Johnson & Wales students, faculty, sponsors and community members celebrated the reopening of the campus’ dormant centerpiece on Tuesday evening. Champagne and artfully prepared food were both as abundant as you’d expect from an institution where more than half the students pursue culinary studies. The university’s 2000 acquisition of land for its Denver campus included the shuttered building, which was built in 1886 for the Colorado Women’s College. Seventeen million dollars later, the new Centennial Hall will serve as a student union, event center, and classroom building, but also as a reminder of the campus’ history.

(Read more about Johnson & Wales’ $17 million renovation)

Soirée attendees ascend Centennial Hall’s 120-year-old grand staircase, one of the few vestiges of the original building to survive renovation. —Photo by Henry Gargan
Violinist Landon Fenn, seen through a railing of Centennial Hall’s 120-year-old grand staircase, sets the mood for the Centennial Soirée’s celebration of the building’s $17 million renovation and reopening. —Photo by Henry Gargan
Centennial Hall’s dramatic exterior styling is part of the reason Johnson & Wales students call the Denver campus “Hogwarts.” —Photo by Henry Gargan
Reggie, a Johnson & Wales culinary services employee, prepares a lamb chop for guests at the Centennial Soirée. —Photo by Henry Gargan
Johnson & Wales culinary student volunteers linger on stage in the Great Hall after whipping up desserts for the soirée’s guests. —Photo by Henry Gargan