News Release
December 2002
(Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania) - Moravian College will commemorate the 50th anniversity
of Johnston Hall with a special ceremony on Monday, December 9, honoring
the 1952-53 men's basketball team, the first team to play in the facility
50 years ago. The ceremony will be held following the women's basketball
game at approximately 7:30 p.m., just before the men's team takes the
floor to face Drew University.
The Moravian College men's basketball team opened Johnston
Hall on December 13, 1952 with a game against local rival Muhlenberg
College. Muhlenberg won the game, 87-67. That Greyhound team was coached
by Harvey "Gil" Gillespie, Class of 1932 and a member of the
Moravian College Hall of Fame. Gillespie was assisted by Paul Marcincin,
who graduated from the College in 1948 and is also a member of the Moravian
College Hall of Fame. The team finished the 1952-53 season with a 5-13
record.
Members
of the 1952-53 Greyhound team were Dave Arner, Ed Barreiro, Robert Detweiler,
Bernal Gawley, Larry Lynch, Pat Petruny, Lee Rayden, John Schaffer,
Jim Smith, Richard Zahm and Ron Zotak. Several members of this squad
will return to Johnston Hall this evening and will be honored between
games of tonight's men's and women's doubleheader.
Johnston Hall has been named in memory of Archibald Johnston,
first mayor of Bethlehem, president of Bethlehem Steel Corporation in
1906-08, an active Moravian Church layman and a trustee of Moravian
College and the theological seminary for 45 years. He played a major
role in the development of the community, climaxed by the merger of
the three boroughs into the city of Bethlehem in August, 1917.
Johnston Hall has served the campus and community in many
ways over the past half century. There has been over 500 intercollegiate
varsity basketball games played here and there were over 200 Middle
Atlantic Conference wrestling meets held in Johnston Hall. The gymnasium
has also seen over 200 varsity women's volleyball matches. It has also
been the scene of the MAC basketball finals, MAC wrestling tournaments,
Eastern College Athletic Conference Basketball Tournaments, MAC volleyball
playoffs, ECAC volleyball tournaments, badminton matches and indoor
soccer tournaments in the Bethlehem Soccer League.
Ten years ago, Johnston Hall and Moravian College hosted
the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Final Four and National Championship
game.
The College's physical education program has held most
of its indoor activities in Johnston Hall. This has included basketball,
fencing, badminton, golf, gymnastics, judo, self-defense, modern dance,
tennis, volleyball, handball and weight-lifting. At times in the past,
Johnston Hall has also had a handball court, golf driving range and
baseball batting cage in addition to many supportive services.
The College also has used Johnston Hall for the annual
alumni association antiques show and sale, the Moravian College Athletic
Hall of Fame banquet, coaches clinics, the Comenius Dinner, commencements,
convocations, the Cohen Arts & lectures Series, Miss Moravian programs,
lectures, musical events and concerts and the Conservation Association,
which supports the National Audubon Society's wildlife films and lectures.
Johnston Hall has served the community for recreational
programs, the Moravian Church, Bethlehem Community Concert Association,
which has featured symphony orchestras and opera celebrities, Bethlehem
Steel Corporation's first aid competition, Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce
annual dinners, a car show by the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce Automotive
Division, and Bethlehem Boys Club Banquet of Champions.
Presidential candidates Jimmy Carter, John Kennedy, Hubert
Humphrey and George McGovern have addressed several thousand people
in Johnston Hall. Henry Cabot Lodge, a vice-presidential candidate,
also spoke in the hall.
| Original Name: |
College Hall |
| Overall Size: |
233 feet by 166 feet |
| Size of Playing Area: |
154 feet by 106 feet - Includes three 88 feet by 46 feet practice
and intramural BB courts |
| Game Court: |
94 feet by 50 feet |
| Number of Rooms: |
23
Storage Room
4 Rest Rooms, 2 Public
Kitchen
Medical Room
Boiler Room
Faculty & Officials' Dressing Room
Handball Court
Faculty Offices
2 Shower Rooms
Stockroom
Varsity Dressing Rooms
3 Intramural Locker Rooms (also used by visiting teams) |
| |
|
| TOTAL COST: |
$525,000 |
| EXTERIOR: |
South Mountain Stone |
| FLOOR: |
End grain Douglas Fir, 2 inches deep |
| SEATING CAPACITY: |
1,800 on bleachers. plus 1,500 folding chairs for other than sports
events |
| CEILING: |
Fiber glass panels |
| ARCHITECTS: |
Trautwein and Howard, Philadelphia |
| CONTRACTOR: |
E.C. Machin, Inc., Allentown and Bethlehem |
| GROUND BREAKING: |
March 29, 1951 |
| CORNERSTONE LAID: |
December 13, 1951 |
| FORMAL OPENING: |
December 13, 1952, prior to the Moravian-Muhlenberg basketball
game |
