Administration Building and East Gymnasium

This lantern slide, “Administration Building and East Gymnasium,” shows the YMCA Training School (now known as Springfield College) campus in winter. On the left is the Administration Building. On the right is the East Gymnasium, the first building erected on the present day campus.The Administration Building originally contained a library, dormitory space, classrooms, and dining facilities. Construction began in late April 1895 and was completed over a year later. In 1943, the Administration Building failed to meet the city’s fire safety codes, and so the dormitory was reduced from four floors to two floors. Morrissey and Shea Co. built the East Gymnasium, which formally opened on October 26, 1894. James Naismith taught classes and coached the school’s basketball team here; he did not, however, invent basketball in this gymnasium