Photo by Emily Ma ’25/The Choate News
Hall and West Wing’s conjoined common room after being renovated
Photo by Emily Ma ’25/The Choate News
The Andrew Mellon Library’s Reading Room receives a makeover
By Ethan Zhang ’26, Copy Editor
Over the summer, the Facilities Department renovated some of Choate’s academic and living spaces, including the addition of fridges in the Lanphier Cafe, a revamp of the Andrew Mellon Library Reading Room, and the conjoining of dorms Hall and West Wing.
The Facilities Department was responsible for getting work bids from contractors and overseeing their work over the summer. They also assigned project managers to each renovation.
Multiple significant changes were made to the Library’s Reading Room. “It was fully painted — the ceiling, walls, everything. The most notable renovation is that the bookcases were moved to accommodate new tables,” Director of the Andrew Mellon Library Dr. Sherry Marrotte Newman said. Along with increasing the Reading Room’s capacity from 100 to 200 students, they added new furniture, moved the piano to the Paul Mellon Arts Center and the grandfather clock to the Inn at Choate Rosemary Hall, and added privacy walls at the ends of each table. According to Dr. Newman, the renovation aimed to “improve the academic learning space and accommodate a larger percentage [of the student body].”
Across the quad from the Library, Hall and West Wing, previously two separate dorms, were combined into one connected housing space. The two dorms’ common rooms have been joined into one, and the stairwell was renovated to accommodate the new, larger common area. A kitchenette and laundry machines were also added to the common room.
Chief Financial Officer Mr. Patrick Durbin believes that Hall and West Wing have needed renovations for a long time. “Hall and West Wing had two staircases right next to each other, and they were redundant. That was based on a renovation decades ago,” he said. “[Our goal] is to make the spaces we have stay in excellent quality.”
Down the hill, the Lanphier Cafe added two larger coolers, one used to sell food and the other to sell drinks for students on the go, which were branded with Lanphier Cafe logos. They also replaced the old bakery case with a new, smaller pastry holder and painted a large “Lanphier Cafe” design on the wall behind the register.
The goal of the Lanphier Cafe renovation was to meet the needs of a busy Choate student. Chief Communications Officer Mrs. Alison Cady said, “Now that [the cafe] is so popular, the staff wants to make sure the flow-through is as smooth as possible, so students can get in and out as quickly as possible.”
From the upgraded Reading Room to the refreshed Lanphier Cafe, many renovations were made to Choate over the summer. These renovations were necessary to accommodate the student body. As Mr. Durbin said, the Facilities Department and Choate are constantly guided by one question: “How can we best serve our students’ needs?”
