Groveport Messenger - November 27th, 2022

PAGE 8 - GROVEPORT MESSENGER - November 27, 2022
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Historic gymnasium turns 70 years old
The cavernous historic gymnasium at
Groveport Madison Middle School Central is
now 70-years-old.
Editor’s Notebook
Rick
Palsgrove
Built as part of a
then new Groveport
Madison High School
in 1952, this gym was
the third home for
Cruiser winter athletes.
The first Groveport Madison gym was not
a gym at all, but the second floor ballroom of
Groveport Town Hall where the boys and
girls basketball teams played from the early
1900s to 1922. In 1923 the basketball teams
played in the gym in Groveport School.
In 1952 a new gym was built beside
Groveport School (now Groveport
Elementary). It was the first phase constructed
in what would become Groveport Madison
High School (and later Middle School
Central) on Main Street. When it was built,
this gym was the largest high school gym in
Franklin County. Its features included spacious
balconies, a linoleum tile playing floor,
and a large theatrical stage at its south end.
The gym served as the Cruisers’ home court
until 1971 when the teams moved into a then
Groveport
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new high school gym on South Hamilton
Road — which itself was replaced when the
new high school was built in 2018.
The 1952 gym looks much different now
than it did in its glory years when it was
home to teams like the 1963-64 Mid-Eight
League boys basketball champions.
The 1952 gym today has fewer bleachers,
but still has its sprawling balconies and huge
stage which afford great viewpoints for
games. The linoleum tile floor of its early
years was later covered with carpeting, but
thankfully the tile and carpeting were
replaced years ago by a nicer wood floor.
In its heyday, large, enthusiastic crowds
filled the massive old gym in the 1950s,
1960s, and early 1970s.
In an interview six years ago, former
Cruiser basketball player and 1971
Groveport Madison graduate Buddy Waters
said of the 1952 gym, “It was very loud. With
the pep band playing and people yelling you
could hardly hear. What a great gym!”
Waters said he has great memories of the
gym besides the basketball games, including
homecoming dances, proms, concerts, and
other events.
“The class of 1971 was the last varsity
team to play there,” said Waters. “I remember
the balcony was always full as were the
bleachers. Mr. Neil Stevenson worked the
Pick-Up At These
Locations:
Groveport Senior Village - 5124 Hendron
Madison Township Office - 4575 Madison Lane
Paddock Pub/Groveport Golf Ctr. - 1005 Richardson Rd.
Southeast Library - 3980 S. Hamilton Rd.
Asbury Methodist Church - 4760 Winchester Pike
Groveport Municipal Building - 655 Blacklick St.
Groveport Town Hall - 648 Main St.
Flyers PIzza/Groveport - 296 Main St.
Ace Hardware - 726 Main St.
Little Italy Pizza - 619 Main St.
Huntington Bank/Groveport - 556 Main St.
Groveport Recreation Center - 7370 Groveport Rd.
popcorn machine
located in the lobby as
you came in from the
outside. The gym
doors from the lobby
we’re always open
and I can remember
the smell of fresh popcorn
and Mr.
Stevenson looking in
and cheering.”
The old gym, now
seven decades old,
still sees a lot of
action as Middle
School Central teams
and fans keep the
place alive.
One may say,
“Well, it’s just an old
gymnasium.” But, it
is our shared public
places - like gyms,
parks, churches,
schools, downtowns,
and even our neighborhood
streets and
sidewalks - that
spark memories,
create immersive
experiences, and
maintain a connection
to our past,
present and future.
Such places link a
community together.
Rick Palsgrove is
editor of the Groveport
Messenger.
Photo from the 1965 Madisonian
A jump ball in the former Groveport Madison High School gym on Main Street in 1965.
Messenger photo by Rick Palsgrove
A jump ball in the same gym from the same perspective in 2016. The Groveport Madison
Cruisers varsity basketball team (white uniforms) played a one time home game in the old
gym against Hamilton Township on Dec. 3. 2016. The Cruisers shone bright in their former
home with an 80-34 victory.
Photo courtesy of the Groveport Heritage Museum
The former Groveport Madison High School gym on Main Street as it looked when it was
new in 1952. The gym originally was a free standing, independent building until the classroom
and cafeteria wings of the high school were built. The school was built in stages
from 1952-56 and is now Middle School Central.