Solving the Auditorium Problem

To the Editor of the CRIMSON:

Mr. Allen's article on the needs of the University, printed in the CRIMSON of December 1, names a new auditorium and a new athletic building as among the most immediate requirements. His statement implies separate structures. But is there not a good opportunity for making one building do the work of two?

The sort of auditorium that is required must, I suppose, be large enough to accommodate 3000 to 5000 persons. No floor space of such dimensions could be kept in anything like constant use for mass meetings, or similar large assemblies. On the other hand, just that expanse of floor space could be used very advantageously, I imagine, for indoor athletics. Yet even a fairly intensive use of the space for athletics would not necessarily prevent the space from being turned to account for large assemblies, as often as university meetings of any sort might require it. The Y. M. C. A. buildings in many parts of the country have long depended upon their gymnasiums as meeting-places whenever audiences of unusual size have had to be accommodated. Only proper planning would seem to be necessary to enable Harvard to meet similar needs in a similar way.

Probably Dartmouth has gone farther than almost any other American college to provide indoor practice-grounds for track and field sports. But it is interesting to remember that Dartmouth planned her great athletic building with a special view to using it as a place of assembly, whether for mass meetings or for those of a social nature where dancing is a feature. Thus Dartmouth has not only one of the best athletic buildings in the country, but the same structure likewise offers the best chance for social festivities. Neither use appears to interfere in any way with the other. In fact, insofar as each contributes to keep the structure more constantly occupied than it otherwise would be, each helps to reduce the amount of dead capital involved.

At Cambridge, the question of convenient location might interfere with such a joint use of a great building. But if the problem of location could be successfully worked out, both the auditorium and the athletics building might be developed more speedily if they should be developed as a unit. O. L. STEVENS '94. Boston, December 6, 1921.