Kathryn Chicone Ustler Hall (formerly known as the Women's Gymnasium and University Gymnasium) is a historic building on the campus of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

(UF) in Gainesville,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. It was designed by William Augustus Edwards in the Collegiate Gothic style and opened in 1919 as the University Gymnasium. In that capacity, the building was the first home of the

Florida Gators men's basketball The Florida Gators men's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in NCAA Division I's Southeastern Conference (SEC). Home games are played in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Con ...

team, and it continued to serve as the home court for most of the university's indoor sports programs until the Florida Gymnasium opened in the late 1940s. The university became

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

at about the same time, and the building was rechristened the Women's Gymnasium and was repurposed as a recreation center for the school's many new female students. On June 27, 1979, it was added to the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

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 ...

. The opening of

O'Connell Center The Stephen C. O'Connell Center, also known as the O'Dome, is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. The facility is named for the sixth president of the university, Stephen C. O' ...

in 1980 and new student recreation facilities made the old gym obsolete, and it gradually fell into disuse. The building was slated for demolition in the 1980s but was saved for its historic value, though it was used primarily as a storage facility for several years. A large donation by UF alumnus Kathryn Ulster made it possible to completely transform the interior into modern classrooms, offices, and other educational spaces, and the university's

Women's Studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

Department moved into the newly renamed Ustler Hall in 2006. It was the first building on the UF campus named to honor a woman, and at its rededication, it was the only freestanding campus building in the United States devoted solely to Women's Studies.

History

Planning and construction

The University of Florida (UF) was established in Gainesville in 1906. Initial student enrollment was about 100, so only two buildings (

Buckman Hall Buckman Hall is a historic building located in Murphree Area on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It was designed by architect William A. Edwards in the Collegiate Gothic style and opened in 1906 as one of ...

and Thomas Hall) were needed to accommodate all functions of the new school. Enrollment grew slowly over following years and accelerated under second university president Albert A. Murphree, who oversaw an expansion program that saw the addition of several colleges to the university's academic offerings and several more buildings constructed across the campus. By the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, enrollment reached 1000. Buckman Hall included some indoor athletic space, but a larger student population required larger recreational facilities, and the university made plans to build its first dedicated gymnasium on the west side of campus. The facility was designed by William Augustus Edwards, architect for the

Florida Board of Control The Florida Board of Control (1905-1965) was the statewide governing body for the State University System of Florida, which included all public universities in the state of Florida. It was replaced by the Florida Board of Regents in 1965.

, who designed most of the UF's early buildings in the Collegiate Gothic style. Construction began in the summer of 1918, but the project went over budget, and Murphree solicited donations from the local community to complete interior details. Fundraising successfully completed when

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

's New York Giants agreed to hold spring training in Gainesville in 1919 and rented the newly-opened University Gymnasium as their spring headquarters.

University Gymnasium

The University Gym was designed to be a combination student recreation center,

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

facility, assembly hall, and

sports venue A sports venue is a building, structure, or place in which a sporting competition is held. A stadium (plural: stadiums or stadia) or arena is a place or venue for sports or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely ...

. It was the home court of the

team and all other university-sponsored indoor sport programs for about ten years. However, spectator space around the court was very limited in the narrow building, and as university enrollment continued to increase, a larger wooden "New Gym" was constructed directly adjacent to the University Gym in 1929 to serve as a temporary home for the basketball team until funding was available for a more permanent replacement. Meanwhile, the University Gym continued to host physical education classes,

intramural sports Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, or a set geographic region. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' meaning " ...

, and smaller assemblies.

Women's Gymnasium

The large brick Florida Gymnasium was finally completed in 1948, the same year that the university became fully

. The University Gym was renamed the Women's Gymnasium and was used as a recreational center and physical education space for the school's many new female students while the wooden "New Gym" next door was converted into rehearsal space for the university's marching band. The modern

became the new home of all of the university's indoor sports teams in 1980. The interior of the Florida Gym was redesigned and rebuilt as the new home of the physical education department, but the Women's Gym was deemed to be in need of too many repairs to justify renovation and it was slated for demolition. A community push to save the structure delayed its destruction, and in 1988, it was listed in the

, affording it protection. However, it remained underutilized and was used primarily as a storage facility for over a decade.

Ustler Hall

With a donation from UF alumna Kathryn Chicone Ustler in 2000, the long-vacant gym was transformed into a three story academic building with modern classrooms along with faculty and administrative offices. A circular courtyard was also added in front of the building, replacing a small parking area. The restoration process began in 2004 and was completed in July 2006. In 2008, the restoration was named a "Project of Regional Impact" by the Florida Heritage Foundation. Now known as Ustler Hall, the building houses the university's Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies and the Center for Women's and Gender Studies Research. It was the first building on the UF campus renamed to honor a woman, and at the time of its dedication, it was the only freestanding campus building in the United States devoted solely to

References

External links

About Ustler Hall (UF Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies)

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National Register of Historic Places

Alachua County listings
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Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs

The University of Florida Historic Campus
a
UF Facilities Planning & Construction

George A. Smathers Libraries
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Center for Women's Studies and Gender Research
{{National Register of Historic Places in Florida Buildings at the University of Florida Florida Gators basketball venues National Register of Historic Places in Gainesville, Florida William Augustus Edwards buildings 1919 establishments in Florida Sports venues completed in 1919 Sports venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida