Iowa Park High School - Hawk Yearbook (Iowa Park, TX)

Page 13 text:

A NEW GYMNASIUM IS CONSTRUCTED Following approval of a bond issue last year, construction of a gymnasium cost- ing $139,000 began in the fall of 1956. A relatively new building process, known as lift type construction, has been used. In this type of precast structures , the walls and beams are poured of concrete on the floor and then lifted into place. This new method of erecting a concrete building is structurally stronger than old methods. It has also eliminated the use of posts, so that the spectator's view of the court is unobstructed. WORK BEGAN on the new gym on October 10, 1956. Here Homer Seay (foreman), W. O. Billington (contractor), Principal James Elms, and Supt. Keith Swim watch as excavation begins for the 15-foot deep solid concrete, steel-rein- forced piers. GREAT SLABS of solid, reinforced concrete, originally poured on the floor, are being lifted into place on January 8, 1957, by a huge crane to form the walls of the gymnasium. The newest structures are the gymnasium, THE DECK FOR THE ROOF is in place on the north side of the structure on March 12. Beams made to drop over the center section, like a keystone, can be seen on the ground inside the building. 7

Page 12 text:

THE ACADEMIC BUILDING contains classrooms for both junior and senior high schools, a library, an auditorium, a gymnasium, and the administrative offices. Our campus contains five important buildings. THE HOME ECONOMICS COTTAGE is a roomy frame structure which contains classrooms and laboratories for teaching the homemaking arts. THE BAND AND SHOP BUILDING contains a large practice room for the band as well as storage space for uniforms and instruments. The right half of the building is devoted to the teaching of vocational ag- riculture. It contains one classroom and a much larger room full of equipment for instruction in farm main- tenance. When the new band hall is finished, this building will be used exclusively for agriculture classes. 6

Page 14 text:

T THE NEW GYMNASIUM is 102 feet in length and contains a regulation college size basketball court with floor of maple hardwood. Bleachers are ele- vated four feet off the playing court. Beneath the bleachers are dressing rooms and showers for both girls and boys of the home team and of the visiting teams. Office space for physical education instructors is also included. THE NEW BAND HALL, constructed at a cost of $30, 000, adjoins the new gym on the east. Built of concrete blocks and veneered with brick, the hall is 72 feet long by 40 feet wide. The most attractive feature is the circular practice room, consisting of four elevations, each level being eight inches higher than the preceding one. The building also contains the band director's office, storage rooms, a recording room, and several practice rooms. the band hall, and the visitors’ grandstand. THE NEW VISITORS' GRANDSTAND was hailed with joy when fans of our opposing teams arrived for football games last fall. The steel frame is set on concrete piers, while bench seats provide accom- modations for approximately 500 visitors. That crow's nest which you see on the center pole is a platform on which the photographer stands to take moving pictures of the games.