Payne Whitney Gymnasium facts for kids
| Cathedral of Sweat | |
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| Location | 70 Tower Pkwy New Haven, CT 06511 |
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| Coordinates | 41°18′49″N 72°55′50″W / 41.31361°N 72.93056°W |
| Owner | Yale University |
| Operator | Yale University |
| Capacity | 2,532 (Lee Amphitheater) 2,178 (Kiphuth Exhibition Pool) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1932 |
| Architect | John Russell Pope |
| Tenants | |
| Yale Bulldogs (basketball, fencing, gymnastics, squash, swimming, & volleyball) |
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The Payne Whitney Gymnasium is the main gym at Yale University. It is one of the largest sports buildings ever made! This huge gym has twelve acres of space inside. It even has a nine-story tower with a swimming pool on the third floor. You can also find places for fencing and a room to practice polo.
Many of Yale's sports teams use this gym. These include teams for basketball, fencing, gymnastics, squash, swimming, and volleyball. It is the second-largest gym in the world when measured by its total volume. It is also the 94th largest in the United States by its floor area.
John Hay Whitney, who went to Yale in 1926, gave the money to build this gym. He wanted to honor his father, Payne Whitney. The building looks like a Gothic Revival church, which was a popular style at Yale from 1920 to 1945. Because of this, people often call it "the cathedral of sweat." The architect, John Russell Pope, even won a Silver Medal for his design at the 1932 Olympic Games Art Competition.
Near the entrance of the gym, you can see the original Handsome Dan. He was the first bulldog mascot for Yale and the first college mascot in the United States. His stuffed body is kept in a glass cabinet.
Contents
What's Inside the Gym?
The Yale basketball team plays its games in the John J. Lee Amphitheater. This area was named in 1996 after John J. Lee, a former basketball star. The volleyball and gymnastics teams also compete here.
On the other side of the gym, you'll find the Robert J. H. Kiphuth Exhibition Pool. This pool has six lanes and is 25 yards long. Yale's swimming teams compete in this pool. It is named after Yale's famous swimming coach and athletic director.
Pools and Training Areas
Behind the main gym, there are three crew tanks. These are used by the rowing teams for training. Above these tanks is the Practice Pool. This is one of the biggest suspended pools in the world! It has five lanes and is 50 meters long. Above the Practice Pool, there are courts for playing recreational basketball.
Fitness and Squash
The Adrian "Ace" Israel Fitness Center is located above the Kiphuth Exhibition Pool. This is where students and athletes can work out. The Brady Squash Center is found above the Amphitheater. This center is one of the best places in the world for squash competitions. It is also home to the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame. On the roof of the Squash Center, there is a small outdoor track for running.
The Tower and Lanman Center
The tall tower of the gym holds several interesting areas. The Kiphuth Trophy Room displays many cool items. These include mementos from Harvard-Yale games and even Olympic gold medals. The tower also has multi-purpose areas, a fencing salon, and a gymnastics studio.
The Lanman Center is a large area behind the Amphitheater. It offers a lot of extra space for different activities. It also has a running track that goes around the facility on a balcony.
Updates and Renovations
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Exhibition Pool
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Practice Pool
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Squash Courts
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Fitness Center
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Fitness Center
The William K. Lanman Center was added in 1999. This new part of the gym brought more courts for basketball and volleyball. It also added an indoor running track. This was the first step in a big renovation project that cost $100 million.
In 2006, the outside of the building was repaired to fix leaks. Other work included buying new banners and benches for the Kiphuth Exhibition Pool. The floor in the Lee Amphitheater was also redone. Plus, the Practice Pool's water filter system was improved.
