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Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 6:25 pm
by hAPPy4APP
I believe Varsity gym was completed in
1968. Was that the end of the gym being referred to as Broome Kirk?
I found sn old poster advertising
The Impressions appearing at Broome Kirk. Admission was 2.00.

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 7:12 pm
by HighlandsApp
It was there and called that between 1985-1990.

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 7:20 pm
by proasu89
Not quite sure I understand your question but Brooke Kirk and Varsity were 2 separate gyms, but connected. BK was built first and then Varsity was added on in 1968. BK was used for PE, intramurals, and practice when I was in school in the 80’s. Played a crap ton of pickup ball in BK and it had a great floor.

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:09 pm
by ASUPATCH
Broome Kirk was essentially an AUX gym next to Varsity used for PE courses and other functions and still used until its demolition in 2006 I believe. I shot basketball for the last time in there around 2004. I think it was the primary gym until Varsity was added to it in 1968. I graduated high school in Varsity Gym and we had our grad night in Broome Kirk in 2000.

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:57 pm
by appdaze
https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/items/show/7360


This image shows the northern entrance to the Broome-Kirk Gymnasium, built 1955, from the front, with some view of Appalachian Street lined with parked cars in the foreground. The Broome-Kirk Gym housed the Department of Health, Physical Education and Athletics at Appalachian State Teachers College (1929-1967), and was also known as the Broome-Kirk Health and Physical Education Building. It was demolished in the early 2000s to make way for the new Central Dining Hall, completed in 2008.


If any of you have never looked through the historical pictures catelog you are missing out. It has 7000+ images and a search option.

https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/item ... lection=10



A great example is the pic of the 1930 womens bball team.
https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/items/show/14635


here is varsity being built in 1968
https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/items/show/14594

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 9:42 pm
by appfanz
Went to a lot of dances in Broome-Kirk in the 70’s. So I probably saw the Impressions.

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 9:50 pm
by HighlandsApp
Broome-Kirk had the swimming pool didn't it?

Was the old cafeteria building partly in front of Broom-Kirk? I remember walking out of the side door of cafeteria and walking a few steps into watch basketball at Varsity.

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 11:05 pm
by scatman77
BKG was directly across from the cafeteria. Walk out the back doors of the cafeteria, down the steps and you could either do a u-turn into the BI or cross the street to BKG. Upstairs were classrooms, HPE offices, professor offices. Believe it or not Coach Brakefield, Cremins, Maravich, AD Jim Jones, baseball Coach Morris, the ticket office, and Dr. Judy Clarke's office were upstairs. Downstairs was the PE locker rooms, equipment checkout, the athletic training room, and the varsity men's basketball locker room was there.

Pick up games in BKG were often epic. During Coach Maravich's year there was usually better pick up talent than on his team. You called your own fouls, played hard, had lots of fun. Later on in 1981 I came back to finish grad school and checked out the BKG talent. I watched for 10 minutes, saw guys calling blocking and charging fouls, and just shook my head and walked out. Those two fouls were never ever called years earlier; you'd be laughed off the court.

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 7:04 am
by bigdaddyg
Wow when you read about places you used back long ago in your college days and also read about these same buildings being torn down- also many years ago you really feel old. Played some hoops and team handball intramurals in BK. Just recalled also going there to watch girls do aerobics before hitting the BI. It’s been mentioned on other threads but varsity was a great place to go for basketball games. Easy walk from the cafeteria or the BI. Good times.

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 8:50 am
by fjblair
I remember it well from my tour in the early 80's.

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 9:20 am
by WataugaMan
HighlandsApp wrote:
Tue Jan 18, 2022 9:50 pm
Broome-Kirk had the swimming pool didn't it?

Was the old cafeteria building partly in front of Broom-Kirk? I remember walking out of the side door of cafeteria and walking a few steps into watch basketball at Varsity.
Yes, Broome-Kirk had a swimming pool (as kids, we called it "The Ol Man's Gym", don't know why). They let locals use it (pool included), in grade school my friends and I swam there often. We'd go there in the winter, swim, then walk home in the snow and wind. LOL My older brother had a friend, Tommy Kirk (he used to be the sheriff at Tweetsie). As I was told, Broome-Kirk was named (partly) after Tommy's dad.

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 10:28 am
by HighlandsApp
https://today.appstate.edu/2018/06/18/c ... g-50-years

This shows the gym and then swipe over to what campus looks like in 2018.

Was Broome-Kirk demolished or remodeled into part of Roess Dining Hall?

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 10:30 am
by appst89
HighlandsApp wrote:
Wed Jan 19, 2022 10:28 am
https://today.appstate.edu/2018/06/18/c ... g-50-years

This shows the gym and then swipe over to what campus looks like in 2018.

Was Broome-Kirk demolished or remodeled into part of Roess Dining Hall?
It was demolished.

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 11:41 am
by mike87
I spent all my time in the Library. Don't recall any of these other buildings.

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 11:44 am
by T-Dog
In its last year or two, two of the corners of Broome Kirk were taped off because of falling bricks. It was demolished around 2006-2007.

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 1:56 pm
by huskie3
HighlandsApp wrote:
Wed Jan 19, 2022 10:28 am
https://today.appstate.edu/2018/06/18/c ... g-50-years

This shows the gym and then swipe over to what campus looks like in 2018.

Was Broome-Kirk demolished or remodeled into part of Roess Dining Hall?
This is the year I became an APP, already being a Mountaineer from high school!

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 3:43 pm
by ASU3432Mi
I recall watching Lee Rose's UNCC hoops team with Corn Bread Maxwell do walk throughs in old Broome Kirk before they played Cremins team in Varsity Gym. I think that may have been the 1st live sporting event televised from our campus.

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:20 pm
by appstatealum
proasu89 wrote:
Tue Jan 18, 2022 7:20 pm
Not quite sure I understand your question but Brooke Kirk and Varsity were 2 separate gyms, but connected. BK was built first and then Varsity was added on in 1968. BK was used for PE, intramurals, and practice when I was in school in the 80’s. Played a crap ton of pickup ball in BK and it had a great floor.
Yeah, I was early 2000s and BK and Varsity were always seperate. Awesome place to play pickup ball, and most intramural games were played there.

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 8:05 pm
by APPChad90
Many memories playing half court pickup games in BKG. It was a good night when we could get some full court action in as the crowd thinned out. As mentioned in an earlier post, BKG had an excellent hardwood surface. Of course when the Quinn Center opened we were so excited to always be able to get those full court runs going. Nothing like the walk to the water fountain after a win getting an eyeful of the aerobics action either. Unfortunately, I think all those games on the Quinn’s soft/tartan surface took a toll on my now aching knees. Just not the same give as the BKG hardwood.

Re: Broome Kirk Gym

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 11:42 pm
by WASU 93
When I was on staff in the Intramural Department in the early 90's, our office was in the back corner of Broome-Kirk. We used it for intramural games and there was a ton of pick up games in there. Some of the professors would get together for a regular pick-up game every Friday. In addition to the pool, there was also a big locker room in the basement. in addition to basketball and volleyball, all of the intramural team handball games were played in BKG. The old press box that used to be above the long-gone bleachers, was still hanging from the rafters. (There was a similar Crow's nest in Varsity)