The Florida Gym will celebrate its 65th anniversary on Oct. 21 with a luncheon for staff, faculty and students.
“I was looking through some old papers and realized that this year would be the 65th anniversary,” said Christine Coombes, director of communications for the College of Health and Human Performance, “so I talked to the dean, and he thought it would be a good idea to celebrate.”
In addition to the luncheon, the college will host a birthday party-themed tailgate before the Florida versus Missouri game Oct. 18. Florida Gym courtyard bricks will also be on sale for a discounted price of $65 in honor of the 65-year mark.
The tailgate will include a display of black and white photographs of the gym from the ‘50s around the courtyard. The dean of the college, Michael Reid, will also be saying a few words in honor of the anniversary, Coombes said.
The Florida Gym was built in 1949 and has held several events since, including performances by Johnny Cash and speeches by John F. Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey and Lyndon B. Johnson, said Carl Van Ness, an archivist at UF’s Smathers Library.
The Florida Gym houses the College of Health and Human Performance, where 52 faculty members teach more than 1,900 students, according to the college press release.
“A lot of the things we do in the O’Dome today, we used to do at the Florida Gym back then,” Van Ness said.
Students can join the celebration by attending the tailgate at the Florida Gym courtyard at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 18.
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 10/8/2014]
