Adelbert Gymnasium

Historic Adelbert Gymnasium was constructed between 1918 and 1919 and dedicated on June 1, 1919. The facility, which added to the first Adelbert Gym (1888) located at the south end of the building, was originally constructed as an armory for use during World War I. With the war ending before construction was completed, Adelbert Gym was never used for that purpose.

Adelbert Gym then became the third home of the Western Reserve University Red Cats athletic program. Highlighting the Red Cats’ more than 50 years in the old armory, Western Reserve’s men’s basketball team defeated Yale University twice (27-17 in 1921 and 23-16 in 1931) and Boston University in 1937, 58-44. The 1969-70 season, according to records, was the last season which the varsity basketball team played in Adelbert Gym until Case Western Reserve’s first Throwback Weekend in February 2006.

Throwback Weekend was held in Adelbert Gymnasium for four seasons with a pair of men’s and women’s basketball doubleheaders each year. The men's basketball team wore Case Institute of Technology Rough Rider and Western Reserve University Red Cat uniforms, while the women's team donned uniforms commemorating Flora Stone Mather College.

After 2009, the facility was not used for a varsity athletic event until February 23, 2013, when the Spartan wrestling team hosted its Si Ostrach Meet. In the summer of 2013, the university upgraded the facility with a refurbished playing court. Following the refurbishment, the basketball teams resumed hosting Throwback Weekend inside Adelbert Gym through the 2019-20 season.

Adelbert Gym is commonly used for varsity athletic practice as well as a multitude of intramural, club sport, and campus recreational functions. The facility was used as a filming location for the 2023 film Shooting Stars, which traces how LeBron James and his childhood friends led Akron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary High School to the Associated Press No. 1 ranking in the early 2000s.