“We are
very excited by this project
because it unites past and present,” said Dr. Judith Rodin CW’66, president
of the University. She was speaking at the September grand opening of
the Perelman Quadrangle, a project that was many years in planning and
quite a few semesters in execution—but, in her words, “incredibly worth
the wait.”
Designed
by Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, Perelman Quadrangle unites Irvine
Auditorium with College, Houston, Logan and Williams Halls, all of which
have undergone extensive renovations. It is named after Ronald O. Perelman
W’64 WG’66, who donated $20 million to the overall project.
The occasion
was marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony officially unveiling Wynn Commons,
the Perelman Quadrangle’s centerpiece, which provides a new landscaped
plaza area behind Houston Hall where students can congregate. The construction
of Wynn Commons was made possible mainly through the $7.5 million gift
of Stephen Wynn C’63.
Rodin noted Wynn’s
role, as former chair of Mirage Resorts, in transforming Las Vegas, and
predicted that Wynn Commons would also have a role in helping to transform
Penn and Philadelphia.
“One of the great
things about Wynn Commons is the adaptability for different uses,” she
said. “It will be an outdoor hub for concerts, ceremonies, debates, celebrations
and spontaneous fun.”
Other speakers
repeatedly emphasized the role of this new geographical center for student
life on campus, where Wynn Commons would be “town square” to the Perelman
Quadrangle’s “main street.” As Provost Robert Barchi Gr’72 M’72 GM’73
put it: “In the years to come, the words that will be on everybody’s lips
will be ‘Meet me at Wynn Commons.’”
Some observers,
however, have expressed disappointment in features such as the heroic-sized
shield of the University that stands at the Irvine Auditorium end of the
Commons, and the large permanent signs detailing University “firsts.”
(See “Letters,” on page 6.)
In Barchi’s opinion,
the Commons is “really an extraordinary enhancement for a campus that’s
already known as one of the urban wonders in academic education.” And,
he added, “It was truly gratifying to look out here and see for the first
time students occupying these marble stairs, sitting down for a little
sun, a little conversation, a little quiet time.”
The official
opening of Perelman Quadrangle coincided with the annual “No Place Like
Penn” weekend, an early-semester series of campus festivities; this year,
for the first time, all events were held in the new facilities. Students
were treated to a special Penn version of the ABC late-night television
program Politically Incorrect at Irvine Auditorium as well as a
Saturday-night concert by the band Guster on Wynn Commons. And an exhibition
titled “Houston Hall—See the History,” at the Bob and Penny Fox Student
Art Gallery in Logan Hall, offered images from the days when the nation’s
oldest student union was an upper-class men’s club, complete with smoking
rooms and even a swimming pool.
Wynn recalled
his own days as a Penn undergraduate when Houston Hall and its terrace
served as the center of University activity. “Now that I’m back again,”
he said, “I see that all the kids here now, and the ones that will be
coming, are going to have a better place than ever before.”
—Kevin Lee C’01
