University of Virginia Library

Is Mama Newc's Beer Palace So Much Froth?

BY CONRAD GAARDER

What ever happened to the
Rathskeller, the Newcomb Hall
pub that, as some may
remember, was in the planning
stage almost three years ago?

At this point, no one
connected with the project
seems to know what has
happened to it, except that it's
Just now come off the
designers' drawing board. And
it may never get any further at
the rate it's going, at least in
our lifetimes.

It was originally planned as
a sort of "psychedelicatessen",
a place where students could
get together, have a beer and a
bratwurst, talk, and listen to
stereo and live music, all in a
flexible setting of "cubicles,"
hanging partitions, light and
sound equipment, and
wall-to-wall carpeting.

Three years have worn off
the appeal of things
"psychedelic," but the original
concept of the pub as a
flexible, functional place for
seeing and doing things
remains.

The Rathskeller, which will
be built in Newcomb Hall's
basement gameroom, is
purportedly first on the
priority list in a program for
the renovation of the student
union building. However, taken
in a University-wide context,
Newcomb Hall itself is on no
one's priority list. Hence, three
years have passed and the
project has been left to drift at
its own speed.

Financing of the
Rathskeller has not been a
problem. Non-educational
University facilities such as
dormitories, student union
buildings, and dining halls are
not funded by the state. Thus,
their construction, or in the
case of Newcomb Hall, its
renovation, must be financed
by issuing bonds that are
guaranteed by income derived
from additional student fees.

Accordingly, in the summer of
1971, the Board of Visitors
approved a $5 annual increase
in each   student's
Comprehensive Fee to finance
a loan of approximately
$257,000 for Newcomb Hall
renovation. What the exact
price of the Rathskeller itself
will be is not known, although
Kip Thompson, a University
Union representative on the
Rathskeller Committee,
estimates it will cost $140,000.

Money No Object

Money being no object,
since students are to pay the
bill, why, then, don't they just
build it?

One of the explanations
advanced by members of the
Rathskeller Committee is that
the appeal the project holds for
architectural and construction
firms, already minimal due to
the small size of the job, has
been lessened by the fact that
the work will involve designing
and building the pub around an
existing structure. "It's the
kind of job they hate to do,"
said former Rathskeller
Committee Chairman,
Professor of Speech and Drama
David W. Weiss.

When work finally does
begin on the Rathskeller, the
difficulties will lie not in the
cost, according to Newcomb
Hall Director John A. Herring,
but in the fact that the project
will not involve construction so
much as renovation, In his
words, "Renovations are
gruesome."

Installation of water
facilities and air conditioning
are among the problems that
will be encountered, and as a
consequence, the game room,
dark room, and woodwork
shop might be forced to close
as work proceeds.

The Richmond
architectural firm of Rollins,
Wilson, and Fraher has been
contracted to do the planning
of the project, following
guidelines and ideas developed
by University students and Mr.
Weiss. The final drawings,
which were to have been
received by February 1, have
now been completed.

Dean of Students and
Rathskeller Committee
Chairman Robert T. Canevari
said that he's "shooting for
September for the opening of
the pub. A great deal depends
on whether the Department of
Buildings and Grounds will be
able to fit the work into its
schedule before next fall.

When contacted, Director
of Buildings and Grounds H.I.
Taylor stated that from March
15 to April 1, Buildings and
Grounds' schedule will be
filled, leaving only April and
May for work on the
Rathskeller. "From June 1 on
we'll be running mad getting
classrooms and offices ready
for the next year," he said.

Asked if he felt the
prospects would be good for
the completion of the pub by
September were Buildings and
Grounds to take on the
project, Mr. Taylor replied
"My guess at this point would
be no."

If Buildings and Grounds
does not take the Rathskeller
project, bids will be accepted
from private contractors,
which according to Mssrs.
Canevari and Herring will result
in a further delay of the job.

According to Mr. Taylor, a
substantial increase in the
price might also result.

While he said he remained
"optimistic," Mr. Herring
could not say that the
Rathskeller would be open in
the fall of 1973. When asked if
he thought construction would
begin this semester, he said
"Whether we'll (Buildings and
Grounds) do it or an outside
contractor will I don't know
yet, but I'd be one surprised
person if construction starts by
April 1."

Popular Hotspot?

Nor was Mr. Herring at all
sure that, once completed, the
Rathskeller would be the
popular hotspot that its
proponents three years ago
intended it to be. Attributing
this to the fickleness of
student's tastes, he recalled that
while the bowling lanes which
originally occupied the game
room were very popular in the
early sixties, students had
stopped patronizing them by
the end of the decade, If this
becomes the case with the
Rathskeller, it could turn out
to be in Mr. Herring's words, a
"$100,000 boo-boo".

However, he agreed that the
need for people to get
together, relax, and talk,
couldn't be tossed off as a
passing fancy. Hopefully, the
Rathskeller would do what
Newcomb Hall has failed to do;
that is, provide a place where
students might actually want
to spend a few hours.

This is the fourth semester
that money from students'
Comprehensive Fee has been
collected for this project.
According to Vice President
for Student Affairs D. Alan
Williams, the extra fee will
either be dropped when the
Rathskeller is paid for, or it
will be continued in order to
finance other Improvements in
Newcomb Hall, such as
constructing an outdoor patio
and fountain adjoining the
Grill.

Why has it taken so long for

this project to materialize?
"Nobody with any power has
been pushing it," answered
University Union's Richard
Kruger. Mr. Herring, Mr.
Canevari, and other members
of the Rathskeller Committee
attribute the delay to other
priorities, and the
slow-working "system" in
general. Perhaps a lack of
planning and organization
would be a better explanation.

When will it be built? There
seem to be as many answers to
this question as there are
members of the Committee.
However, everyone was in
agreement in their
bewilderment at the
astonishing way in which
months turn into years.

"We made our initial
mistake in not involving the
architects earlier," explained
Mr. Canevari. He added that he
hoped the Rathskeller would
be the answer to the decaying
state of Newcomb Hall.

When, or if, indeed, it is
completed, perhaps it will give
students what they can't find
anywhere else on the Grounds
today; a centrally located place
in which to gather.