After many years of downtown construction, Renfrow Hall is now in business.
“Renfrow Hall was a shell of itself at this point last year, and so I’m excited to welcome you all back,” Sarah Smith told the Chamber Ambassadors, who visited the space last November.
But today, the landscape has changed — Renfrow Hall now houses 109 Grinnell College students and is dedicated to Grinnell College’s first Black woman graduate and oldest living alum, Ms. Edith Renfrow Smith, class of GHS ‘32 and GC ‘37.
In honoring Ms. Renfrow Smith and her connections to both the College and her hometown, the idea behind Renfrow Hall’s Katherine Howell Weingart ‘61 Civic Innovation Pavilion on 1033 Broad St. was born.
“We always had big ideas and plans for the space,” shared Smith, the director of community and government relations at the Grinnell College Community Connections office. “Especially to create a space that creates connections between the town and campus community.” She notes that the students who apply to live in Renfrow are eager to lean into connections with the larger Grinnell community.
“Third- and fourth-years working in our office would always tell me how great it is to finally be off campus. I didn't realize that some students spend all four years just on campus — that was wild to me,” recounts Smith.
So began the mission to start moving Grinnell College students to explore downtown. Smith says she started by “shaking up” the New Student Orientation programming with activities to do downtown. Plus, it didn’t hurt that the Civic Innovation Pavilion in Renfrow Hall encouraged students to spend time downtown.
“Feedback we got from both students and community members was that they wanted a green space here to enjoy, a.k.a. bringing Central Park to Renfrow,” says Smith. Students often game on the large televisions, watch movies, or enjoy lounging. “Sometimes we see students peering into the big windows to see what is happening,” laughs Donnette Ellis, Grinnell College’s community relations and grant coordinator. “We recently held a CPR training class with videos, and all we could see was students peering in.”
The Pavilion is already home to community and campus programming, which includes their Coffee with the College series. “Coffee with the College is so cool,” says Smith. “There was one faculty member who mentioned doing open heart surgery on a fish, and I turned to Donnette wide-eyed and was like ‘Whaat?’ And two weeks ago, we enjoyed a live music performance — you never know what you might hear or learn!”
On December 5 and 6, the Pavillion will also be home to the Grinnell Chamber’s Winter Farmers Market! “In their applications to live here, students were eager to form connections with local farmers and farmers markets, so we are thrilled to hold the event in this space!!” says Rachael Kinnick, the Chamber’s CEO and President. One Grinnell College student will also return to sell her jewelry and pottery products at Market, so stop by to support her and her fellow local entrepreneurs!
Outside of big events and programming, Smith and Ellis say that the space is open during holiday breaks and between 8 AM-7 PM for anyone wanting to enjoy a quick lunch or coffee. Eventually, they hope to install a monitor with the Pavilion’s daily schedule.
If you’re interested in reserving the space, contact Donnette Ellis at ellisdon@grinnell.edu or 641-269-3900 to inquire about fees and open dates. Outside catering is permitted with the submission of food safety licenses. The space includes a projector to present slides and has a flexible space to seat 36 individuals (or 75 if you’d like to remove the tables!). If you haven’t visited the space just yet, join the College for their final Coffee with the College of the semester on December 12. The topic will be a fun one: converting a small section of your yard to tallgrass prairie with Emily Klein!
Chamber Ambassadors from left to right:
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