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Hickey Dining Hall (1930)
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Merton Tour Stop # 4
Thomas Merton would often eat here at the Hickey Dining Hall with the entire Bonaventure community. The rear extension of the building was a convent for the Franciscan sisters who ran the food service at the time. When Merton took his long walks through the Allegany River Valley and the hills surrounding it, he would start at the Hickey where the sisters would give him a bag lunch. The sisters must have thought there was an entourage of walkers because they always gave him enough food for half a dozen.
Alexander Hickey Memorial Dining Hall was begun on October 23, 1930 on the site of the original monastery. It was named in honor of the 10th president of the college, Rev. Alexander Hickey, O.F.M., who had presided over the school from 1916-1920.
The building was first used by students on the morning of February 4, 1931 and has served breakfast and a host of other meals to students ever since. The building originally provided housing for the Sisters who did the cooking. The two floors where they lived were on the top of the rear extension of the building and were removed in 1976.
Reference:
Angelo, Mark. The History of St. Bonaventure University. Franciscan
Institute: St. Bonaventure, 1961.
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site for more information about Hickey Dining Hall.
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For more information about this building, visit
the St. Bonaventure University Archives in Friedsam Library.
Last updated:
11/03/06
