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Mark Zurolo ’01MFA

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After 123 years of serving both nightly guests and a number of long-term tenants, Chapel Street’s Hotel Duncan closed in December for renovations. In 2019, it will reopen as the latest location for Graduate Hotels, a small chain of boutique hotels specializing in college-town locations. Alums may remember the Duncan best for its basement tenants: the Old Heidelberg restaurant occupied the space from 1959 to 1991, followed by the Thai restaurants Cha-Da Thai and Thai Taste, which left much of the Old Heidelberg’s tavern-like décor intact. Tim Franzen, president of Graduate Hotels, says plans for the new basement restaurant include “the preservation and restoration of numerous elements of the original design.” The Duncan’s manually operated elevator, said to be the oldest in the state, will also be preserved.