Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania: Athletic Field (demolished) – Bloomsburg PA

Description

Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of an athletic field at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in Bloomsburg PA.

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, then known as the Bloomsburg State Teachers College, benefited during the Great Depression from a large construction project enabled by the PWA. The agency provided a $184,604 grant for the project, whose final cost was $584,097. Construction occurred between January 1938 and July 1939. (PWA Docket No. [W]1866.)

Four buildings were constructed on the campus, including a gymnasium and shop/storage building. The present status of these structures is unknown to Living New Deal.

According to the Bloomsburg University Archives, “The Athletic Field was located on the grounds presently occupied by the the Bakeless Center and the Warren Student Services Center, and was originally graded from December, 1934 into the spring of 1935 as a government relief project.  The total cost was nearly $30,000, almost all of which went towards the salaries of over 100 workers, which still only amounted to $3 a day apiece.  The field was known as Mount Olympus, had a seating capacity of 3000, and was used for both football and baseball games from the mid-1930s until 1964. In November of that year after the final football game had been played the field was removed to prepare for the construction of the first library building, which was placed on the baseball diamond.”