Preserving Memories of The Hut
Santa Clara University Arranges to Purchase Assets to Preserve Memories of Famed Watering Hole
SANTA CLARA, Calif., November 3, 2016 — Santa Clara University has arranged to purchase some of the assets of The Hut after learning that the owner of the fabled campus watering hole had decided not to renew his lease and would be shutting down at the end of December.
“The Hut is an institution at Santa Clara that serves as a link between Broncos past and present,” said Jim Lyons, Vice President for University Relations. “We were deeply disappointed to learn of its closing but thought that one way to preserve the institution and all it represents would be to purchase some of the memorabilia that makes the bar so unique.”
The owner of the Hut decided not to renew his lease. Rather than allow memories of the bar to fade with time, the university has arranged to purchase the trade name of The Hut, the wooden bar, and other noteworthy items. The university will look for opportunities to use these items at future events with students and alumni, either on-campus or elsewhere.
“Word that The Hut would be closing has been devastating to some of the alumni and university community,” said Lyons. “We realize that we won’t be able to recreate the experience completely, but we at least wanted to hold onto as many assets as we could so that everyone could relive those memories at future events.”
The Hut, which first opened in the 1940s, has been a gathering place for generations of Broncos. Undergraduates have a tradition of filling the bar to capacity on Tuesday nights. The walls and ceiling of the bar are filled with dollar bills. A longstanding Santa Clara tradition called for seniors to write their name on a bill with a Sharpie and then pin it to the wall or ceiling. In ensuing years, they return to add their business card to the same place as their dollar.
“From Dads and Grads to Grand Reunion, The Hut is a tradition like no other at Santa Clara and it’s sad to see it go,” said Lyons. “It is part of the Santa Clara experience. By preserving some of the assets we hope to keep part of that tradition alive as long as possible.”
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, theology, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
Media Contact
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