Memorial Gymnasium, which in January closed for an 18-month renovation, was an idea long before it was a structure.
University of Virginia officials began thinking about an athletic building around 1903, after what is now known as Lambeth Field opened.
“There was a desire to build an athletic clubhouse to augment sports activities,” said Garth Anderson, a historian for Facilities Management. “Paul Pelz, who co-designed the Library of Congress, had designed the Randall Hall dormitory (now an academic building) and the initial hospital group. He got to design a concept for the clubhouse, but money never materialized to build it.”
Architect Paul Pelz, who designed the Randall Hall dormitory, develops a concept for an athletic clubhouse in 1903, but it was not built. (Illustration from Corks & Curls, Volume 16, 1903)
As fundraising faltered, money remained an issue. In 1915, William A. Lambeth, superintendent of the Grounds for the University, and the University’s General Athletic Association hired Ferguson, Calrow and Taylor of Norfolk to design an “athletic casino” to be built on Rugby Road, above Lambeth Field. In late 1916, they decided to pour the basement concrete, including a pool on the basement floor, but the momentum quickly flagged when the country entered World War I.
After the war, there was interest in replacing the overcrowded Fayerweather Gymnasium, as well as creating a memorial for the country and the University’s fallen veterans. This time, money was less of an issue.
“A memorial gymnasium quickly took hold and donations poured in. A $300,000 budget was covered one-third by the state, one-third by University President Edwin Alderman’s fundraising and one-third by students and alumni,” Anderson said.
In planning a memorial gymnasium to honor the 2,700 students and alumni who fought in the Great War and the 80 who died, Alderman turned to alumni for expertise.
“Alderman wanted to utilize alumni architects who had demonstrated their skill in earlier projects on the Grounds,” Anderson said. “They would surely do what was best for their alma mater – and they could be persuaded to work for a lower fee.”
John Kevan Peebles, who designed Fayerweather Hall in 1893 and Minor Hall in 1911, and R.E. Lee Taylor, who designed the Lambeth Colonnades in 1913 and Peabody Hall in 1914, accepted Alderman’s invitation. Walter Dabney Blair, who designed Cobb Hall, initially rejected it, but later relented.
Peebles, Taylor and Blair formed the Architectural Commission, with Fiske Kimball, dean of the School of Art and Architecture, as the supervising architect and Lambeth as the athletic representative. The commission determined the best site was the current Emmet Street location, both for convenience and to accommodate future growth, and the Board of Visitors approved the site on Nov. 29, 1921.
Memorial Gymnasium, based roughly on the Roman Baths of Caracalla and Baths of Diocletian, is built predominantly in the style of Beaux Arts Classicism. (Ralph R. Thompson photo, Special Collections)
“The design was influenced by the American Renaissance and University Beautiful movements, which employed classical references,” wrote Gwendolyn K. White, who, as an intern at the UVA School of Architecture in 2003, completed the application to add Memorial Gymnasium to the National Register of Historic Places. “The gymnasium is based roughly on the Roman Baths of Caracalla and Baths of Diocletian with similar massing and rooflines and the use of thermal windows. The building’s style is predominantly Beaux Arts Classicism.”
In her report, White praised Blair, Peebles and Taylor, working under Kimball’s direction, for the design. To assure continuity, Alderman kept the group together to design other University buildings, with Peebles taking over as chair after Kimball stepped down.
“Its first initiatives were a new dormitory group – Brown College – and an academic building, Monroe Hall,” Anderson said. “Donors provided money for a new law building – Clark Hall – and Scott Stadium, so the work continued. The hospital’s growth required a new nurse’s home, McKim Hall, and the Chemistry Department needed more space, so Cobb Hall received an addition.”
