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/92Found in 1 Collection or Record:
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