ambiance there," Barchi said.

Current plans include minor renovations to create "flexible space" for seminar classes on the first floor, according to Barchi. The former kitchen spaces and Gold Standard will be converted into performing arts practice and performance space.

Student reactions to the Palladium closure and the reallocation of the facility to academic space ranged from regret to ambivalence.

"It's kind of sad -- I remember always passing by it," College graduate and second-year Asian and Middle Eastern Studies graduate student Heather Sutherland said, remembering past formals and dinners at the Palladium.

Yet, saying that the nostalgia-prone "should just get over it," College sophomore Devin Bencks said, "I personally don't care."

Following the same logic as University officials who hope to preserve central meeting places, College senior Brent Wagner praised the decision.

"As long as they're keeping the outdoor space... I think that's fine," Wagner said. "The outside atmosphere is really the best thing that area had to offer."

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