Back in 2008, we took a look at St. Dennis Hall, now part of the computer lab at the University. This building served as the gymnasium of Assumption College back in the olden days…
I recently came across this image of the interior of the gym from 1939. Here’s how it looked back then.
I don’t think this is St Denis Hall, maybe an earlier gymnasium.Having seen games in St Denis in the 60’s the hall was much wider and had extensive bleachers on both sides. I also don’t recollect so many windows.
Joe in 1948 the Gym was was doubled in width, That portion is now occupied by the Universitie’s IT department, While the the original half has a Gym for a Faculty of Education gym a few offices and a classroom.
Joe, I agree it doesn’t look like it did when I wrote exams there in the early 80’s however if you look at the previous positing from 2008 you will see the gym was doubled in the late 40s and extensively modified, it also agrees with the original blueprints shown in that posting
In the 50s, St. Denis was much bigger, described well by Joe. I met my husband there during Frosh initiation in 1950. He was running for Freshman Rep.
As others have mentioned this building was replaced by St. Denis Hall and information from Windsor Star of Feb. 18, 1981 In article “Tonight: It’s goodbye to a famous showcase” St. Denis Hall having opened there January 29, 1949 with the Assumption College Purple Riders, predecessors to the Lancers. It being double the size of the original college gymn “and could seat 2,500 comfortably and accommodate another 500 or so standees” was acclaimed as “the showplace of Canadian intercollegiate basketball” as no other school in the old Ontario-Quebec Athletic Association could compare.
As a graduate of 1949, I well remember when this was built and I had frequented the old gymn on many occasions for exercise during lunch period as the indoor wooden track was certainly a feature with the banked curves allowing one to run at a continuous pace. That track in my opinion was certainly a work of art by the craftsmen who constructed it. Not that his photo indicates the mezzanine and railing which undoubtedly contained the aforementioned track.