Cole Field House gets gutted

Yesterday, Bill, Stan, and I checked out the remodeling of this building which holds memories for all of us. We attended many University of Maryland basketball games there, and I just learned that the 61 year-old building still holds the record as the site of the most upsets of number one ranked teams. The screams of the thousands of Maryland basketball fans which may have continued to echo in the most obscure corners of the old building have now been released into the College Park atmosphere with the opening of one end:

 

For me, Cole was the site of many events beyond basketball. My high school graduation took place there in 1965. I attended musical and comedy performances in Cole going back to its first decade on campus. As an undergrad, I took final exams there, and in retirement when I returned as a special student I would walk the concourse on days when the weather was too unpleasant outdoors. Signs at either end told me that five laps added up to one mile.

 

 

The building is being converted to a sports training and sports medicine facility at a cost of many millions. From the front it looks much the same as it always did, but the inside will be barely recognizable.

 

 

I hope those massive curved steel beams will still be visible when the remodeling is finished. They would remind me that the history remains despite the changes.