Gold-domed Tompkins Hall, one of the grandest buildings on campus, served as the school's dining and social center. Booker T. Washington recalled young women seating first, then young men marching in, with no conversation allowed until a simple grace was chanted by a chorus of a thousand voices. Since 1910 students gathered there for concerts, dances, and meetings of clubs and other organizations. During World War II, the facility housed a recreation room and entertainment area for enlisted men, including the famed Tuskegee Airmen. In the 1960s, Tompkins Hall became a focal point for student civil rights activities. Early students also learned about nutrition and etiquette in the dining hall.