The Day the Music Dies

As a result of upcoming renovations to Houston hall and the demolition of The Book Store building, the University community will lose three of its four music stores. When Don McLean wrote the words "the day the music died" in the early 1970s, he could not have foreseen what would happen on the Penn campus in the late 1990s. As a result of the various construction projects at the University this year, the number of University City stores selling music may soon decrease from four to two. The change will limit the choices of the University's music fans to whatever is in stock at the new Barnes & Noble bookstore and at Spruce Street Records & Tapes, which does not sell classical music. Also, students, staff and faculty members might have fewer choices in such categories as travel agencies and jewelry. STA Travel and University Jewelers, both of which are currently housed in The Book Store complex at 38th Street and Locust Walk, may also leave campus when the building closes this summer for construction of a new 300,000-square-foot Wharton graduate facility. "It would be disturbing to think that the University would close the market to something as important to students as music," said Howard Gensler, co-owner of Classical Choice. Classical Choice and the mainstream Vibes Music, also housed in The Book Store building, appear likely to leave campus this fall when the University demolishes the facility. And CDs to Go expects to leave campus when Houston Hall closes in May for renovations as part of the $69 million Perelman Quadrangle project, which will eventually link College, Logan, Houston and Williams halls with Irvine Auditorium. Of the three stores, the University has only offered replacement space to Classical Choice, according to Penn Managing Director of Real Estate Tom Lussenhop. He stressed the remaining retailers should not wait for Penn to make an offer. Instead, he urged them to "develop relocation plans that meet their individual needs." Gensler said the new bookstore, to be located in the Sansom Common complex currently under construction on the 3600 block of Walnut Street, might be able to charge "whatever they want" for music. "It's going to mean that everybody is going to buy their music from Barnes and Noble," said Gensler, a member of the Daily Pennsylvanian Alumni Association Board of Directors. The new Barnes and Noble University Bookstore, scheduled to open this fall, will not sell the "unique niche products" available at Classical Choice, Lussenhop said. Although the University has offered the classical music store space in the Hamilton Village shopping center on 40th Street, Gensler said the University's initial offer was not feasible. He is currently waiting for a new proposal from Penn. In the meantime, Gensler said that within the next couple of days his store will finalize a lease for a location at 21st and Walnut streets. "Unless we get a last-minute, killer offer from Penn, we are basically out of here," Gensler said. According to Lussenhop, the University is still working with Classical Choice to take advantage of the "retail locations in the 40th Street area." Two other music stores have left campus recently. Sam Goody vacated the 3401 Walnut Street building last January, and Discovery Discs left Houston Hall in June 1996. The latter was quickly replaced by CDs to Go. But while the University has made attempts to help Classical Choice relocate, officials have not made any offers to Vibes Music or CDs to Go. Vibes store manager Brooke Whalen-Robinson said she does not know what the future of the store will be, and CDs to Go manager Jason Dengler said the store will likely relocate to Drexel University. Spruce Street Records owners were unavailable for comment last night.