Why was the East Gym the first building at Binghamton? A history lesson
Facility has play an essential role on campus since 1958
It’s a question that has lingered for seven decades: Why in the world was a gymnasium built first at Harpur College’s new Vestal site?
According to campus lore, there are several possibilities, including:
• New York Gov. Thomas E. Dewey wanted a building as close as possible to the Vestal Parkway so passing motorists could view it and think of him.
• SUNY trustees, having seen gymnasiums built at other colleges, took the safe route and ordered a gym as the first building. This would enable them to have additional time to plan and approve future buildings.
• Then-President Glenn G. Bartle told an Albany legislative committee in charge of construction funds: The gymnasium comes first. “If classrooms were built first, they could easily be reassigned to a state training school, while dormitories could be used for a detention center for delinquent adolescents,” he said, according to the book From Vision to Excellence: A Popular History of Binghamton University. “Some state agency could be given an office building, or a library could be handed over to become a county library facility. If Albany could be persuaded to supply the funds to construct a gymnasium, I knew the only thing they could do is build a college here!”
In 1971, Bartle said the building now called the East Gym led some to believe that Harpur College was prioritizing athletics over academics.
“A good many people assumed that was the college … not knowing of the buildings that were beginning to get started back up here on the hill,” he recalled.
Whatever the construction reason, the East Gym has been an integral part of Binghamton University since opening in 1958.
Groundbreaking at the Vestal site took place on Oct. 6, 1954, with Dewey in attendance. The governor was also in the area to dedicate a new bridge over the Susquehanna River linking Vestal with Johnson City. It is now known as the Route 201 bridge (talk about a day of history!).
It took more than two years for construction to begin. Upon opening in 1958, the $2.4 million gymnasium was used for athletics, recreation, convocations, commencements, concerts, plays, exams, and meetings. Intramural offerings expanded, even though outdoor fields weren’t ready until spring 1959. The gym hosted dorm basketball leagues, swimming, volleyball, and even featured a firing range.
The campus saw four residence halls open, and the first convocation took place in the gym on Sept. 25, 1958. Gov. Averell Harriman dedicated the gym on Oct. 3, and the first Commencement at the Vestal campus took place on June 14, 1959. The ceremony was scheduled to take place outside, but (surprise, surprise) cold, windy weather moved it indoors to the gym. Courtney Smith, president of Swarthmore College (Bartle’s inspiration for Harpur College’s vision), served as guest speaker. The gym hosted Commencement ceremonies through 1964.
In April 1960, Harpur students were finally able to take classes in Vestal, as the classroom-administration building (now known as the Fine Arts Building) opened. By February 1961, the move from Endicott to Vestal was complete, with the gymnasium, residence halls, the Union, Fine Arts Building, a science building (now known as Science 1), a library, and a physical facilities building in place.
The first building on the Vestal campus became known as the Women’s Gym after the Men’s Gym opened in 1969. In 1976, the names were changed to East Gym and West Gym.