Paresky Commons

Last updated
Paresky Commons
Paresky Commons - Phillips Academy Andover - Andover, Massachusetts - DSC05375.jpg
Paresky Commons in 2018
TypeMain Dining Facility
Established1930
Location, ,
01810
,
42°38′49″N71°07′51″W / 42.646881°N 71.130960°W / 42.646881; -71.130960
Website https://phillipsacademy.campusdish.com/

Paresky Commons (colloquially known as "Commons") is Phillips Academy's main dining facility. Designed by architect Charles Platt and constructed by Thompson Starrett, Commons was built in the 1920s Colonial Revival style. [1] Located in Flagstaff Quadrangle (designed by the Olmsted brothers), it is the social hub of Andover. Today, Commons aims to serve healthy food from diverse backgrounds while still accounting for dietary needs and sustainability. [2]

History

Paresky Commons in the 1930s Paresky Commons in the 1930s.jpg
Paresky Commons in the 1930s

In 1928, Thomas Cochran donated $300,000 on the condition that the trustees could raise another $300,000. Once opened, the academy instituted the policy where each grade level would have a special room for themselves. [3] The remnants of this policy still last today as 9th and 10th graders typically sit upstairs ("upper") while 11th and 12th graders sit on the base level ("lower"). [4]

The dining facility has undergone four major renovations in recent history. [3] First, in 1970 a $125,000 renovation separated the dishwashing and food serving, installed of conveyor belts to pick up dirty dishes and cups, and reorganized the serving lines. Then, in 1980 a renovation for a bit under $2 million added a student center and snack bar in the basement. Recently, a 2007 renovation, cost $30 million which renovated bathrooms, updated color schemes, improved air quality, serving areas and lighting. After this renovation, the building was renamed in honor of David Paresky ’56 whose $10 million donation helped to finance to renovation. [5] In 2011, Commons earned LEED Silver certification after installing energy saving technologies. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Andover, Massachusetts</span> Town in Massachusetts, United States

North Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915.

Phillips Academy is a co-educational college-preparatory school for boarding and day students located in Andover, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. The academy enrolls approximately 1,150 students in grades 9 through 12, including postgraduate students. It is part of the Eight Schools Association and the Ten Schools Admissions Organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phillips Exeter Academy</span> School in Exeter, New Hampshire

Phillips Exeter Academy is a coeducational university preparatory private school for boarding and day students in grades 9 through 12, including postgraduate students. Located in Exeter, New Hampshire and founded in 1781, it is one of the oldest secondary schools in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Lutheran University</span> Private university in Parkland, Washington, US

Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congregations of Region I of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. PLU has approximately 2,700 students enrolled. As of 2023, the school employs approximately 238 full-time professors on the 156-acre (63 ha) woodland campus.

Washington-Liberty High School, formerly known as Washington-Lee High School, is a public high school in the Arlington Public Schools district in Arlington, Virginia, covering grades 9–12. Its attendance area serves the central third of Arlington, and it also offers the International Baccalaureate program countywide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State University, Monterey Bay</span> Public university in Monterey County, California, U.S.

California State University, Monterey Bay is a public university in Monterey County, California. CSUMB's main campus is located on the site of the former military base Fort Ord, straddling the cities of Seaside and Marina, about one mile inland from Monterey Bay along the Central Coast of California. CSUMB also has locations in the cities of Monterey and Salinas. Founded in 1994, CSUMB is part of the California State University system and is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The university is a Hispanic-serving institution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross–Ade Stadium</span> American football stadium on the Purdue University campus in W. Lafayette, IN, US

Ross–Ade Stadium is a stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana, on the campus of Purdue University. It is the home field of Purdue Boilermakers football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbot Academy</span> Independent, boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts, United States

Abbot Academy was an independent boarding preparatory school for women boarding and day care for students in grades 9–12 from 1828 to 1973. Located in Andover, Massachusetts, Abbot Academy was notable as one of the first incorporated secondary schools for educating young women in New England. It merged with Phillips Academy in 1973 and campus buildings along School Street continue to be used for the combined school. Some Abbot traditions continue at the combined private boarding school such as Parent's Weekend. Since the 40th anniversary in 2013 of the merger of the two schools, there has been renewed interest in Abbot's history and traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deerfield Academy</span> Independent, boarding and day school in Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States

Deerfield Academy is an independent college-preparatory boarding and day school in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1797, it is one of the oldest secondary schools in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oscar Tang</span> American businessman

Oscar Liu-Chien Tang is a Chinese-born American businessman, financier, investor, and philanthropist. He is best known for being the co-founder of Reich & Tang, an asset management firm. Tang was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2005. Prior to this, he was appointed to the New York State Council on the Arts from 2000 to 2004 and the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities from 1990 to 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hodges Stadium</span> Multi-purpose stadium in Florida, US

Hodges Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium at the University of North Florida (UNF), and the home field for the North Florida Ospreys soccer, track and field, and cross country teams. It is located on the university's campus in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. It is named for George and Kernan Hodges, who donated $2 million to upgrade the facility in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnegie Library of Homestead</span> Public library with a music hall in Munhall, Pennsylvania

The Carnegie Library of Homestead is a public library founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1898.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raynard S. Kington</span> American educator

Raynard S. Kington is an American educator and the 16th Head of School of Phillips Academy in Andover. Previously, he was the 13th president of Grinnell College. He has served as the deputy director and acting director of the National Institutes of Health.

The Eight Schools Association (ESA) is a group of large private college-preparatory boarding schools in the Northeastern United States. It was formally established in 2006, but has existed in some form since the 1973–74 school year. Although several ESA schools no longer publish their endowment figures, in 2016 the ESA contained seven of the ten wealthiest traditional college-preparatory boarding schools in the United States, as measured by total size of endowment. All eight ESA members commit to provide financial aid equivalent to the full demonstrated need of the U.S. citizen students that they admit, as determined by the schools' respective financial aid departments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andover–Exeter rivalry</span> Inter-school rivalry

The Exeter–Andover rivalry is an academic and athletic rivalry between Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter) and Phillips Academy (Andover). It bears many similarities of tradition and practice to the Harvard–Yale rivalry. Exeter traditionally educated its students as a feeder school for Harvard, much as Andover traditionally educated its students for Yale. Today, Phillipians and Exonians continue to matriculate in large numbers to both Harvard and Yale, as well as many other top universities. The athletic rivalry between these two schools began with baseball, and football soon followed the same year. Today the two schools face each other in several sports every fall, winter, and spring trimester.

Gary Lee is an American journalist with a focus on foreign policy, travel writing and environmental issues. He wrote for The Washington Post as well as Time. In 2021, he was named Managing Editor of The Oklahoma Eagle, a weekly newspaper in the Black Wall Street area of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has led the paper to several awards. He speaks five languages including Russian German, French and Spanish, and he was The Washington Post's Moscow bureau chief. He was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for foreign coverage and won the Lowell Thomas Award for travel journalism for his coverage of 9/11. He was elected to the position of charter trustee at Phillips Academy in 2009. In 2007, he left the Washington Post to become a freelance journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Richardson Stadium</span> College football stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

McColl–Richardson Field at Jerry Richardson Stadium is a college football stadium in University City, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States and the home field of the Charlotte 49ers football team representing the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The team became a Football Bowl Subdivision member in 2015 and competes in the American Athletic Conference.

David Paresky is a retired American businessman, who formerly worked in the travel service sector. He is also a well-known philanthropist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campus of the University of Notre Dame</span> Overview

The campus of the University of Notre Dame is located in Notre Dame, Indiana, and spans 1,250 acres comprising around 170 buildings. The campus is consistently ranked and admired as one of the most beautiful university campuses in the United States and around the world, particularly noted for the Golden Dome, the Basilica and its stained glass windows, the quads and the greenery, the Grotto, Touchdown Jesus, its collegiate gothic architecture, and its statues and museums. Notre Dame is a major tourist attraction in northern Indiana; in the 2015–2016 academic year, more than 1.8 million visitors, almost half of whom were from outside of St. Joseph County, visited the campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andover Public Schools (Massachusetts)</span> Massachusetts public school district

The Andover Public Schools district is the public school district for the town of Andover, Massachusetts. Overseeing 10 educational facilities, ranging from pre-kindergarten to the 12th grade, the district is administrated by superintendent Magda Parvey, who reports directly to an elected school committee, consisting of five residents of the town elected for three-year terms.

References

  1. "Paresky Commons". michael boucher landscape architecture. January 2011. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  2. "Health & Wellness". Phillips Academy Campus Dish. 9 February 2022. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  3. 1 2 Roberts, Paige (10 December 2019). "Paresky Commons, 1928-1930, at Phillips Academy". Clio. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  4. Yue, William; Ospina, Laura (28 September 2019). "From The "Beanery" to Paresky Commons: History of Dining at Andover". The Phillipian. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  5. Dean, Julia; Murphy, Liam (6 March 2009). "Commons Renovations Total $30 Million; Building Renamed For David Paresky '56 After $10 Million Donation". The Phillipian. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  6. "Dining Hall Renovation Lands LEED Silver". School Construction News. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2022.