The Refectory as it looked in 1907, 15 years after opening. Photo credit: Collection of Nancy Rutman

Moravian Moment
Remembering Our Heritage

The Refectory

By Nancy Rutman '84

When the Moravian College and Theological Seminary relocated from East Church Street to the Main Street campus in the 1890s, Comenius Hall and the Refectory were the first two structures built for the use of the institution. Though not commonly heard today, the word refectory was often used in the 19th century, particularly in the UK, to describe a building where university students gathered for communal meals.

The Moravian Refectory’s first floor featured a student dining hall and kitchen. The second floor was devoted to an infirmary, and the rest of the building accommodated the needs of campus staff: a sewing room, storage rooms, a laundry, and housekeeper’s and servants’ quarters. The basement laundry was later converted into a second dining hall.
 

Freshman William D. Gerdsen, Moravian College Class of 1930, snapped this photo
of his classmates hightailing it into the Refectory for a meal in March 1927.
Photo credit: Moravian University Archives

In 1962, dining facilities moved to the new HUB, and the Refectory was repurposed by the Moravian Theological Seminary as classrooms, administrative offices, and dormitory spaces—hence it was known for a time as the Seminary Building. In 1976, when the seminary moved to its new quarters in the Bahnson Center, the old Refectory was given the name it bears today: Zinzendorf Hall. The following year, it became the home of the English department, and it now includes classrooms and the Writing Center.

Students who lived on campus in the 1980s may remember the basement of Zinzendorf Hall as a popular hangout where fraternities and sororities hosted late-night snack parties. By the mid-2010s, this space had fallen into disuse and disrepair, so United Student Government took on the task of updating it. Now called the Doghouse, it is once again a hive of activity, with a new sound system and media system and a stage for performances. From the outside, the old Refectory building looks much the same as it did when completed 131 years ago. But on the inside, it feeds students’ minds rather than their bellies.