Roger Millhiser Memorial Gymnasium
Site: Behind Robins Center and south of Sarah Brunet Memorial Hall on the north side of campus
Dedication: June 7, 1921
Opened: November 29, 1922
Architect: Cram and Ferguson with local architects Lee and Lee
Size: 30,170 square feet
Roger Millhiser Memorial Gymnasium was given to UR by Clarence and Regina Millhiser in memory of their son, Roger, a Richmond College student who died from complications after surgery at the Yale University infirmary.
Roger Millhiser was a Richmond College student from 1913 to 1915 after which he transferred to Yale. While at Richmond Roger was very involved in college life and activities. He served as the business manager of the Collegian and was involved in numerous clubs. In 1917 he was a member of the Richmond College “Alumni Gymnasium Committee.”
The cornerstone was laid according to Masonic ritual by Richmond Lodge No. 10 A. F. and A. M. headed by Marshall W. Penick Shelton. Col. Thomas B. McAdams, a university alumnus and Past Master of the officiating lodge delivered an address. This address can be found in the September 10, 1921 edition of the Collegian which can be accessed online at http://oncampus.richmond.edu/is/library/digital/collegian/.
When the building opened in 1921, University literature referred to it as “one of the finest athletic plants of any college of its size in the country.” The main floor of Millhiser Gymnasium contains a regulation basketball court, which is still used. In decades past, the space was also used for indoor track work, early baseball practice, and football formation drills in bad weather. When first built, the main floor contained the trophy room and offices of the athletic director and medical director. In the basement were training rooms, showers, locker rooms, visitors’ quarters, and boxing and wrestling rooms. The training rooms opened directly to the stadium, which consisted of a concrete stand, a quarter-mile track, two football fields, and two baseball fields. Most of the University’s athletic functions have moved to the Robins Center.
When the Robins Center opened in 1972, the Office of the Registrar moved to Millhiser. Administrative Computing was also housed there. Today, Military Science and Leadership, the university’s primary Data Center, administrative computing staff, and the development office’s Annual Fund staff are located in the building.
Sources:
Alley, Reuben E. History of the University of Richmond, 1830-1971
Daniel, W. Harrison. History at the University of Richmond
UR website
VBHS building file