Veedersburg (1,000) Built 1923
July 25, 2024
July 25, 2024
I'm not really sure where the line is for how much an old gym needs to currently resemble the way it looked in its glory days for it to be considered in my rankings here. It's pretty much just a gut feeling. Veedersburg is the first gym that's really tested this line for me. I haven't really questioned any gyms that you've read about here before, and I've visited a few that are clearly too dilapidated to consider. Just looking at it from the main entrance, I wasn't sure I'd be able to get a full enough grasp on what it would have been like to watch a game here with a packed house during one of their sectional winning years in 1924 or 1931. Luckily, I had an unbelievable guide named Angie who filled me in on all of the history of the place and how it came to be in it's current state. I got the full behind the scenes tour which allowed me to see the many original details that have indeed stood the test of time. By the end of it, I felt the full weight of the history and could connect it to what is still present in the gym today.
I've dated the gym here to 1923. Thanks to the help of Angie and some other fine local historians on Facebook, that's the date it appears to have been finished according to yearbooks from that time. This makes it the oldest gym I've visited to date, beating Mishawaka by one year. There was a fire in the late 50s, but the gym was quickly restored. Judging by pictures from before and after, it did not seem to be terribly damaged and retained the majority of features. The Veedersburg mascot was the "Green Devil" which is evident in the flourescent green color utilized throughout the gym. The lower half of the wall is painted that shade along the entire perimeter. At half court you can find the classic Green Devil logo that was used until at least 1965 when the school consolidated into Fountain Central. You'll see your fair share of red and blue devil mascots across sports, but this is the only green devil I've heard of. Points for originality!
The centerpiece of the current gym is the stage on the baseline wall opposite of the main entrance. In the 1923 yearbook, the addition of a gym with a stage was a pretty big deal for the local town and school. It's still in great shape and has a heavy velvet curtain spanning across it. Flanking it on either side are mesh grates built into the wall presumably looking into the upper room that sits behind them. An even larger, rectangular one sits further to the right in the wall as well. The opposing baseline wall doesn't have any notable features except that the main basket has two practice hoops hanging off the sides of it facing the sidelines ala Sharpsville. That's the only other place I've seen something like this. One sideline wall has pretty, rectangular windows high above letting in a lot of natural light. There is also a "Veedersburg Green Devils" sign with the old logo hanging on the wall donated by the class of 1957. It's a nice touch and decoration in a gym that doesn't have much else adorning the walls. The opposite sideline has an eight foot brick wall with a couple of single benches for players and a makeshift scorer's table. There's also a pop machine in an odd spot. Above the brick wall is a giant section of plywood paneling that doesn't look great, but conceals the greatest mystery of the gym.
You're probably wondering how I've managed to drone on for three paragraphs without mentioning bleachers, as they're usually my favorite topic when covering any gym. Thats for a reason. I feel like the bleachers make the biggest statement in the majority of gyms. At first glance, Veedersburg doesn't seem to have any. The yearbook states that the gym can hold 1,000 spectators at once. Where are they supposed to sit? Along both sidelines there used to be 5-6 rows of permanent wood bleachers that have since been removed for more space for other activities that gym is currently used for (pickleball strikes again). Looking up though above the sideline brick wall, Angie addressed the elephant in the room. Some of the guys that used the gym regularly for pickup games got tired of how hard it was to heat and cool the gym, that they walled off the entire upper seating section for HVAC purposes. It helped a lot in that respect, but it took a bazooka to the overall aesthetic. Angie was kind enough to allow me to walk up the back stairs and look behind the makeshift wall. I found a big space with the original retractable wooden bleachers half-assembled. About 13 rows of dark brown beauty from wall to wall. It struck me how much the scene fit the reality of the rest of the gym. It was enough to give you a real feel for what once was, while yearning for the ability to time travel back and see it put together in all its glory.
Angie also took me through the rest of the adjoined building that is now used as a community center. In one room there was some memorabilia and a newspaper article from 1947 displaying the proud hometown team in anticipation for the upcoming season. It was cool to see and here about the connection the town of Veedersburg has to their school and gym back then and even to this day. Angie has been the bridge between this past and present. She attended school there and has been in charge of the upkeep and running of the gym for over 40 years. It's still used for basketball, bingo, and everything else inbetween. It may not have 1,000 screaming fans cheering on the Green Devils anymore, but it's still a meaningful place in the community, and I doubt that'll ever change.
