After a year of construction, the new Moosilauke Ravine Lodge will be dedicated Saturday at a ceremony beginning at 10 a.m. The entire Dartmouth community is invited to attend.
The facility replaces the beloved but structurally outdated lodge in the White Mountains that had served students, alumni, and community members for 77 years. Like its predecessor, the new lodge will be the endpoint for Dartmouth Outing Club first-year trips, the site of orientations for the Geisel School of Medicine and the Tuck School of Business, a venue for retreats and weddings, and a base for countless outdoor adventures.
The new lodge, designed by Maclay Architects of Waitsfield, Vt., and built by DEW Construction Corporation, offers more space for dining, gathering, and storage than the old building, and provides a modernized kitchen and outdoor pizza oven for the student-led lodge crew. Its elevator, wide doors, and graded paths make it accessible to all, and it is designed with sustainability and energy efficiency in mind.
The timber-frame construction, built from white pine from the Second College Grant and from Putnam “Put” Blodgett ’53’s Bradford, Vt., woodlot, also includes visible elements of the old building, honoring the history and tradition of the site that has introduced generations of students to Dartmouth.
Lodge crewmember Will Maresco ’19, standing, welcomes students from West House to a recent dinner at the new Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. (Photo by Eli Burakian ’00)Construction began in 2016, thanks to a challenge gift of $5 million from George “Skip” Battle and his children, Daniel Battle ’01 and Emily Battle ’05.
Attendance at the dedication ceremony is free and open to the public, but participants are asked to pre-register. The registration form includes a sign-up for shuttle to the lodge, which leaves at 8:30 a.m. from in front of the Hopkins Center. The return trip will leave from the lodge at 12:15 p.m. Limited parking will also be available.