Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 13, 1927, the University of Iowa officially dedicated the Iowa Field House. Holding up to 13,365 at its peak, the area once served as the home of Hawkeye athletics.
Construction started on the roughly $500,000 facility during the mid-1920s and featured an original seating capacity of 7,000, a 50-yard-long swimming pool, and an iconic gymnasium complete with steel-pillar obstructed views. Although the Hawkeye men’s basketball team played their first game in the still-incomplete facility on December 4, 1926, the official dedication didn’t occur until the following month. On the weekend of the dedication, over 7,000 crammed in to test the new facility’s capacity to watch a 19-point loss to Michigan. The following day, the Hawkeye matmen hosted Wisconsin for the venue's first wrestling meet, and the swimming team welcomed Illinois to the pool for Big 10 action.
Many Hawkeye fans hold memories of attending numerous basketball games and wrestling meets at the Iowa Field House. During their tenancy, the Hawkeye men’s basketball team captured six Big Ten titles, while the wrestling team won the Big 10 twelve times. The Field House hosted NCAA basketball regional tournaments in 1954, 1956, 1964, and 1966. Additionally, many Iowa City-area residents remember seeing Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead, the Beach Boys, or any number of other notable acts perform at the occasional concert venue.
The Hawkeye hoopers and wrestlers occupied the Iowa Field House until the opening of the Carver-Hawkeye Arena in January of 1983. The swimming team continued to host events at the venue until 2010. Today, much of the facility has been converted into classroom and office space for the University of Iowa Health and Human Physiology Departments. Still, if the walls could talk they would whisper of when the stomping of Hawkeye fans used to rattle the rafters and shake the building’s foundation. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar
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