The Blue Wall is a former dive bar and current food court at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Opening inside the Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center in the 1970s, the bar made upwards of $600,000 in the late 1970s (over $2,300,000 in 2013 dollars), and went through 1,800 kegs a year. This made it one of the largest beer-consuming establishments in the Northeastern United States. Following the raising of the drinking age to 21 in the United States, the bar experienced a decline in sales, before finally going dry in the 1980s.[1] In the early 2000s, alcohol was again served,[2] although it proved to be unprofitable.
In 2014, the dining facility underwent an almost year-long nineteen million dollar renovation, which saw it connect to a nearby restaurant and increase seating capacity by thirty percent. The new combined area totals 42,000 square feet and has space for 900 customers.[3] The campus center also includes several other food and drink options, including the UPub (bar for 21+), the grab and go Marketplace, and People's Organic Coffee.[4]
