The South's Most Stunning Dining Hall, as proclaimed by generations of Jackets and confirmed in 2017 by Southern Living magazine's list of the most stunning dining halls in the South. At times compared to Hogwarts, Brittain has a magical way of transporting alumni back to Tech.
Brittain Dining Hall was constructed in 1928 and named after Tech’s fourth president, Marion Brittain. The building’s architect, Harold Bush-Brown, was the head of architecture at Georgia Tech at the time where he followed the Beaux Arts school of thought that architecture could embody art and life’s values.
Robert Craig, professor emeritus of Tech’s School of Architecture and author of Georgia Tech: Campus Architecture (2021), explains that those of the Beaux Arts school believed students could absorb these values through a well-constructed building. Architects like Bush-Brown held fast to two ideas, Craig says.
“The first is that architecture is art, which seeks beauty and adornment. The second is the idea of ‘caractère’, or the spiritual values and emotional and evocative elements of a space. This has more to do with the heart than the brain.”
Why is Brittain such an edifice of nostalgia for Yellow Jackets? One argument, suggests Craig, is that architecture that’s focused on spiritual values rather than only the bricks and mortar can create a higher level of engagement with the building. The effect is similar to how theatre-goers experience empathy for actors on the stage.
“It’s empathy when you experience the building on site and it’s nostalgia when you think about it after you’ve left,” Craig says.
Brittain is adorned with sculptures, tapestries, and stained glass—all of which were made by Tech departments, and which pay homage to Georgia Tech. In this way, Brittain is an example of “didactic architecture,” in that it teaches students in the same way that cathedrals taught Bible studies, says Robert Craig, professor emeritus of the School of Architecture.
Brittain’s layout is based on a country house tradition in England, in which the whole community can gather under a great hall. “When you walk into Brittain, you go under the tower, and you walk through a screens passage and turn either right or left into the great hall. That’s right out of the English tradition,” Craig says.
Above the main floor sits a balcony that is plainly visible. A concealed private dining room and apartment used to be occupied by the hall’s supervisor, Daisy Daniels.
Several Georgia Tech departments contributed to Brittain. The Ceramics Department manufactured the floor tiles, the Textile Department made the wall tapestries, and the Mechanical Engineering Department created the wrought-iron light fixtures. Fundraising for Brittain’s construction came from the Greater Georgia Tech Campaign and the Athletic Association.
A student, Julian Hoke Harris, Arch 28, designed Brittain’s intricate stained-glass windows, a memorial to the class of 1928. Craig says, “When you look carefully at that window, you’ll see figures that represent the fields of study here. Mechanical engineering, architecture, electrical engineering and so on. They’re holding different symbols just like the figures in the gospels did on a medieval church.”
These symbols are another example of didactic architecture at work, Craig says. Visitors learn about the Institute through Brittain’s artwork.
Harris continued the Tech motif outside the dining hall as well. After graduating, he returned to Tech as a practicing sculptor to create the 10 corbel stone faces on Brittain’s outer arcade.
Each face includes the name of an academic discipline and a historical figure that represents that field of study.
From left to right on the building, the stone faces are:
In 2026, Brittain Dining Hall reopened following the most extensive renovation the dining hall has undergone since it was built in 1928.
While the grand dining area received mostly cosmetic upgrades and additional seating, the back kitchen and food serving areas received a near-gut renovation.
The servery was torn out and rebuilt with a new layout, more energy-efficient digital signage, and new serving equipment. The previous large black sheet behind the POS and entry area was removed and replaced with finished walls. Before this renovation, a new roof was installed in 2020.
The new serving area features a large hibachi-style grill for made-to-order items and additional action stations where cooks will prepare food in front of students. Brittain’s salad bar was maintained and enhanced to include healthy protein options.
“North Avenue Dining is just across the street, so we want to differentiate these two dining halls. We’ve tried to focus Brittain more on healthier options,” says Ryan Greene, executive director of Georgia Tech’s Dining and Retail. The dining hall is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday.
With Brittain back online, Tech now has three dining halls. Over the past two years, Tech Dining has expanded its retail dining options, giving students greater variety and more ways to use their meal plans—including at participating restaurants in Tech Square.
Originally designed as a great hall for gatherings, Brittain Dining Hall is a special place for generations of Yellow Jackets. From 2021 to when it closed for repairs, Brittain served 1,221,898 meals.
Nestled above Brittain Dining Hall is an abandoned 1930s apartment with stained-glass windows on three sides. The space was home to Daisy Daniel, supervisor of Brittain Dining Hall, who arrived in 1936.
Daniel, a member of the American Dietetic Association, had a Bachelor of Science degree from the Georgia State College for Women and master’s degree in Institution Management from the University of Chicago. Her apartment was used for storage for many years after her departure. Today, a rusting spiral staircase above her apartment leads to the dining hall’s roof.
Whether you went to Brittain for a quick meal (the burritos were a hit) or to enjoy the company of classmates, everyone who has stepped through the arched doorway can appreciate the dining hall’s grandeur.
Got to love Hogwarts. I learned to cook pasta dishes by watching the chefs at the fry station each day and remember if you brought in fresh fruit the pancake guy would throw them in your pancakes.
First semester freshman year, I ate almost exclusively at Brittain Hall. Loved the food, particularly the Southern dishes. It was where this Yankee learned to love grits, hominy, greens, corn bread, and chicken livers.
I will never forget Ms. Sheena behind the counter wrapping burritos and always checking on how our days are going.