Peegs.com & Inside Indiana

November 23, 2009

Ken Bikoff
Peegs.com & Inside Indiana Editor

The Hoosier sports tradition is one of the proudest in the collegiate ranks, and what happens on the field has created memories, joy and sadness for the Indiana faithful over more than a century of action. What happens on the field of play has been great, but the surroundings in which those games are played are as much a part of the experience. Every other week through the 2009-10 school year, we will present a history of the athletic facilities at IU. In the fourth of our 12-part series, we take a look at the history of the Men's Gymnasium.

Click here to see the original layout as it ran in Inside Indiana!

Let's start with the moral of the story you're about to read. If you take anything away from the history of the Men's Gymnasium that currently stands on the IU campus, it should be this:

Nothing new ever happens these days.

Oh, it might seem like the arguments and scheming of modern times are cutting edge, but in reality, just about everything that happens in the sports world today has a long and sometimes not-so-proud history. For instance, a few years back some Chicago White Sox fans ran out of the stands during a game and proceeded to beat the first base coach for the Kansas City Royals to the ground, prompting commentators to rage that fan behavior had never been worse. Those commentators, however, either forgot (or, more likely, didn't know) that in years past, players were regularly hit when chasing after foul balls, and college football great Harold "Red" Grange used to have to deal with getting hit by beer bottles when he was forced out-of-bounds on the road.

Even the more peaceful aspects of college sports, such as recruiting - an area that has had its share of anger and violence in the past - have their roots in those long-ago days of yesteryear, and most of the stories that fans debate now are simply repackaged forms of things that have happened in the past. For instance, Indiana is currently building a practice facility outside Assembly Hall in an effort to catch up with opposing schools in the facilities war, something that is expected to give the Hoosiers a boost in recruiting.

It's quite possible the new practice facility will do just that. But the simple fact is the addition of the practice facility - and the North End Zone complex at Memorial Stadium, for that matter - is simply a retelling of an old story at IU. And to get to the first instance of Indiana playing a game of "Keep up with the Jones', " we have to go back to the days before World War I when Bloomington was a small town on the map with a university that boasted a growing reputation.

*****

The early 1900s were an exciting time for Indiana University. Ever since the decision to move the campus from Seminary Square (near the current intersection of Second Street and College Ave.) to its location in Dunn Woods, the university had been expanding rapidly. Enrollment was growing each year, and the University was branching out into new and exciting territory.

Under President Joseph Swain's watch, the IU athletics program had gotten started with the Old Men's Gymnasium being built in 1892 before giving way to the new Men's Gymnasium in 1896. Swain also was in office when the land that would become Jordan Field was purchased, and he played baseball in friendly games on the field before heading off to Swarthmore.

Click here to see a photo gallery of the Men's Gymnasium from yesterday and today!

It was into this environment that President William Lowe Bryan strode and considering that he was IU's vice president during Swain's reign, he was the natural fit to take over upon Swain's departure. The fact Bryan was intimately involved with the expansion of IU sports allowed him to fully understand where Hoosier athletics had come from, and he continued to promote athletics during the early years of his presidency. IU's baseball and football teams were a solid draw, and the Hoosier basketball squad did the best they could with the Men's Gymnasium that would later become known as Assembly Hall (to avoid confusion, let's just agree to call this building Assembly Hall from now on, despite the fact it wouldn't actually be given that name until 1917. Deal? Deal.).

The facilities were serviceable, but that doesn't mean they were impressive. For all its charm, Assembly Hall wasn't exactly built with basketball in mind. That's not surprising considering "basket ball," as it was called at the time, had only been invented five years before the construction of Assembly Hall. Despite that fact, Assembly Hall still hosted the first Indiana high school state basketball tournament and would continue to do so a number of times over the years.

IU students, however, weren't exactly thrilled with the conditions at Assembly Hall, and they weren't shy about complaining to the faculty about the state of athletics in Bloomington. Issues with Assembly Hall had been bubbling under the surface during the first decade of the 20th century, and by early 1914, the students were riled up to do something about it.

IU suffered a 19-11 home loss to Earlham Jan. 24, 1914, to open the season 0-4. On the heels of a 1912-13 campaign that saw the Hoosiers go 5-11 overall and 0-10 in the Big Nine (the precursor to the Big Ten) play, the students decided one of the reasons for the team's struggles was a lack of proper facilities. The day after the loss to Earlham, a meeting of 15 students and prominent alumni was held, and five temporary committees were appointed to get the ball rolling toward a new facility. A mass meeting was called Jan. 28 to involve more students, and prominent faculty members and some alumni from Indianapolis were asked to speak.

George M. Cook, the president of the Indianapolis alumni association, was the main speaker, but Judge Charles Hepburn of the Law School was on hand to speak as was student voicebox Albert Stump, who appears time and again throughout the early history of IU athletic facilities. Two petitions were drawn up - one for the students and one for the alumni - to be circulated. The student version centered on the idea that a gymnasium could help the men and women currently on campus develop their bodies as well as their minds. They laid out five reasons for a new gym in their petition.

"We, the undersigned, students in Indiana University herein petition the trustees of said university that the next building built from the funds derived from the tax for the use of the University be a Men's Gymnasium.

First, because the present gymnasium is totally inadequate for the present and future needs of the students of the university.

Second, because the gymnasium now in use is unsanitary, which condition has not nor cannot be improved by ordinary methods of sanitation.

Third, because we believe that Indiana University is handicapped under the existing conditions in its attempts to meet the physical needs and requirements of the students.

Fourth, because we believe that the physical needs of the men of Indiana must be fully met as must the mental needs if Indiana is to class itself under the head of 'university.'

Fifth, because at the present time Indiana University is far behind the state universities in the middle west in the matter of gymnasium and physical training equipment."

The alumni, meanwhile, took a different, broader approach that focused not only on how a new gymnasium could help develop students but - and this is key - could help IU keep up with other institutions in terms of recruiting.

"To the Board of Trustees of Indiana University:

We, the undersigned, alumni of Indiana University, respectfully petition that you use the first available funds for the construction of a new gymnasium.

We feel that a new and adequate gymnasium is Indiana's first and most pressing need. Our reasons for this conviction are:

1. That the present gymnasium is altogether inadequate to meet the need of general physical training for the men of the University.

2. That Indiana University is not on a parity with other Universities of the conference in facilities for physical training and athletics; that with the present physical equipment, instead of our attracting men to our institution, they are going to schools better equipped.

3. That the continued inferiority of Indiana's athletic teams is in a large measure attributable to present conditions, which render year-round physical training and development impossible.

4. That the present structure cannot be altered to afford satisfactory accommodations, and that any attempt at alteration would be unsatisfactory and unprofitable.

This, in brief, is our reason for petitioning you to vote for 'A NEW GYNMASIUM FIRST FOR A GREATER INDIANA.' "

Point No. 2, of course, is no different than the decision to build a new practice facility outside the current Assembly Hall and construct the North End Zone facility at Memorial Stadium. Both of those buildings were designed to help recruiting and, to a certain extent, point No. 2 makes the same argument for a new gym.

Anyway, the student petition was placed on file at the front desk of the library, where it was signed by more than 500 students. The alumni petition, meanwhile, was circulated to alumni associations both in and out of state. Letters poured in from alumni wishing the students success in their efforts, and members of the Board of Trustees were deluged with their own letters supporting the construction of a new gymnasium.

The chairman of the Central Committee, which was made up of the chairmen of the five committees that had been formed Jan. 25, was Jack Horner, who seems to have been on the alumni side of things. Horner admitted in the March 17, 1914 edition of the Indiana Daily Student that the Central Committee wasn't looking to blow the Board of Trustees away with facts. Instead, it was looking to appeal to their emotions without angering anyone.

"The six or eight men who will appear before the Trustees next Tuesday will have no statistics prepared," Horner told the IDS. "We have collected no statistics regarding the gymnasium, feeling that the need of a new one is sufficiently evident without that. The committee all during the movement for a new gymnasium has tended to refrain from using any methods or material which would be antagonistic to those who oppose the proposition. We have had the opportunity to bring forces to bear which would have been more strenuous in results but have refrained because the committee has not met with sufficiently open opposition to warrant such."

Horner cited the reactions of the players at the recently completed IHSAA State Basketball Tournament as proof that something had to be done.

"High school students who were here attending the basketball tournament asked such questions as, 'Isn't this a temporary place that you are using for the tournament?' " Horner complained to the IDS. "They seemed to turn their noses at the sight of the structure. They are the young people from whom the coming students of Indiana University will be drawn, and if the trustees vote to appropriate funds for a new gymnasium Indiana will stand a much better chance of getting more and better students from these high schools."

Horner and his committee went in front of the Board of Trustees March 24, and the Board seemed intrigued if non-committal. One trustee, Judge Joseph Hooker Shea, put forward a motion to order President Bryan to investigate the plans and cost of constructing a new gymnasium. The motion passed, but the trustees made no promises to the students or alumni. All they would commit to was to discuss the matter again at their next meeting in June when the annual budget would be discussed. It was reported in the IDS in April, however, that the president of the Board of Trustees, Senator Benjamin Shively, did say that the construction of a new gymnasium in the next two years "was not at all an improbability."

Not everyone, however, was excited about the idea. Trustee Theodore Rose questioned how the Central Committee could ask for as much as $100,000 to build a gymnasium when "people all over the state were hollering for vocational education." Despite Rose' reticence, the trustees still seemed in favor of building a new gym in the near future.

*****

June came and went without any news of a new gymnasium, but the students were patient. Finally, during a Board meeting Dec. 2 - it was actually the same day the Collegiate Basketball Rules Committee defined charging and blocking fouls - the gym came one step closer to reality.

In a "Statement of Needs" presented to the Governor and Legislative visiting committee, the Board - oddly on the motion of the aforementioned Rose - included the need of a "gymnasium or Physical Culture addition to the Student Building" among its requirements for the future. The Board was rather blunt in its assessment of the physical state of the student body.

"It is needed by all the men of the university; not only those who take part in athletics, but still more by the hundreds and thousands who do not take part in athletics," the Board said. "Our University physician finds that very many of the entering freshmen are distinctly defective in their physical development. He has prescribed corrective gymnastics for large numbers of them. Success in this direction means far greater success in the intellectual work of the students and also in the work which they will do after they leave the University. We have no adequate men's gymnasium at present and the Trustees wish to supply this need at the earliest possible time."

The idea of adding to the Student Building was wildly unpopular at the time and never was seriously considered. Still, the Board managed to drag its feet a little longer, and the students started to get restless.

With Europe falling ever deeper into what would eventually become known as World War I, the students issued a petition asking for the faculty's consent to establish a military battalion on campus. The battalion would consist of four companies totaling 400-600 men with the government providing free guns, clothes and overcoats. The battalion would draw $4,000 over 36 weeks from the U.S. government, and it was pointed out that the $4,000 could simply be put in the University general fund.

Oh, and U.S. War Department just happened to encourage the construction of an Armory for the battalion, and, hey, that Armory could be used as a gymnasium! How about that?

The administration wasn't impressed with the petition that was distributed, and it saw the idea as nothing but a ham-handed way for the students to back-door their way into a gym.

"There was also a feeling that a very considerable part of the students who signed the paper were not so much interested in the formation of a university military organization as they were in securing for the University an Armory which could be used as a men's gymnasium - a result which, it was urged, would follow the organization of the University battalion," the Indiana Alumni Quarterly from April of that year said.

The students made the effort, but when all was said and done, it was unnecessary. On March 12, 1915, Shea made a motion that the next building erected on campus be a Men's Gymnasium. The motion was seconded by both Edwin Corr and the wonderfully-named Ira Batman. The motion quickly passed 4-2 with James Fesler, Shea, Corr and Batman voting for the new facility, and Rose and Robert Hamilton voting nay. The Board ordered that President Bryan and a meeting made up of representatives of the faculty, students, alumni, "I" Men, and Board of Trustees be held at the University in the near future for the purpose of discussing the new Gymnasium and all athletic affairs.

"The trustees realize the urgent need for a number of buildings," said the official report of the Board of Trustees from the meeting. "But, after full consideration, decided that on the whole it is best to begin with the erection of a Men's Gymnasium."

The fact that architect Robert Daggett was on hand with blueprints in hand seems to suggest that the result of the vote was a foregone conclusion, but no plan was accepted by the Board at the time. It was expected that a site near the former home of Moses Dunn at the east end of Seventh Street and north of Jordan Field would be used. It was a spot on a hill overlooking the eastern end of campus.

The announcement of the decision was made by none other than President Bryan himself, who spoke to a large crowd the next day at Assembly Hall following a Bloomington-Fairmount game at the state high school tournament. Bryan's announcement was met with excitement, and the IDS reported, "The roof was fairly raised with the shouts of enthusiasm that went up when the President spoke the happy words."

The new Gymnasium was expected to cost upwards of $150,000 (better than $3.3 million in 2009 dollars), and it was reported that the work was expected to start that summer with $66,000 from the University building fund helping to fund the early work.

John W. Cravens, a fascinating figure in his own right who managed to work his way up from undergraduate student at IU to become registrar, university secretary and the secretary of the Board of Trustees, was ready to start to fill in the blanks a couple of days later.

"While no definite plans have been accepted," Cravens told the IDS March 16, 1915, "it is certain that the gymnasium will be the largest in Indiana and one of the largest in the West. It will doubtless be of stone. The new building will contain a gymnasium floor that will be one of the largest in the country and will also have an indoor field of large dimensions. By use of the indoor field, all forms of athletics can be carried on regardless of weather."

Cravens went on to admit that many high school gyms in the state of Indiana featured more floor space than Assembly Hall, and he lamented the fact ticket sales for the high school state basketball tournament had been limited to 1,200. The opening of the new building would allow crowds of up to at least 2,500 people to attend games. Cravens added that commencement exercises and other large events could be held at the building as well. He expected the foundation work to begin in the summer.

It didn't take long for different organizations to start to assert themselves while searching for a place to call their own. The "I" Men made it clear that they would like to have a special room that could be used as a lounging and club room for the "I" Men, and it could be used as a trophy room. IU, however, would depend on the reports of President Bryan, Daggett, athletes who had traveled to other venues and other assorted committee members when it came to finalizing plans.

The Hoosiers finally would have their gymnasium and a fieldhouse to boot. It was just a matter of time.

*****

The news of the impending Gymnasium was met with plenty of excitement, but some of the buzz wore off over the summer. There was little news about the facility although it seemed IU was going forward with the planning. Nobody in the student body seemed to know what was going on, and the Gymnasium was starting to become a bit of a mystery.

Then, a story appeared in the far left column of the Oct. 19, 1915 edition of the IDS.

"HUGE DESTRUCTION SCHEME LEAKS OUT," the headline screamed. "Meager Details Known of Plot for Destruction of Life and Property."

The paper further reported that "two men have been seen acting suspiciously." Considering the turmoil in the world at that point, the story was bound to get plenty of attention.

It did.

"Meager details of a huge scheme involving the wholesale and violent destruction of life and property at Indiana University leaked out this morning from men prominent in the affairs of the University," the IDS said. "The names of the intended victims could not be learned. The time set for the attack is not definitely known, but it is thought to be within the week. Suspicion is directed toward two strangers seen recently about the campus, one of whom may be the bold burglar who operated successfully in Greek letter houses here last spring and summer. No arrests have been made."

The article went on to say that "some of the oldest servants of the University are threatened" and added that, "a young man, tallying in some respects with the sorority thief, was observed on Jordan Field one afternoon last week industriously making pencil sketches upon a small white pad."

The next day, the IDS again worried about the rumors.

"Axe Still Hanging Over University," the Oct. 20 edition said. "With the discovery of stores of tools and instruments of destruction on and about campus, and with the suspicion now directed toward two more Indiana University students, the situation created by the recent threats of violence to life and property at the State school has taken a new turn."

The tools found were said to be "long, slender and loaded or heavy at one end. This description is not unlike that of a certain type of infernal machine."

A.H. Berndt, the Director of Intramural Athletics, was quoted as saying that he was confident the "secret agents" IU had working the case would not permit anything drastic to happen, but rumors flew that IU had set up a high-power searchlight to illuminate the dark corners of campus in case of an attack.

By Oct. 21, the plotters were still missing, and the administration believed it was time to reveal all the facts they knew about the situation. A meeting was called at 7:30 p.m. at Assembly Hall, and a statement was released saying, "We take this opportunity to give every man and woman connected with the University a chance to prepare for expected emergencies and to assist us wherever possible. All University people are requested to attend."

The meeting was called to quiet any hysteria as University officers and faculty members were bombarded with questions. Berndt stressed the importance of everyone attending the meeting, and he told the IDS, "an absence will be regarded as an indication of disloyalty. The meeting will be short. You better be there."

On a campus with an enrollment of fewer than 1,900 students, between 600-700 people showed up at Assembly Hall for the meeting. The IU drum corps led a parade through campus to the gymnasium, and it was reported that many women were present. Seating for the ladies was reserved in the balcony, and as the appointed time arrived, Berndt walked to the front of the stage.

Let's allow the Oct. 22 IDS tell the story of what happened next.

"Give 'em the axe, the axe, the axe; give 'em all the axe! The University authorities are no longer silent. But give what the axe? Why, 200 or more old apple trees standing on the site of the new Gymnasium. Yes; give 'em the axe tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock, every man and woman who wants to have a hand in clearing ground for the Indiana University's new Gymnasium; give 'em all the axe!"

The University had used the false rumors to drum up interest in an old-fashioned log rolling, and it worked to perfection. That's marketing, 1915-style.

Women, of course, weren't allowed to participate, save for the fact they would provide the "eats" by making sandwiches - with the food coming out of their own kitchens, it should be noted - and they would pass out apple cider as well. Every woman was expected to go to the parlor of the Student Building before 9 a.m. and to bring a nickel to offset the cost of the event.

Men, meanwhile, were asked to be prepared to work and to bring their own axes wherever possible. The Boosters' Club had some axes on hand, but the club recognized that it would need more. A student named "Chic" Griffis closed the meeting with a yell session, and the always near-by Albert Stump gave a speech that the IDS said appealed "to University people for such a united demonstration of loyalty tomorrow as has never before been known at Indiana." Stump went on to say that the ceremony would be one remembered for a lifetime.

When 9 a.m. rolled around Oct. 23, a sight that would be impossible - and legally irresponsible - these days developed. Men and women gathered around the Student Building, which is still wedged between Maxwell Hall and Owen Hall, and axes were handed out. Men were organized into teams and with the IU band playing "Indiana" and cream and crimson streamers flying in the Indian-summer air, hundreds of students began to parade through campus and toward the site of the new gymnasium.

As young men will often do, the parade slowly devolved into a race, and the next thing anybody knew, hundreds of student were running, jumping fences and taking short cuts - all with axes in hand, mind you - to see who would be the first to start in on an apple tree. Somehow everyone survived without chopping off an appendage before the logging commenced. Luella Smith, president of the Women's League, quickly set up shop on the grounds, and white-aproned co-eds passed out food. The IDS turned to the flowery prose of the time to describe the beverages.

"While trees crashed down on every side, the old hand-power cider mill creaked out its stream of Winesap liquid to quench the thirst of the Gymnasium pioneers."

Bringing down the trees proved to be hard work, and the draw of food, cider and the ladies convinced more than one of the men to take repeated breaks. Older men and women from Bloomington helped out some, but the IDS said they left the heavy work to the young folks.

President Bryan was involved in felling the trees, and he was one of approximately 500 men to take part in the effort. Another 200 women were on hand, and the trees fell quickly, but not everything went smoothly. The handle of the cistern pump at the Dunn House, which stood on the property, had been removed, and the Boosters' Club was forced to run and get water from the University. Superintendant Eugene Kerr later managed to roll two barrels of water to the scene.

Problems with the cider mill, meanwhile, cropped up when the owner of the mill, for some unknown reason, removed its handle. The men tried to work the mill anyway but with little success.

"After a few rounds they came to the conclusion that it is about as hard to get cider out of a crankless cider mill as it is to get blood out of a turnip," the IDS reported. "The cider fiends quit and went to sawing wood."

It took only an hour for the west half of the orchard to be brought down and when the dust settled, the brush made huge piles on the site. Everyone had the same idea about what to do with all the logs, leaves, twigs and sticks. Once that wood dried, the Hoosier faithful were going to have the biggest bonfire IU had ever seen.

*****

While the trees fell, Indiana's administration was busy with the business of building the Gymnasium. Invitations for bids had been sent out the previous day by Cravens, who outlined the strict rules for outfits looking to land the contracts. The plans for the Men's Gymnasium were specific and impressive. Daggett had a clear vision for what he wanted to build.

"The proposed Gymnasium for Indiana University is to be built in the Collegiate Gothic style, or more properly speaking, Tudor Gothic. The building is to be approximately 240 ft. by 328 ft. facing west, and forming the head or west end of the athletic field. There are two main entrances to the building from the west, leading into wide corridors at the end of which are stairs giving access to basement and second floor, these corridors also lead to the large indoor field at the back of the Gymnasium building proper.

On the first or ground floor are located the Swimming Pool, Team Rooms for Varsity and Freshmen, Main Locker Room and the Toilets, Showers, Drying Rooms, etc. On the second floor are located the Gymnasium, Lounging Room and Offices of the Physical Director, Athletic Director, Medical Director and Coaches. In the basement are located the Hand Ball Courts, bowling alleys and heating and ventilating apparatus. The main gymnasium is to be 90' wide by 160' long, well lighted and ventilated and occupying the central portion of the building. This room is to be open to the roof, which is supported by steel trusses. The walls of the Gymnasium are to be of a light bluff colored brick.

To the north of the Gymnasium and separated from it by the stairway and Hall is the Lounging Room, 28' wide by 82' long. This room is to be finished with a paneled oak wainscoting and beamed ceiling, with a large fireplace at one end. To the south of the Gymnasium room and separated from it by the stairway and hall are the general offices. Above the stairway and hall at each end of the Gymnasium is to be a balcony, overlooking the Gymnasium. In cases of basket-ball games, etc., bleacher seats can be arranged around Gymnasium seating approximately 2,500 people. The swimming pool and locker room are underneath the gymnasium on the first floor.

The swimming pool room is 52 feet by 114 feet with a pool 30 feet by 90 feet and seats for approximately 200 spectators. This room and the pool are to be lined with tile. Separating the pool room from the main locker room is the shower bath room, containing 22 showers. The main locker room has ample capacity for 1,000 lockers and has direct connection with the indoor field and with the gymnasium above. Every effort possible has been made to make the lockers and locker rooms sanitary and sterilizing apparatus and drying apparatus have been provided for the clothing. The varsity and freshman team rooms are at either end of the building with separate entrances to the athletic field and with separate steam, shower and toilet rooms. The Faculty locker room on this floor also has its separate toilet and shower rooms.

The indoor field is 150 feet by 200 feet dirt floor with a running track having 12 laps to a mile. This large space is to be spanned with steel trusses and well lighted from above. At the east end of the indoor field a large stage has been provided, large enough and arranged so that any kind of production can be given, and by placing seats in the indoor field, large audiences can be accommodated.

The building is to be fireproof. The heating, ventilating and lighting is to be of the best, and the building furnished and equipped complete according to the latest and best methods."

When all was said and done, IU received a total of 19 bids for the general contract. Indiana decided to go with a familiar contractor. A.E. Kemmer of Lafayette, Ind., was awarded the deal, partially thanks to the work he had done on improvements on Owen Hall in 1914. Although his bid was higher than expected - in fact, all the bids were much higher than IU had expected - Kemmer's bid was some $40,000 less than his closest competitor. As tough a pill as it may be to swallow, the fact is the Men's Gymnasium was built by a Purdue grad.

Other contracts for heating, plumbing, excavation and electrical work would eventually add more than $60,000 to that total, and the final number didn't include a major portion of the construction. During the Board of Trustees meeting to accept the bid, Shea entered a motion that the construction of an indoor field and a stage for events be postponed. It seems the cost of such construction was much higher than expected, and Indiana simply couldn't justify the cost at that time. A future fieldhouse could be added, but for the time being, just the gymnasium would have to do.

All that was left was to actually get the shovels in the ground. Or, in IU's case, a plow.

Indiana was nothing if not unique when it came to getting students involved on campus in 1915. Six weeks after tapping the student body to do the dirty work of clearing the grounds, IU turned to the students yet again when it came to turning the soil. On Dec. 7, President Bryan found himself standing behind a plow with a rope reported to be at least 200 feet long attached to it. The Boosters' Club split the men into teams, each with their own captain with two aims. First, it was the captain's responsibility to get the members of his team to stop at the same time once the plow had been moved. Second, the captains were responsible for making sure the members of their team didn't get too worked up and try to steal the plow (because really, who wouldn't want their own plow?).

Arrangements were made to have a photographer on hand, and participants who signed up would get the opportunity to own a piece of the rope used to move the plow once they were finished. The Boosters' Club would cut up the rope and send it to the students in the future.

Before the groundbreaking could get started, President Bryan made a short speech, which was reported verbatim in the Dec. 8 IDS just above a notice that Jordan Field would be flooded to create an ice skating rink.

"The gymnasium is a symbol of the University's creed. It stands for health - that is, for the whole man. An athlete who has neglected his intellect and is not fitted to take part in this age of intelligence is not a whole man. A student who has trained his intellect and neglected his body is not a whole man. He is not ready for the battle. The University stands for the whole man, and this great gymnasium is one part of the means of securing that end."

Alumni secretary Ralph Sollitt made some short comments, and Albert Stump - naturally - was on hand to give the student's point of view. Then, as the IU band played and some 1,000 spectators looked on, Bursar U.H. Smith gave the order to the couple of hundred men on the ropes, and at 4:15 p.m. the plow started to move through the soft ground.

It was at roughly 20 feet that the rope snapped and just about all 200 men tumbled onto that soft ground.

Still, the day was a huge success, and Kemmer's contractors jumped right into the work of excavating and getting the facility off the ground. After all, with a deadline of Jan. 1, 1917 in place, there was a lot of work to be done over the next 13 months.

*****

The bane of builders in Bloomington, then as now, is the limestone that serves as bedrock for most of the area. Unfortunately for the workers, an unusual amount of rock was found under the construction site, and it took weeks of blasting to properly excavate. In early January, Kerr reported to the IDS that it would be at least 60 days to finish the work of excavation of the whole site, but in the meantime concrete could be poured in portions of the construction to build a foundation.

Work progressed relatively smoothly through the spring and summer with Kemmer using the old Dunn House as construction headquarters. Indiana limestone from Bloomington's own John W. Hoadley Company was used, and the G.C. Davis Hardware Co., another Bloomington business, provided the tin work. As the facility rose out of the ground, the brickwork on the east side of the Gymnasium provided a glimpse of the future.

Rough limestone was used for most of the building, but a triangle-shaped area of buffed brick took up a large portion of the east side, showing the general outline of where a future fieldhouse would go. When the fieldhouse was eventually added a decade later, the brick was incorporated into the design, and the contrast between the buff brick and the rough stone can still be seen in the upper portion of Wildermuth Fieldhouse where the two buildings meet.

Excitement grew as work progressed. The stonework was completed in late August or early September of 1916, and the trusses that would span the width of the building were put in place. The trusses were 92.8 feet in length and weighed six tons each. The trusses were lifted to the main floor in sections, then were riveted and bolted together. Then they were lifted in one piece and hoisted into place. Each truss took two days to prepare.

Meanwhile, at least two train cars of black slate roofing tile was required once the trusses were put in place, and some two miles of pipe were laid at the facility, including 5,000 feet of cast-iron soil pipe and 5,000 feet of galvanized iron supply pipe. Each of the 51 showerheads in the facility included non-scalding valves to regulate the heating of water.

Finally, some $17,000 in marble tile was used in the pool area and in hallways. The designs of the tiles ranged from lions to crabs to flowers to crosses among other things, and it included what would become an extremely unfortunate design down the road.

Swastikas.

The swastika tiles have turned as many heads as the co-eds at the Men's Gymnasium since the rise of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party, but when they were laid in 1916, the Nazi Party had not been founded, and the swastika was seen as a symbol of health, life and good luck. During World War I, the American 45th Division wore swastika patches, and swastika post cards were seen as a friendly greeting.

Indiana wasn't the only entity to run into problems with swastikas. The April 4, 1938 issue of Time Magazine included a story about a hospital in New York asking for $1,000 to erase two swastikas from the 335-foot tall smokestack of its power plant. The smokestack had been built in 1927 when the swastika was simply a prehistoric health symbol, but the hospital was flooded with complaints following Hitler's invasion of Austria.

Despite the connotations, Indiana University has not changed the tiles at the Men's Gymnasium to this day. IU believes it is a part of the school's history that predates Hitler's rise to power, and it doesn't feel it needs to change a part of its history. In 1994, however, IU's Racial Incidents Team, responding to complaints, put up a plaque explaining the history of the tiles.

"Members of the campus community have taken exception to some of these tiles which are shaped like swastikas," the plaque explains. "This wing of the HPER building was built in 1917, before the Nazi party popularly adopted the swastika as its national symbol of world domination. Only with the Nazi rise of power was the meaning of the swastika associated with abusive power and horrible domination. These tiles are not intended to be associated with such meanings. They were placed here with the original intent of wishing health and prosperity to all. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation."

*****

The Dec. 15, 1916 IDS finally announced that Foundation Day, Jan. 19, 1917, would serve as the official dedication day for the Men's Gymnasium. The Athletic Committee also announced that, "The gymnasium was not to be used for any other purpose but gymnastics and athletic contests. No exceptions will be made for social affairs or lectures."

That rule wouldn't last long, but we'll get to that in a minute.

New Year's Day of 1917 came and went without the Men's Gymnasium being a finished product, and Kemmer explained that several shipments of materials had not yet arrived. The basketball floor, however, had arrived and been installed, and it was a unique structure. Besides being the normal hardwood basketball floor that was and still is the standard, the Men's Gymnasium featured banks in each corner of the floor outside of the sidelines and baselines that would allow joggers in the facility to turn corners without slowing down. The basketball court also included another unique feature: Glass backboards.

The backboards weren't entirely glass. The rim was mounted on a piece of wood at the bottom of the backboard, but the rest of the backboard was a slab of glass made by the Nurre Mirror Plate Company of Bloomington. The one-and-a-half-inch thick glass allowed fans to see the game unobstructed. Brad Cook, the photograph curator in the IU Office of University Archives and Records Management, has done research on the backboards and believes they may be the first instance of glass backboards being used in the United States. However, research is ongoing.

The Hoosiers took the floor for their first practice Jan. 8, and the Jan. 8 IDS reported that the glass backboards "puzzled" the basketball players. It also was reported that the "immensity of the floor soon winded the men also, but nevertheless they were given a strenuous workout." A number of students stopped by to check out the facility, and it didn't take long for an unseemly element to make an appearance.

Despite the presence of lockers 14 inches square and 36 inches high that were supposedly safe for valuables, some freshmen were given temporary lockers that didn't actually have any locks on them. As the freshmen worked out in the gymnasium on the second floor, thieves made their way into the locker room and took off with $10 in cash and three watches. Interestingly, the watches actually were recovered by the Bloomington police in early March. The $10 was never found.

*****

The Men's Gymnasium was, indeed, ready for Indiana's battle with Iowa Jan. 19. A procession was to begin at 9:15 a.m. for Foundation Day ceremonies, and the Gymnasium was decked out in the colors of Argentina - in honor of Ambassador Romulo S. Naon, who was on hand - and the United States. That night, the glass backboards seemed to confuse all the players. Indiana won its first game on its home court by a count of 12-7 in what was described in the IDS as a "fast, hard-fought" contest. IU suffered its first loss at the new facility Jan. 28 when Purdue took home a 22-15 victory, and the Hoosiers closed out their first year at the Men's Gymnasium with a 3-3 record.

The project was fully approved, and Indiana took possession of the facility late that winter. The final cost of the facility was $220,488.08 with Kemmer going less than $1,000 over his budget. In July of that year, the west side of the Gymnasium was scheduled to undergo landscaping work. The hill in front of the Gym was shaped into three terraces, a feature that exists to this day. Concrete walks were laid to allow students and fans to come and go without walking across the grass.

The opening of the Men's Gymnasium led to an explosion of athletics at Indiana. The existence of a quality swimming facility triggered the founding of the IU swim team, and the school formed a boxing team as well. The construction also prompted the creation of a six-hole golf course north of the Gymnasium. A course design expert was brought in from Chicago, and thanks to the hard work of the landscaping team, the course was ready for play by 1917. Unfortunately, the links wouldn't stick around long. In the mid-1920s, the links were closed and the land was used for the construction of Memorial Stadium.

The Gymnasium was actually supposed to trigger a major expansion of the sports facilities. Some contemporary drawings show Memorial Stadium being planned directly east of the Gymnasium through what is now the Art Museum and toward the Auditorium. Tennis courts were initially planned, and a home for the University president was planned as well. The President's house was the only construction that became a reality in the long run.

Intramural sports took a huge step forward thanks to the Gymnasium, and the track and baseball teams had far more room to work in inclement weather. When the United States finally entered World War I in March, just a few months after the opening of the Gymnasium, the basement of the Gym was used as a rifle range. It would continue its use as the home of the IU rifle team well into the second half of the century.

The Men's Gymnasium was used as a barracks during World War I, and the facility helped keep IU students in top shape for military duty. Once the war ended and enrollment exploded, the Men's Gymnasium allowed the school to handle the influx of students. The rule about the facility only being used for athletic events was pushed out of the way as well. Multiple dances were held there, including one massive party following Indiana's shocking 12-6 win over Syracuse Nov. 22, 1919. The alumni and students "went wild," according to the 1920 Arbutus, and some 800 people crowded into the Gymnasium for the annual "Blanket Hop" of Sigma Delta Chi. A total of 12 "I" blankets were purchased with the proceeds from the dance.

The 1921 Junior Prom was a fancy evening at the Gymnasium with students enjoying dancing in the gym, and card tables were set up in both the study lounge and the pool area. The ceiling of the pool area was decorated with streamers, and a small suspension bridge was built to go across the pool and give young lovers a chance to walk over the water.

The growing popularity of basketball saw the gym packed for just about every game, and the Indiana high school basketball tournament returned for a few years. Indiana's first All-American, Everett Dean, played in the Men's Gymnasium, and he returned as head coach for the 1924-25 season. Dean was immediately successful, and by the middle of the 1920s, however, the old plans for a fieldhouse were revived thanks in large part to the growing popularity of basketball. Construction began outside the Men's Gymnasium, and the fieldhouse included plans for a drastically expanded basketball facility, relegating the Men's Gym to little more than a backup court for basketball. Three days after the Ritz Theatre, which would eventually become the Von Lee on Kirkwood Ave. opened, the Hoosiers played their final game at the facility, scoring a 36-34 win over Michigan en route to a 15-2 record and a Big Ten championship. IU held its final practice on the Men's Gymnasium floor Dec. 5, 1928, before christening the fieldhouse three days later. The Hoosier men's basketball team finished their time at the Men's Gymnasium with an 86-31 record.

Basketball may have been finished at the Gymnasium, but varsity sports were far from over at the facility. Swimming used the pool at the facility until the Royer Pool was opened in 1962, and sports such as fencing, volleyball and gymnastics continued to use the facility. An addition to the north end of the building was made in the early 1960s when the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation greatly expanded the facility, which allowed the HPER to bring all of its departments under one roof.

Sometime during the 1960s or 1970s, the Lounging Room was converted to office space. The wood paneling still hangs on the walls, but cubicles cut the room into smaller spaces, and the large fireplace is now half-buried behind some file cabinets and is part of a cubicle.

The construction of the new Assembly Hall in the early 1970s signaled the end of varsity sports at the Men's Gymnasium save for rare occasions. Volleyball and gymnastics moved out during this time, and the Men's Gymnasium has been the home of the HPER for thousands of students over the past 40-plus years.

The Men's Gymnasium is one of the monuments to the history of Indiana athletics. It has watched the campus rise around it, it towered over Jordan Field until that facility was paved under during the late 1950s, and it watched a hallowed football stadium come, then go, then come again, then disappear again. That, however, is a story for another time.

Click here to see the original layout as it ran in Inside Indiana!

Ken Bikoff can be reached at kbikoff@insideiu.com. He used to walk by the Men's Gymnasium on his way to IU's Journalism School three times a week. To subscribe to Inside Indiana call 800-282-GOIU today!

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