Warner Palaestra


A black and white image of an empty indoor swimming pool. The pool has a high diving platform and a ladder leading down into the deep end. The surrounding area appears to be under construction or maintenance, with visible scaffolding and exposed walls.
Black and white photo of two people pulling a large tarp or cover across the floor of a gymnasium. The space is mostly empty except for a few scattered items. A basketball hoop is visible on the right wall.
Black and white photo of a large, flat-roofed brick building with few windows. There are trees and bushes near the entrance and a street with a traffic sign in the foreground.
Aerial view of a large, rectangular building surrounded by green lawns and trees. Cars are parked on the road nearby, and a paved walkway leads to the entrance. The building is situated in a suburban setting with fields and roads around it.
A vintage newspaper page titled "THE RECORD" contains articles on planning for 1984, a peace conference, and a SEC report. There is a maze illustration and a comic. Text and images are in black and white.

Warner Palaestra, 1974 (click thumbnails for larger images)


Architect: THH; Ellerbe Becket

Contractor:

Dates: 1973, 1997

The construction of the Warner Palaestra was completed in the fall 1973. The building was created in response to a growing demand from students, faculty, and coaches to create a recreation center at SJU. The facility took 2.6 million dollars and a year to complete. The Warner Palaestra was named in part for the Lee and Rose Warner Foundation which awarded SJU $300,000. The space was dedicated on September 15 th, 1973.

There were three phases of the initial construction. The first called for an arena that would be large enough for four basketball courts, a one-tenth mile indoor track, a baseball diamond and more. This arena was needed the space in the Rat Hall (Guild Hall) which had become too small. The second phase included a wrestling room, a physical fitness room, two classrooms, nine offices, and locker rooms.  The final phase, which was started in the fall of 1972, was an eight-lane Olympic size pool with a three-meter spring board and a five-meter diving platform.  

In 1982, a new weight room was created that was larger in size and had more equipment.

In 1997, the McNeely Spectrum was added to the east side of the Palaestra and the floors in the main arena were replaced with wood.

In 1999, a group of students presented the idea of adding a climbing wall to the Palaestra. In January of 2000, the two middle racquetball courts were removed, and an 80-foot rock wall was installed.


Bibliography

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Text drafted by Maria Schrupp, CSB ’20