Read time: 7 min.

Growing up in the heart of Hoosier Hysteria, it was probably inevitable that I’d fall for basketball. What I didn’t expect was how deeply I’d get hooked on the places it was played. Long after the final buzzer, I’m still thinking about balconies, locker rooms, and oddly shaped floors. Recently, I’ve been digging through old Sanborn Maps to trace how high school gyms were first built, how they evolved, and what those changes say about the communities that packed them. Here’s a little more of what turned up.

Sanborn Maps are detailed, large-scale fire-insurance maps produced by the Sanborn Map Company beginning in the late nineteenth century. Created to help insurance companies assess fire risk, they document cities and towns block by block and building by building. The maps show building footprints, shapes, construction materials, and the number of stories- details that make them invaluable to researchers like me. Here are ten more Sanborn images of gymnasiums I’ve uncovered.

New Albany Gymnasium- New Albany, Indiana

The original part of New Albany High School was built in 1927. It included a large, integrated gymnasium that became home to the New Albany Bulldogs. Despite several additions, including a brand-new auxiliary gym, the old gym’s Romeo Langford Court still serves as the school’s primary gymnasium. It appeared in this 1952 Sanborn Map¹.

Old Shortridge High School Gym- Indianapolis, Indiana

The current Shortridge High School opened in 1928, just east of Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. The building featured a real cracker-box gym on its northeastern corner that was ostensibly home to the Blue Devils, though many teams refused to play under such cramped conditions. Shortridge closed as a high school in 1981 but reopened as a Junior High School three years later. Shortridge again became a high school in 2009, and a new gymnasium was completed in 2012. The original building appeared in this 1950 Sanborn Map².

Elkhart High School Gym- Elkhart, Indiana

Though portions of the old Elkhart High School dated to 1900 and 1912, a basement gymnasium beneath an auditorium was built in 1921. It served as the home of the Elkhart Blue Blazers until 1954, when North Side Gymnasium opened. Aside from its manual training department, the building was demolished to make room for the parking lot of the Elkhart County Superior Courthouse. Nevertheless, it appeared in this 1950 Sanborn Map³.

Manual Training High School- Indianapolis, Indiana

Manual Training High School opened on South Meridian Street in Indianapolis in 1895 as Industrial Training School. It was renamed in 1899, four years before a gymnasium was added to the southeastern corner of the building. Renamed again as Charles E. Emmerich Manual Training High School in 1916, the school was relocated in 1954. The old facility served as Harry E. Wood Vocational Training School until 1978. Today, it’s home to Union Campus. It appeared in this 1914 Sanborn Map⁴. 

Ladoga High School Gymnasium- Ladoga, Indiana

A two-story Ladoga Public School was built in 1895 and a high school connected by an underground tunnel followed in 1917. A WPA gym was built to the rear of both structures in 1941. It’s said to have been one of the biggest in Montgomery County! The Canners used the building until the school consolidated into Southmont in 1971. Today, the gym remains part of a modern Ladoga Elementary School. It appeared in this 1942 Sanborn Map⁵. 

Bicknell High School Gymnasium- Bicknell, Indiana

The Bicknell Bulldogs received a new home -a WPA gymnasium- in 1938. It served as home court until Bicknell Central High School, built in 1904, closed in 1963. The school was torn down in 1977 and the gym followed suit in 1995. Today, its site serves as parking for the modern North Knox Primary School. Both buildings appeared in this 1946 Sanbon Map⁶. 

Noblesville High School gymnasium- Noblesville, Indiana

The old Noblesville High School on Connor Street -State Road 32- was built in 1896. In 1923, a gymnasium connected by a short hallway. The Noblesville Millers used it as their home court until 1955, when the “new” Noblesville High School on 17th Street was completed. Today, the old gym is home To Meyer Foods Management Company. It appeared in this 1947 Sanborn Map⁷.

Huntingburg High School Gymnasium- Huntingburg, Indiana

An early Huntingburg Public School was built around 1895. A larger, graded high school followed in 1929. Between them stood a gymnasium erected in 1925. The gym served as the home of the Happy Hunters until 1951, when a new gymnasium was erected just east of the structure. Both gyms remain standing, but the old one made its appearance in this 1949 Sanborn Map⁸.

Albany High School Gymnasium- Albany, Indiana

An early Albany Public School was built in 1915, but it was enlarged in 1927 with a northeastern wing that included high school classes and a first-floor gymnasium. The building served as the home court for the Albany Wildcats until 1968, when it consolidated into Delta High School. Both older structures were demolished in 1980, but they made an appearance in this 1943 Sanborn Map⁹.

Brazil High School Gymnasium- Brazil, Indiana

An enormous gymnasium to serve the Brazil Red Devils in 1929. It made an appearance in this 1946 Sanborn Map¹⁰, but what the map doesn’t show is the three-story Brazil Junior High School completed just south in 1948. The Red Devils used the building until 1984 when Brazil High School consolidated into Northview High School. Today, the gym and junior high are part of an apartment complex.

Sanborn Maps have proven invaluable resources to me time and time again. I’m sure I’ll continue to use them in my research, and I’ll keep saving screenshots of old high school gyms -and whatever else I stumble across- as I go.

Sources Cited
1 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana (1952). Sanborn Map Company, 1952. Web. Retrieved from the Library of Congress. 
2 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana (1950). Sanborn Map Company, 1950. Web. Retrieved from the Library of Congress. 
3 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Elkhart, Elkhart County, Indiana (1950). Sanborn Map Company, 1950. Web. Retrieved from the Library of Congress. 
4 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana (1914). Sanborn Map Company, 1914. Web. Retrieved from the Library of Congress. 
5 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Ladoga, Montgomery County, Indiana (1942). Sanborn Map Company, 1942. Web. Retrieved from the Library of Congress. 
6 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Bicknell, Knox County, Indiana (1946). Sanborn Map Company, 1946. Web. Retrieved from the Library of Congress. 
7 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana (1947). Sanborn Map Company, 1947. Web. Retrieved from the Library of Congress. 
8 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Huntingburg, DuBois County, Indiana (1949). Sanborn Map Company, 1949. Web. Retrieved from the Library of Congress. 
9 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Albany, Delaware County, Indiana (1943). Sanborn Map Company, 1943. Web. Retrieved from the Library of Congress. 
10 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Brazil, Clay County, Indiana (1946). Sanborn Map Company, 1946. Web. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.