The Kenney Gym and the Kenney Gym Annex are two buildings located at 1402-06 Springfield Avenue in

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the 38th-most populous municipality in Illinois. It ...

, on the campus on the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. Although the two buildings have been physically connected since 1914, they were built separately. They were jointly added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1986 under the name Military Drill Hall and Men's Gymnasium.

History

The one-story building now known as the Kenney Gym Annex, the easternmost of the two structures, was built in 1889-90 as the Military Drill Hall and was designed by Nathan Clifford Ricker. The interior was converted for use as a gymnasium in 1914, at which time it became known as the Annex to the Men's Gym building next to it. The conversion preserved the building's large column-free open space, which had been a necessity for military drilling. An eastern addition was made to the building in 1918."NRHP Designation Report"
/ref> The Kenney Gym, the two-story building to the west, was built in 1902 and was designed by Nelson Strong Spencer in the Renaissance Revival style,"H.E. Kenney Gym"
on the Fighting Illini Facilities page strongly influenced by Ricker's design for the drill hall. It was originally called the Men's Gymnasium but was renamed the Men's Old Gym when

Huff Hall Huff Hall is a 4,050-seat multi-purpose arena in Champaign, Illinois, United States. The arena opened in 1925 and was known as Huff Gymnasium until the 1990s. It is named after George Huff, who was the school's athletic director from 1895 to 193 ...

opened in 1925. In 1974, it was named after Harold Eugene "Hek" Kenney, a former UIUC wrestler, coach, and administrator in the early 20th century. Prior to the opening of Huff Hall in 1925, Kenney Gym housed the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team. It was also home to the women's volleyball program from 1974 until 1989 and the men's wrestling team until those teams moved to

. From 1919 to 1925, Kenney Gym played host to the state finals of the

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National Fe ...

boys' basketball tournament.

Current use

Kenney Gym Annex is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

. Kenney Gym is the practice facility for the

Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

men's and women's

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

teams. The buildings are also used by University Laboratory High School in Urbana, located two blocks east of Kenney Gym on Springfield Avenue, as their gym for high school volleyball and basketball, along with their physical education program.

References

Notes

External links

UIUC Dep't of Campus Recreation

National Register nomination
{{Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball navbox Indoor arenas in Illinois College gymnastics venues in the United States Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Basketball venues in Illinois Gymnastics venues in Illinois Swimming venues in Illinois Volleyball venues in Illinois Wrestling venues in Illinois Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball venues Illinois Fighting Illini men's gymnastics venues Illinois Fighting Illini women's gymnastics venues Illinois Fighting Illini women's volleyball venues Illinois Fighting Illini wrestling venues National Register of Historic Places in Champaign County, Illinois Sports venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Sports venues in Champaign–Urbana, Illinois Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Buildings and structures of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Event venues established in 1890 1890 establishments in Illinois