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Ward L. Lambert Field House and Gymnasium (West Lafayette, Ind.)

 Organization

Dates

  • Existence: 1937-

Historical Information

Originally called the Fieldhouse and Gymnasium for Men, this structure was made of stone, brick, steel, and reinforced concrete. When it was built, it consisted of a one-story fieldhouse and a 110 by 210 foot, four-story gymnasium section. It also contained the offices of the Division of Physical Education for Men, training areas, locker and shower rooms, classrooms, several small gymnasiums, a large gymnasium, an Olympic-size swimming pool with complete water conditioning equipment, and a 172 by 303 foot fieldhouse with an unobstructed floor which will seat 8,500 people for basketball games. It was erected as a Public Work Administration (PWA) project and was remodeled in 1999 to improve its timing system. On February 24, 1947 the east wooden bleachers collapsed during the halftime of a basketball game against the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Three people were killed and over 250 others were injured.

Citation

Ward L. Lambert Field House and Gymnasium. Purdue Campus Facilities and Buildings Historic Database. Access September 16, 2019. http://collections.lib.purdue.edu/campus/buildings/92

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

Campus Art Survey records

 Collection — Box: Communal Collections 62, Placement: 02
Identifier: UA 142
Scope and Contents The Campus Art Survey records contain reports and inventories of the various paintings and works of art that were present on campus. The reports include the locations of the works of art at that time.
Dates: 1938 - 1958

Lambert Field House and Gymnasium records

 Collection — Box: Communal Collections 61, Placement: 03
Identifier: UA 134
Scope and Contents The Lambert Field House and Gymnasium records contain open house information pamphlets from the building's dedication ceremony.
Dates: January 15, 1938