The new gymnasium and riding hall are now well under way. The gymnasium is west and a little north of the west wing of the north cadet barracks; the roof of the old (and but a few years ago the new) gymnasium has been taken to cover the swimming pool part of this large new building. The riding hall nearly fills the space between the officers’ mess on the north and the power plant on the south; in fact, the riding hall and power plant will join, and on the south-east corner of this building there will be a tower to correspond with that of the Administration Building.
The following buildings will soon be razed to the ground, to-wit: the old Cadet Chapel (to be rebuilt in the cadet cemetery); the old, and but a few years ago the new Administration Building, from a little south of the old chapel; the old power plant, from the area of the old cadet barracks; the old, and but a few years ago the new, cadet sink or water closet building, from the area of the old cadet barracks; the old gymnasium, from a little west of the angle of the South Cadet Barracks; the old riding hall, that is now nearly surrounded by the walls of the new one; and the officers’ quarters in front of the new gymnasium, as the latter stands well back of but fronts east on Professors’ Row.
While the Military Academy was the first educational institution in this country to recognize (in 1817) the value of a uniform system of physical training it was not till 1890 that the Academic Board allowed cadet teams to play against teams of other institutions. The first contest being a baseball game with an Annapolis midshipmen team, then came other contests with teams from other colleges. Now contests are held annually—and since 1908 under official control—with outside teams in baseball, football, fencing, basketball and hockey. The present system of indoor gymnastics dates from 1882 and track work, tennis, golf, polo and wrestling are indulged in. Most of the contests are held at West Point—many of them being played on the beautiful green infantry parade ground—and seats arranged in tiers like the bleechers at professional ball games are put up in sections on the plain to accommodate the thousands of spectators that now witness these contests. There being no admission fee the seats are assigned by tickets to the cadets and their friends, and to officers and friends of the Academy who voluntarily contribute to the financial support of cadet athletics.