Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute Archives and Special Collections
Guide to the Records of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Gymnasium Committee, 1874-1880
AC.0002
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Repository
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute Archives and Special Collections
- Creator
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Gymnasium Committee
- Title
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Gymnasium Committee records
- ID
- AC.0002
- Date [inclusive]
- 1874-1880
- Extent
- 0.2 cubic feet (1 half manuscript box)
- Language
- English
- Abstract
- The Gymnasium Committee of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) oversaw the gymnasium and drill hall built in Boston for MIT students in 1874. The collection consists of minutes of the committee and also includes a handwritten subscription lists of pledges to a fundraising effort in 1874 for the building. The list is signed by former MIT president William B. Rogers and his successor, MIT president John D. Runkle, among others.
Citation
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Gymnasium Committee Records, AC 2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Historical note
A drill hall and gymnasium was built in 1874 at the corner of Boylston and Clarendon Streets, Boston, for students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Subscribers, including William Barton Rogers and John Runkle, and friends of the Institute helped raise $3240 to fund the building.
The Gymnasium Committee of MIT first met on December 14, 1875. The committee created a constitution, bylaws, and rules which were adopted in 1876. Membership consisted of the professor of military science and tactics, ex officio chairman, four members of the fourth year class, three members of the third year class, two members of the second year class, and one member of the first year class, elected by their respective classes. The purpose of the committee was "to sustain, and perpetuate the Gymnasium; to consider its interests; to establish rules and regulations for its government; to cause apparatus to be kept in repair; to purchase new apparatus; to take measures to pay the running expenses of the Gymnasium; to keep it in repairs; to audit accounts and authorize expenditures."
In 1882 the gymnasium was moved to Exeter Street on to land leased from the Boston & Albany Railroad Company.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The collection consists of an 1874 subscription list sent by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) president John Runkle soliciting pledges for a gymnasium and drill hall, signed by fifteen individuals including founding MIT president William B. Rogers. The collection also contains the minutes of meetings of the Gymnasium Committee, formed to oversee the facility. The minutes date from December 14, 1875, to December 2, 1880.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute Archives and Special Collections (Copyright 1979)
MIT LibrariesBuilding 14N-118
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139-4307
617.253.5690
mithistory@mit.edu
Revision Description
2011
Access note
The collection is open for research.
Intellectual Property Rights
Access to collections in the Institute Archives and Special Collections is not authorization to publish. Separate written application for permission to publish must be made to the Institute Archives.
Related Materials
Related Materials
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Walker Memorial Gymnasium Committee Ledgers,1899-1918 (AC 367)
Controlled Access Headings
Corporate Name(s)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Gymnasium Committee
Subject(s)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology--History.
- Student activities.
- Student participation in administration.
Bibliography
References
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. President's Report for the year ending September 30, 1875. p. xv.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. President's Report for the year ending December 12, 1883. p. 30.
Collection Inventory
| Box | ||||
|
Subscription list for pledges for a gymnasium 1874 |
1 | |||
|
|
||||
| Box | Volume | |||
|
Minutes of meetings 1875 December 14 to 1880 December 2 |
1 | 1 | ||
|
|
||||