South Bend Washington (3,800) Built 1957
February 2, 2024: Mishawaka vs. South Bend Washington (Girls)
February 2, 2024: Mishawaka vs. South Bend Washington (Girls)
High school gyms can often serve as a time capsule when they're preserved over the years. When overbearing administrators can resist the urge to chase shiny and modern additions, these gyms can transport spectators to a different time. The bigger urban areas across Indiana are an interesting juxtaposition as they're filled with untouched historical gems along with sterile charter facilities that feel like they should only be hosting Saturday morning YMCA games. Indy, Fort Wayne, South Bend, Evansville, and Gary all are filled with brick institutions that once were the backbone of civic pride. Each neighborhood had a distinct high school with their own traditions. The basketball schedules revolved around playing the different city schools in big rivalry games. So much of that rich history has been lost as these community schools have closed completely or been turned into lifeless charters. Those that remain are shining symbols of what made high school basketball and community pride so special in the 20th century. South Bend Washington is a prime example of this.
You all know how much I love old wooden bleachers and despise the trend of replacing them with cheap, plastic garbage. This is the first gym ever where I've thought to myself, "Yeah these need to be replaced immediately." Just looking at the old, dark brown beauties, they are everything I love about gym bleachers. Then I started walking up to the top of them. If I thought I was a little scared when I visited Western, I was TERRIFIED here. Not only are they the type where the bottoms are open and you can see through to the depths below, but these babies were swaying with every single step I took. I'm not exaggerating when I say that if it weren't for the handrail, I may have fallen over. That's how much they were moving, and it got worse the higher you went. When I made it to the top, I started walking across the top row towards the middle and I noticed the single board that made up the bottom of the bleacher wasn't even solid. I looked down at the end and saw the bolt that's supposed to be securing it just flopping around in and out of the board. That was all I needed to see. I gingerly stepped up on the seat part of the bleacher, took my picture, and moved way down to the lower level to safety. I'll never advocate for plastic, but it seems beyond time for some wooden replacements.
The rest of the gym is everything you would want an old neighborhood gym would to be. It has two standard levels of wooden bleachers. There are about 12 rows on the bottom and 15 on the top rising up above the sidelines. The baselines also have about 6 rows of pullout bleachers for additional seating. There's a modern banner hanging between the two levels on one side reading "Great Western Forum" which sounds more like the name of a rodeo venue in New Mexico than a high school gymnasium but who I am to judge? Above the very top of each bleacher section is painted script reading "Home of the Panthers" on one side and "South Bend Washington" on the other in big, green, block letters. The dark, hunter green color scheme works really well all across the gym. The court itself is trimmed in it all around the boundaries and inside the key. The center court panther design is one of my favorites that I've seen and among the most unique. The linework in it reminds me of what you see in a lot of east Asian art. There's a crow's nest in the corner of one upper section that only appears to be accessible by a thin metal ladder which I always appreciate.
There are three distinct murals on the baseline walls. There's the standard mascot breaking through the cinder block wall on one end. The other side has the slogan "Pride of the Westside" painted across the wall, bookended with a roaring panther on one side and a school crest of sorts on the other. They're all really well done. The baseline wall above the entrance has the common, plain conference team banners hung in a straight line across it, but they're all in some sort of frame which is a first for me. There are athletic accomplishment banners hung haphazardly all over the walls. There is no rhyme or reason to them. Many of them have obviously not been updated in over a decade, and there are even multiple ones for the same sport in different places. Finally, the one unique feature you can't miss are giant cardboard cutouts of each member of the two women's state championship teams hanging from the rafters. It's such an out of the ordinary thing that I can't totally decide if I like it or not. I think they're cool, but they also block the view of the painted signage across the tops of of the stands which is kind of a bummer.
South Bend Washington will soon be one of only 3 original South Bend high schools left with Clay closing at the end of this year. I could feel the sense of bygone days walking up to the building on the night of a girls sectional semifinal game. It got stronger as I walked through the halls to the gym itself. There's an energy to these original inner city gyms that is different than rural ones. It's not better or worse, but it's distinctive. It was cool to watch a girls program which has completely revitalized basketball at this school over the past few years win a sectional game in their home building. They dominated Mishawaka as they have the entire northern half of the state over the past five years. It's a new era for a gym that has watched Skylar Diggins and multiple other Indiana All-Stars come through since 1957. Their success has only added to the rich heritage of a school that has been a pillar in the surrounding community.
