Curry Hicks Gymnasium

Constructed: 1930-1931 and 1984

Architect: Clinton F. Goodwin of Morse and Dickinson Engineers, Haverhill, Mass. Addition: Childs, Bertman, Tseckares, and Casedino, Inc., Boston, Mass.

Appointed director of physical education in 1911, Curry Hicks worked tirelessly with the Associated Alumni to fund and build the original, 1931, section of this recreation building. Professor Hicks worked out the plan for the building, including a glass roof and a dirt floor “cage” that included a running track, basketball floor, baseball infield, and 2,500 seats for spectators. Today the glass roof has been covered up and the dirt floor converted to gymnasium flooring.

The original Classical Revival building has a mixture of Renaissance elements that include the arch and broken pediment in the center of the east facade. The postmodernist 1984 addition to the south repeats the scheme of the pediment in a central glass skylight which extends downward to the entrance doors. The addition provides a public entrance to the “cage” and contains a ticket booth, locker rooms, and offices.

The building was dedicated in 1941 to Curry Hicks, Director of Athletics and Student Health on campus.

• From Three Architectural Tours: Selected Buildings on the Campus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst (Amherst, 2000)
• For additional information, consult the University Archives (RG 36/101).