West Chester University -- 125 Years

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Old Gymnasium 1889 - 1971

The Old Gymnasium stood in the center of the campus area known today as the Quad. It was designed by T. Roney Williamson in 1889 and is considered to be the first gymnasium in the United States designed with an indoor track. The building also contained three bowling alleys, a baseball age, and a swimming pool. The building was demolished in 1971 along with its neighbor, Old Main.

The photograph on the right shows the building in the 1920's. The building is framed by the archway of Philips Memorial and the building to the left of the Old Gym is the rear section of Old Main.

The photograph on the left shows the interior of the Old Gym during a gymnastics exhibition. The balcony in the upper part of the photograph forms part of the indoor track which complete encircled the upper level of the interior of the building.

  1. Overall view of the exhibit cases
  2. Movement to establish a Normal School in West Chester - 1869
  3. West Chester Academy
  4. Normal School Committee - 1869
  5. Old Main and Dr. Philips
  6. Old Main (enlarged)
  7. Dr. George Morris Philips (enlarged)
  8. Gymnastics Demonstration and the Old Gym
  9. Dining room in Old Main and souvenir plates
  10. Dining room (enlarged)
  11. Cochran Microscope
  12. Recitation Hall - interior
  13. View of cases
  14. Men's Basketball Team - 1900
  15. Women's Basketball Team - 1904
  16. Old Library - 1904
  17. Senior Class Trip to Washington, D.C. - 1911
  18. Old Wayne Hall - 1911
  19. Old Wayne Hall (enlarged)
  20. Coed gymnastics demonstration - circa 1918
  21. View of cases
  22. Junior Class Play - Class of 1920
  23. Junior Class Play (enlarged)
  24. Senior sleigh ride - 1921
  25. Philips Memorial Building - construction - circa 1926
  26. Aryan Literary Society Orchestra - 1920's
  27. Women's Basketball Team - 1923
  28. Aerial view of campus - 1936
  29. Aerial view (enlarged)
  30. Old Main and Quad - 1936
  31. Eleanor Roosevelt's visit to the campus - 1938
  32. Women's Recreational Association - circa 1940
  33. Campus - 1950's
  34. Surveying for new library - 1962
  35. Surveying (enlarged)
  36. Student life - 1962/1964
  37. Christmas - 1965
  38. Old Main - demolition - 1971
  39. Education Center, Japan - 1989
  40. Activities on campus - 1990's
  41. Dr. Perrin - 1991
  42. Dr. Madeleine Wing Adler - 1992

Return to Exhibits, FHG Library

Send comments and suggestions to R. Gerald Schoelkopf, mailto:rschoelk@wcupa.edu

These pages last updated on 6 March 1998