Notre Dame Fieldhouse was a 4,000-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 ...

in Notre Dame, Indiana. It opened in 1898. and was demolished in 1983. A monument marks the site.

History

It was home to the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

Fighting Irish

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team. It was no longer used for athletics after the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce Center opened in 1968. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

addressed a special University convocation in the fieldhouse on December 9, 1935. The original Notre Dame Fieldhouse was built in April 1898 under the University's president, Rev. Andrew Morrissey. However, in 1899 the Fieldhouse burned down. Father Morrissey quickly ordered that the Fieldhouse be rebuilt and made fireproof. The Fieldhouse was used as the home of Notre Dame Athletics for seventy years. Not only was the Fieldhouse used for basketball, but also football practice, pep rallies, track and field, the

Bengal Bouts The Bengal Bouts is an annual charity boxing tournament hosted by the Men's Boxing Club at the University of Notre Dame airing on ESPN, with proceeds benefiting the Holy Cross Missions in Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the Peopl ...

boxing tournament, commencement and much more. After the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce Center was built in 1968, the Old Fieldhouse was no longer needed for athletics, and it was turned over to the art department to use for studio projects. The Old Fieldhouse was demolished in spring 1983. Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, the president of the university, decided that the space would be used as a pedestrian space to further beautify the campus. Where the Notre Dame Fieldhouse used to be there is now the Clarke Memorial Fountain (a memorial to honor those who gave their lives in World War II, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War -- it was built in 1986) and the marker in the corner of the quad. The space is known as the Fieldhouse Mall.

Marker

The Old Fieldhouse is memorialized by a historical marker standing in the southwest corner of the Fieldhouse Mall. The Notre Dame Fieldhouse was a multi-purpose arena used for various athletics but mainly used for basketball. The marker consists of the remnants of the southwest corner from the original Fieldhouse. The historical marker is made of yellow Notre Dame bricks left from the structure and the stone that states the year that the Notre Dame Fieldhouse was built (1898). The marker stands at 84 inches x 84 inches x 84 inches. The bottom base is made out of limestone, the middle and main portion consists of original Notre Dame brick, and the top of the marker is concrete. The ''Notre Dame Old Fieldhouse'' has plaques that commemorate specific events that took place inside the original Fieldhouse. One plaque honors a convocation given by President Roosevelt in the Fieldhouse on December 9, 1935. It reads, "Site of NOTRE DAME FIELDHOUSE where varsity and intramural athletes shook down the thunder for seventy year 1898-1968. PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT addresses a special University convocation in the Fieldhouse December 9, 1935. The building was razed in 1983." The other plaque pays tribute to the

Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival The Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival is the oldest jazz festival in the U.S. It takes place every spring at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. The university invites college bands and professional jazz musicians from througho ...

that originated in the Fieldhouse on April 11, 1959. It reads, "THE OLD FIELDHOUSE birthplace of THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME COLLEGIATE JAZZ FESTIVAL April 11, 1959. "The oldest, most prestigious and acclaimed event of its kind.""

Marker Acquisition

The monument was created when the Fieldhouse was torn down in 1983. The Southwest corner of the Fieldhouse was carefully preserved for this purpose while the building was being destroyed. Many of the other bricks that made up the rest of the fieldhouse were sold upon removal by the University.

Condition

The old bricks are in frail shape and students at the university have carved initials and small phrases into the brick. The

has tried to combat vandalism of the marker but ultimately can’t protect it at all times. The university also does not want to replace the bricks themselves as that would ruin the purpose the marker serves.

References

*1. Temple, Kerry. “Going, Going, Gone: Campus’ Lost Places.” The Notre Dame Magazine. N.p., Winter 2007. Web. Nov. 2016. *2. Walker, Kathy. “Notre Dame Fieldhouse.” Hmdb. N.p., 3 Oct. 2008. Web. Nov. 2016 *3. Irish Legends. "Notre Dame Fieldhouse." Postcards from Notre Dame. N.p., 2001. Web. Nov. 2016.

External links