The Blue Wall is a former dive bar and current food court at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Opening inside the Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center in the 1970s, the bar made upwards of $600,000 in the late 1970s (over $2,300,000 in 2013 dollars), and went through 1,800 kegs a year. This made it one of the largest beer-consuming establishments in the Northeastern United States. Following the raising of the drinking age to 21 in the United States, the bar experienced a decline in sales, before finally going dry in the 1980s.[1] In the early 2000s, alcohol was again served,[2] although it proved to be unprofitable.
In 2014, the dining facility underwent an almost year-long nineteen million dollar renovation, which saw it connect to a nearby restaurant and increase seating capacity by thirty percent. The new combined area totals 42,000 square feet and has space for 900 customers.[3] The campus center also includes several other food and drink options, including the UPub (bar for 21+), the grab and go Marketplace, and People's Organic Coffee.[4]
References
edit- ^ Pritchard, Marietta (Summer 1998). "The U and the Blue Wall". UMass Magazine. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ^ Bucholz, Sarah (28 March 2003). "Alcoholic beverages return to Blue Wall". The Campus Chronicle. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ^ Reidy, Chris (10 September 2014). "$19m renovation of a UMass Amherst dining hall is completed, building authority says". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
- ^ "UMass Amherst Opens Renovated 'Blue Wall' Campus Center Dining Facility". News & Media Relations. 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
External links
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