Original proposal for new gym

Thisis the architect's rendering of proposal for a gym ca 1941.  This plan was not used when first phase of gym was built in 1951.

Documentation to explain why this plan was not used was not available.  A reasonable explanation might be that this plan was drawn up prior to World War II.  RPI was still a small school and may have planned to build the new gymnasium with private funds since state funding was not available at the time.

After World War II and the advent of the GI Bill, the student population grew rapidly and the original plan may have proved to be too small to accommodate the new demands.  The 1950s gym was built with state provided funds and design restrictions may have been applied.  Further investigation may provide resolution to these suppositions.