Pratt Gate, Colored (1917)

Before the construction of Pratt Field, the college’s outdoor athletics were confined to a single field lying south of the gymnasium. This area had become inadequate for their needs, and so the college began considering ways and means of providing a new field. On December 3, 1909, the committee had plans drawn for a track, football field, baseball diamond, and six tennis courts. They planned for the courts to have cement bottoms that could be flooded in winter and converted into a large ice rink for hockey. They also decided to erect an eight-foot concrete fence around the property, one of the first of its kind ever built. The entire cost, including a grandstand, was estimated at ten thousand dollars. On March 18, 1910, Herbert L. Pratt offered to donate the entire amount. The field formally opened in the fall of 1910, in connection with a football game. The International YMCA College is known today as Springfield College.

An uncolored duplicate exists (LS-02-10); text on border reads, "YMCA College Springfield Mass. Pratt Field Gates 16 1917."

This lantern slide, “Pratt Gate, Colored (1917),” shows the gate surrounding the International YMCA College’s Pratt Field. This fence was eight feet high and built with reinforced concrete.