Foundraising Pamphlet for the Memorial Field House, 1947

Originally, the field house was constructed for the Navy as a drill hall at the Navy Training Center in Sampson, New York, known as the Sampson Naval Training Facility. In the fall of 1941, the president Ernest Best of Springfield College began a fundraising campaign for a large indoor physical education/ athletic facility on campus, but the fundraising was terminated shortly afterwards in December 1941 due to the beginning of World War II. After the war, the Federal Work Agency distributed war time surplus for civilian use, and Springfield College was one of the few schools in the country that were able to qualify for a Field House under the Public Law 697, the government moved and re-erected the drill hall in Springfield College. The cost to the college was projected at around $160,000 and the fundraising received more than $160,000 in the end. Because of the fundraising, Springfield College could provide a spacious court with seating space for 4000 spectators at its basketball and other indoor athletic classes, such as volleyball, handball, basketball, and badminton. The Memorial Field House cornerstone was laid on June 14, 1947 as a memorial of the 45 Springfield College students and alumni who lost their lives in World War II. The field house was opened on February 21, 1948 and was demolished in 1979 due to the fact that the arch construction could not meet the minimum building code requirements. The Physical Education Complex, replacing the Memorial Field House, was dedicated on October 30, 1981.

A fundraising pamphlet for the Memorial Field House at Springfield College, ca. May 1947. The purpose of the pamphlet is to introduce the field house and to ask alumni, parents of students, citizens of Springfield, and other friends of the college to help with the fundraising.