McCann Center framework

MaristLand

Jack Gartland indicated that the McCann would not be ready to support the McCann
Center project for two years, as it was committed to the McCann Golf Course and the
McCann Ice Skating Arena at the Civic Center. This gave the college the leisure to plan.
At first we thought of a
Butler
building
,
a pre-fab unit which might easily be
constructed. Paul Canin explored over a dozen different manufacturers. Richard Foy
contacted a specialist in sports arenas from Hofstra University to locate places in the US
which had innovative designs. He and his wife visited
Oral Roberts University in Tulsa Oklahoma. The facility was innovative in that is served
occasionally as the venue for the Oral Roberts television shows, which normally were
filmed in Los Angeles. In the times when the show moved to Tulsa, the teams practiced
in a
basement
under the main floor which had the same dimensions including height as
the main floor.
Graceland College, a small college operated by the RLDS (Reformed Latter Day Saints)
in Lamoni, Iowa. The athletic complex together with the student union was housed in a
huge oversize plastic dome, with the dome about 12" thick. The unit had been in
operation for five years with no leakage in a very cold section of the country. Graceland
is best known for being the college of Bruce Jenner, the Olympic decathlon champion.


Next he visiter Mercer Island near Seattle, Washington. Here he saw domes kept
upright via air blowers (now similar to many tennis installations). When he asked a
young lady if they ever had snow, she replied that they had about two inches about five
years ago.
Laverne College (now University) in La Verne CA about 35 miles east of Los Angeles. We
were shown two tents, one housing a theater, the other a combination athletic center
and student union. La Verne enjoys mild southern California weather, and heating such
a facility would be a problem in Poughkeepsie.
So Paul Canin, the architect, issued several request for proposals, expecting that a
butler
type edifice would be the winning choice. It happened that there was a lull in
construction at that time. A Baltimore regular steel company bid on the project. It did
the engineering design and won the bid. So Marist has a standard engineered building
which has held up nicely for over 35 years.
When it came time to design the interior, Louis Greenspan, who worked with the McCann
Foundation, located a large shipment of wood in Maine. The first floor was designed
with an asphalt composition, so the wood was used for the walls. This gives the interior
a distinctive look and feel. A wood floor was installed later.
gem interior
Photo above taken April 2012. Photo below taken shortly after the gym was opened.
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photo by digitized version of Kodak slide. Interior photo by Richard Foy March 2012.
most recent revision October 10, 2012