User:Hconnolly4/Rose Hill Gymnasium

The Rose Hill Gymnasium has a gothic façade that fits in well with the rest of Fordham University's buildings. The interior design features two high-tech video boards, bleachers that surround all four sides of the court, and additional elevated seating along the courtside. ESPN named this gym one of the four “cathedrals” of college basketball.

Architectural Style
William Roderigue, architect and brother of Fordham University's founder John Hughes, was responsible for converting Rose Hill Manor from a Greek Revival style into a Collegiate Gothic style. Here are some features that show this gothic revival architectural style:

Arches: The entrance doors to the gymnasium are under one pointed arch. There are also six windows with a similar shape above the main doors.

Buttresses: There are a few buttresses around the windows for exterior support.

Stone-like materials: The main entrance is surrounded by stone and stone carvings.

Parapets with crenelations: There is a small wall, or parapet, that exceeds the edge of the gym's roof and it has cut outs, or crenellations, which were used as fortification in Medieval Castles.

Sculpture elements: Above the main arch to the entrance there is a stone sculpture of a cross and Fordham's emblem.

Tracery: There are ovals and other shapes carved in stone on the windows.

Walls: The exterior front walls are made of rough light fieldstones.

History
The Rose Hill Gymnasium was built in 1925 and was used while the inventor of basketball, James Naismith, was still alive. The Gymnasium hosted its first basketball game on January 16, 1925. The game was refereed by Frankie Frisch, a Fordham alumni and New York Giants' second baseman.

During World War 2, this gym was used as a U.S. army barracks to shelter the soldiers and separate them from the general public. On May 11, 1946 President Harry Truman visited this barrack and rang a ship bell that still remains there today. Fordham athletic teams continue to ring this bell after conference championship wins.

Renovations
The Rose Hill Gymnasium was almost renovated in the early 1970s. Vince Lombardi, a Fordham football alumni, wanted to transform the small gym into a 10,500-seat gym. This plan fell through when Lombardi died in 1970 and the head basketball coach Digger Phelps left Fordham for Notre Dame in 1971. Instead, Fordham University built a separate athletic facility that was attached to the gym.

In 2018, the Rose Hill Gymnasium basketball court was renamed the “Frank McLaughlin Family Basketball Court,” after alumni Frank McLaughlin who was a basketball player (1965-1969), athletic director (1985-2012), and assistant coach (1970-1971) for Fordham University.

In 2019, Caldwell & Walsh Building Construction Inc re did the gym floors from old wood to a modern shock-absorbing material. This renovation was rushed and only took one summer to complete.