Hamilton College - Hamiltonian Yearbook (Clinton, NY)

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The opening of the $5.5 million Wil- liarn M.Eristol,Jr.,Swin1ming Pool on December 3 marked another step in a decade of pregress toward athletic excellence at Hamilton College. De- signed by Perry Dean Rogers 5. Part- ners and built by Murnane Associw ates, lne.. the Bristol Peel replaces a pool opened in l940. Intended for use by the entire Hamilton community. it will be available for intercollegiate swimming in season, instructional swimming during the academic year. and recreational swimming year- round. The pool measures 60 by I26 feet and contains eight lanes. Covering 5,000 square feet. it is a stretch pool, with a moveable bulkhead that permits division of either 25 yards or 2'5 meters in length- The diving area includes one and three-meter plat- forms. and the deck space seats 300 spectators. Architectural features in- clude large Finnish tile selected to create a faster peel through dimin- ished surface resistance and a gas- fired infrared radiant tube and re- fleetor system near the diver's plat- form for competitors to keep warm during dives. In IQOO. Hamiltonis first swimming 30 pool was created by scooping the earth out from the basement of the Super Gymnasium lnow Kirkland Der- mitorw. Only, 22 by 38 feet long and from three to seven feet deep. the pool was constructed of porcelain brick and floored with porcelain tile. In addition, there was a glazed brick shower room and a small dressing room. The College Catalogue re- ferred to the facilities as splendid, and added that these most modern facilities cost $4,000, but their value to the College in comfort and plea- sure cannot be appraised.u Curiously, within two years. the splendid peel had been downgrad- ed to 'imost satisfactory in the pages of the Catalogue. After 1902. the pool was described mainly as a fine plunge. where lessons in swim- ming are required of all freshmen. and by World War I, the facilities had become less than adequate. Finally. it was abandoned entirely. In l936, when the nation was in the midst of the Great Depression, a gymnasium fund committee was formed and an appeal went out. to the alumni. Chaired by Wifliam M. BriStc-L Jr. 1?, the committee sought to raise $400,000, a huge sum in such difficult times. However. pledges were speed- Hy.F obtained, and ground was broken for construction in l938. On Novem- ber 9, l940, Mr. Bristol fuzztrrnallt,r pre- sented to the College the Alumni Gymnasium complete with swimming pool. For 47 years, this second pool was Hamilton's Swimming facility. It helped develop the talents of numer- ous NCAA AIIrAmerieans. and also provided for the needs of thousands

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on September 24 to a capacity crowd of students and faculty. The Max Roach Quartet performed on Sep- tember 30, and treated the College community to the work of the legendary jazz percussionist and campus- er, Max Roach. one of the creators of be-bop. The month of October opened with performances by Double Edge, a piano due, and Women of the Cala- bash, a group devoted to Caribbean, Latin American, and African music. The musical eclectieism of the Henry Threadgill Sextet invaded Wellin Hall on Octo- ber l5. On Halloween night, East Wind. 3 jazz group from the Soviet Union. offered a taste of music from behind the iron curtain. The Music at Hamilton Artists Series TMAHAST kicked off its season with the performance by The London Brass on November l2. MAHAS also Sponsored Mitsuko Uehida. a worid-renowned Japanese pianist, The Rochester Phiiharmenic Orchestra. with David Einman conducting. and the Elmer Iseler singers. The grand finaie of the series by the Composers String Quartet and the Dorian Wind Quartet played to an appreciative audience on April 8. In November, Manning Marable began the Visiting Minority Scholars Program with a lecture on Black politics in the !805. On March ID the dance group Pilobolus invaded the College. B.F. Skinner '25 deliw ered a lecture on An Ethics for the Future on April 5- The Arthur Levitt Public Policy Program's Panel Dis- cussion on ludieial selection for the Supreme Court brought US. Senators Joseph Biden and Arlen Specter to College Hill. The Harts H. Sehambaeh Center for Music and the Performing Arts seems to be well on its way to fulfill- ing its goal of providing excellent music. dance and lectures to the entire Mohawk Valley,r community. 19

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of beginning and novice swimmers in fulfilling the Collegels athletic re- quirements. However. in recent years. under pressure of expansion of the student body and increased recreational, in- structional, and intercollegiate pro- grams. the pool ceased to be ade- quate for its purpose. In addition. its size and depth no longer met recom- mended NCAA specifications for in- tercollegiate competition. As in the IQSOs. an appeal went out to the alumni through the I75th Anni- versary Campaign, and once again, the response was impressive. Appro- priately. the new pool bears the name of the man who was so instrumental in replacing another antiquated ath- letic facility with a modern one 49 years ago. The Bristol Pool had a productive first year. Michele Mitchell, silver medalist in the F364 and l938 Olympic Games. exhibited her considerable diving skills during the dedieatory ceremony on December 3. Mitchell l c 55 v claimed the pool was The prettiest indoor pool I've seen of any sizef' The menls and women's swimming teams enjoyed their first home meet in years; both teams crushed Middle- bury College's teams. Finally, the World Record Swim Relay Team brought local attention to the Pool when theyf set a new world record of 2,146 continuous swimmers on April 9. The pool has helped strengthen the ties within the Hamilton community and also solidified relations with the outside communities. With its new peol. Hamilton will once again enjoy swimming facilities that not only meet current intercolle- giate standards but also compare quite favorably with other sehoolsi. Also, the pool will provide more than an adequate response to the needs of a College community quadrupled in size since the old pool was built 49 years ago. And it is fully expected that it will remain adequate to Hamilr ton's needs for many years to come 31