Refectory

Full Name

Refectory

Era
Postwar Expansion (1956)
Centennial Expansion (2015)
Alternative names

Dining Room

Room Code

008

The Refectory, or Dining Room, where brothers take their meals, sits on the lower level directly below the ELC. It has ample room to accommodate the growing chapter, and is also used as overflow space for the adjacent Rathskeller.

From the very beginning, brothers of Cornell Lambda Chi have taken meals together, and it remains a central part of the fraternity experience, whether enjoying a hearty Sunday brunch, or a relaxing dinner after a long day, or an elegant banquet prepared by our in-house chef. Outside of mealtimes, coffee and refreshments are available in the adjacent pantry.

History

The earliest dining room in the house was in what is now the Chapter Room, purpose-built as an addition in 1916. A narrow staircase and dumbwaiter connected it with the kitchen below. This inefficient setup was unsuitable to the faster-paced postwar student lifestyle, and in the 1956 renovation, a large dining room was built in the current location, with large plate glass windows to look out towards the Gorge and a modernized kitchen better equipped to feed a larger chapter. During preliminary work on the 2015 renovation, asbestos was discovered, and the entire 1956 structure was demolished and removed. The new dining room is almost identical to the old one in dimensions, but enjoys more windows and easier access to the back patio and gazebo, as well as to the new ground floor accessible suite.